Okay, gentle reader, we want better than Wikipedia or Sparknotes on this one...
What is the purpose of The Lay of Finn as it appears in the first agon of Beowulf? Digressions serve a function, if only to compare, heighten, contrast, or emphasize the main narrative action to the new "story-within-a-story." So. Which one is it here?
Try JSTOR to start your research.
