Was the story of Beowulf’s battle between good and evil a reflection of Christ battling Satan? There are 3 major battles within Seamus Heaney's edition of the epic poem Beowulf all of which earn Beowulf some heroic status for saving the town from the evil antagonists that lurk, but is there a deeper meaning behind these battles than just an old tale? Is there some metaphor we are supposed to perceive? Throughout Beowulf there are a lot of different themes to pick and choose from, some interesting and more prevailing ones are that of pride vs. humility and sacrifice vs. selfishness. Beowulf for example is very proud but at the same time humbles himself and offers his credit to the Lord. The bible states in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘“I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”’ Seamus Heaney portrays Beowulf as a Christ-like figure to spread the ideals and values of Christianity and God’s Love to the audience.
Lots of works often presents insight into the time period in which it was written. Beowulf goes back many years ago when Christianity was just starting to become the more prominent religion instead of the old pagan ways. As Rich Lawson said, “Beowulf is a reflection of many Anglo-Saxon ideals and concepts.” This explains a lot of the contradictions between Paganism and Christianity throughout the epic poem. When you open the pages of Beowulf to begin to read, it states in the first page of the introduction that “The Poem called Beowulf was composed sometime between the middle of the seventh and the end of the tenth century of the first millennium…” it goes on to say “It’s narrative elements may belong to a previous age but as a work of art it li...
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... be paid for physical and spiritual survival.” (Introduction xix).
“Despite his great strength, he is a man with limitations in each of his fights he is seriously challenged and clearly sees himself as relying on the help of God.” (Helen O’Brian)
“Thankfulness to God the king of Glory, our eternal Lord”
page 175 “No help or backing was to be had then from his high-born comrades; that hand-picked troop broke ranks and ran for their lives to safety of the wood.” (Heaney)
“Oh Cursed is he who in time of trouble had to thrust his soul into the Fire’s embrace, forfeiting help; he was nowhere to turn, But blessed is he who after death can approach the Lord and find friendship in the Father’s Embrace!” (Heaney 182).
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)
It is common opinion that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. This was probably true because at the time when it was written, most of the few people who knew how to read and write were in the clergy. There are various references within the poem to elements of the Christian religion. However, the story is about Pagan people and certain aspects of their culture are even glorified. The ambiguity of Beowulf’s religious content has caused confusion as to what significance religion had in inspiring the author and in what manner the author meant to inspire or influence his audience. I do not think that Beowulf is a Christian allegory because Beowulf had very little in common with the Biblical figure of Jesus Christ. I think that religion was not the primary thematic concern of the writer. Although there are discrepancies between the two styles of thinking, Beowulf seems to praise values which were considered moral and good among all humanity, both Christian and Pagan.
...but he was mindful of the great strength, the large gift God had given him and relied on the Almighty for favor, comfort and help. By that he overcame the foe, subdued the hell-spirit.
In the epic of Beowulf, Herot is plagued by the monster Grendel. A hero, Beowulf is summoned to defeat the beast. Beowulf is a Christian and Pagan based poem that includes several examples of each element. There are several biblical illusions in the text that give insight into the use of Christianity but just the same, there are several references to the Devil and Hell and Cain. Therefore the poem must be both Christian and Pagan because it represents both.
