Pagan Tradition in Beowulf
Beowulf is steeped in a pagan tradition that depicts nature as hostile and forces of death as uncontrollable. Blind fate picks random victims; man is never reconciled with the world. Beowulf ends a failure. There is some truth in this conclusion, but for the most part, someone who didn’t have a well-lived life has most likely portrayed it.
Beowulf is steeped in a pagan tradition, but not one that depicts nature as hostile. The setting in the beginning is portrayed as, “…these beautiful plains marked off by oceans, then proudly setting the sun and moon to glow across the land and light it…”(8). This doesn’t sound like anything hostile to me; on the contrary, what is being described creates an image of delectation. “The corners of the earth were made lovely with trees…”(11) is said. When reading these words, the last thing on my mind would be hostile. Forces of death and blind fate picking random victims may have some truth to them, but fate is something that’s very disputed. “…Snatched up thirty men, smashed them unknowing in their beds…”(37) This may seem like fate had decided who was going to die, but it probably wasn’t so. Grendel, “…slipped through the door…”(36) and snatched himself whomever he could get his hands onto. He most likely came in and killed the first thirty that were sleeping closest to him. He undoubtedly didn’t creep over all those men in risk of waking them up and start slaughtering on that side. What if, while he was massacring the group, they would have woken up? The he would have been trapped in the mead hall and would have surely found his death. I imagine Grendel being smarter that that. It wasn’t fate that decided who would die that night, but simply those who had slept near the door. Making smart decisions and thinking things over can control your fate, if such a thing exists.
Beowulf did not end in failure. How could a man who was known as a hero and King be considered a failure? He can’t. He, after defeating Grendel’s mother, became King of the Geats and was admired by his people. He was showered in gifts as was said. “…Laden with gifts given him by Hrothgar…”(pg. 34, prologue) He lived in peace for fifty years before having to face the dragon; fifty years of peace and prosperity to rejoice over.
He explains that Beowulf’s greatest weakness is that he is a man and men are not immortal. The author, according to Tolkien, is “concerned primarily with man on earth… each man and all men, and all their works shall die” (Tolkien). Therefore, all humans must be prepared to meet their end and accept their. I other words, individuals must learn how to die is the lesson that emerges from Beowulf. The reader learns that “defeat is the theme. Triumph over the foes of man’s precarious fortress is over, and we approach slowly and reluctantly the inevitable victory of death” (Tolkien). Even though Beowulf defeats the monsters he encounters and is victorious, he still has to die and nothing can change the fact because it is inevitable