The Old English epic poem Beowulf poses something for an enigma for scholars. The poet was surely a Christian, but the poem depicts a pagan society, so what sort of religion is being expressed. Most recent scholars have argued for a Christian reading, but others still hold out for a pagan one. Some have suggested Christian-pagan syncretism. Pagan beliefs involve sacrifices to the old stone Gods, making heathen vows, hoping for Hell’s support, the devil’s guidance in driving their affliction off. This was their way and the Heathen’s only hope.Some suggest Christian-pagan syncretism. Anglo-Saxon epic heroes are willing to put their own lives in danger for the greater good. Beowulf highlights the code’s points of tension by relating circumstances
Pagan concepts are intertwined in this work, as is the nature of the time period. Fame was very important. Receiving status allowed one to prosper in this time and receive the best out of their life. Beowulf is enthralled with the idea of fame as he fights Grendel, but it is balanced out and reconciled with Christianity by his desire to protect his people. Vengeance was brought out when Beowulf tells Hrothgar to not grieve and that “It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning” (72 Simpson & David). Honor is disregarded when Beowulf’s men leave him to fight with the dragon. Wilgaf shames them and it can be inferred that they will be disregarded as warriors and nobles for their behavior. Protecting one’s master was essential during that time to receive food and shelter, in addition to having the Gods’ favor (Lawson). Christianity makes an appearance when it references the antagonist, Grendel, “a fiend out of hell” (43 Simpson & David) and the protagonist, Beowulf, whom the “Holy God, in His goodness, guided…to the West-Danes, to defend [Hrothgar and his subjects] from Grendel” (49 Simpson & David). Christianity was a prominent influence for authors of the Anglo-Saxon time period. The Christians had faith in God’s ability to determine their fate. If they lost a contest then God has decided they are not worthy of winning. Every day they will try to prove they are holy enough to have God’s grace and be saved from eternal damnation. The literature written was a reminder to the people to always do what is right and to avoid sinning. Because the only people who could write were priests, religion was added into stories when they were written and when previous works were transcribed. The presence of the church was ever present to ensure the obedience of the people. If all they were exposed to was religion that
The eponymous of the poem, Beowulf, is the greatest warrior of his time, yet he cannot make such a huge impact without the help of God. Beowulf represents a lot of what the Anglo Saxon culture emphasized on. He is an excellent monster slayer, has a band of warriors he is extremely loyal to, and, through all of his hard work, gains an immense amount of gold and glory to his name. However, in this epic poem, that still is not enough. Although he is mightiest of all the Geats, Beowulf still needs the help of God during his battles in order to come out victorious. After his close fight against Grendel’s mother, Beowulf acknowledges the role God played in helping him succeed, saying that he would “have been dead at once, and the fight finished, the she-devil victorious if our Father in Heaven had not helped [him]” (Beowulf 71). This allusion is supposed to represent how ultimately the Anglo Saxon way of life is not good enough anymore, and these people need God to help in their struggle of life. Because Beowulf has such a strong relationship with God, it is no surprise that any wicked monster he meets just becomes another trophy to add to his collection. When Beowulf swims down to the
He killed three monsters and then he died. Not a very interesting fate, but it is none the less one that I find myself having to write about regardless of whether or not I want to. Thus it was, the mighty Beowulf of old England that went forth to slay the evils which plagued the lands of his own people as well as those of his neighboring tribes. The second battle was one that was brought about by Beowulf’s willingness to go and help an old friend, and thus he nearly lost his life once more. For those not acquainted with the story of Beowulf, he was said to be the strongest man ever to live, and given this he was fated according to their beliefs to accomplish certain things in his life. Some of these things being to be slaying of great monsters and winning of great wars. And thus that is what he did as he progressed through life. The epic is rather brief in terms of what an epic normally is, but, in this time he manages to travel to a distant land, and slay a monster that has taken over that land, and then after that feat he of course makes that monsters mother mad, you know you can do something to someone without making dear old mom mad. So, then Beowulf must kill the mother and then after they are both sent into hell, the land is free of tyranny and injustice Beowulf returns home a hero. After fifty winters of rule by Beowulf, a dragon attacks his people because of what was done by a thief, so Beowulf knowing in his old age that he would probably not survive this battle to slay the dragon, goes into battle anyway and slays the dragon and he himself is then slain, by injuries sustained by this fight. My focus is fate, and how no matter how Beowulf decided to do it he would eventually die for his people.
“They have seen my strength for themselves/ have watched me rise from the darkness of war/ dripping with my enemies’ blood…my hands/ alone shall fight for me, struggle for life/ against the monster. God must decide/ who will be given to death’s cold grip”(36-37).
The poem Beowulf is a renowned story that displays many different surroundings and religious beliefs. Some may believe the story of Beowulf portrays pagan beliefs or customs and others believe that the poem is more in agreement with Christian ethnicity. The author of Beowulf uses both Christian and pagan elements in the poem to define the heroic warrior, Beowulf, and the evil dragons. After reading Beowulf the author clearly shows how Beowulf is a man who is filled with Christian customs and is willing to die and defend the world against evil using the help of God.
Beowulf encompasses several reasons for critics to decipher it as either a Christian allegory or a pagan fable, but in actuality, the epic becomes a combination of the two. Due to the intertwining ideas of wyrd and the will of God, the distinct ideals of the afterlife, and conflicting views of the entity, Beowulf epitomizes the attempts by Christian monks to turn the parable into a Christian novel; however, these efforts proved mixed. In the end, the poem shows efforts to proselytize pagan worshipers by the Church, but those endeavors remained inconsequential until the Christianization of the world.
The night of my capture started out like any other night here in Herot. I was seated next to my dear friend King Hrothgar, toasting to Beowulf’s victory over the monster Grendel. Royalty from all over the world had gathered here to hear his wonderful tale. After a night full of toasts and festivities, we grew weary and retired to our beds. We had not known of the danger lurking in the shadows. A few short hours after drifting off into a peaceful sleep, a shrill scream of terror ripped me from my slumber, and I quickly jumped out of the bed. A brisk breeze swept through the air, bringing the smell of blood and death along with it. I glanced around my empty quarters, and found my sword propped against the wall. I grabbed it quickly and headed down the hall to check out the scream. I had made it halfway down the hall when another gut wrenching scream was heard. I sprinted to the end of
Beowulf is a very brave hero, he has fought and killed many creatures before, but this battle was different. He knew this battle was of great importance to everyone, and that made him that much more nervous. This creature was fierce and had been tormenting their village for as long as they could remember, so her death would be a huge victory for Beowulf and it would be an even bigger relief for the villagers. All of the people in the village were cheering for Beowulf as he walked away headed off to the greatest battle of his life.
Beowulf has been estimated to have been written over twelve hundred years ago. According to The Norton Anthology Of English Literature, “It is now widely believed that Beowulf is the work of a single poet who was a Christian and that his poem reflects a well-established Christian tradition,” (37). This conclusion was likely drawn by accounting for the time at which Beowulf was written and factoring in most people in the area of where it was believed to be written had already been converted to Christianity. In a way, this provides the best explanation for why Beowulf contains a high level of Christian influences for the story to have taken place when it did. Dr. J. Michael Stitt of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says that, “Much of this epic poem is dedicated to conveying and exemplifying the heroic code which values such attributes as strength, courage and honor. Conflicting with this ideology are other factors such as Christianity, and these tensions affect the lives and decisions of the narrative's characters.” If the one of the main focuses in Beowulf is the heroic code and the heroic code convicts with the authors beliefs than why did he write it? This is not to say that authors do not write about things that they ...
The first fight depicted in the poem is between Beowulf and Grendel, who is described as a “cruel spirit” and an “unhappy being” (102-4). Grendel is a monster descended from Cain (106-7), who murdered his brother and was condemned by God. Grendel attacks the Hrothgar’s kingdom because he is envious the joyfulness of Hrothgar’s mead hall (86-99), thus Grendel represents envy. Beowulf fights Grendel without neither weapon nor armour because he is fair and brave. He fights against Grendel to save other people, not because of any personal gain, which shows his generosity and. He believes in God and thus is worthy of his strength. Beowulf is considered the strongest man on earth, therefore he does not envy. As a result, Beowulf easily wins the fight and kills Grendel (808-814). This first fight shows that there are similarities between Christian heroism and pagan heroism. Even though Beowulf is a pagan, his courage, kindness and aversion towards envy are eviden...
After giving up on the notion of obtaining more time, he then decides that he will look to God and acknowledges that one drop of Christ's blood can save him. Instead of calling on God to save him, though, he turns his attention back to the devi...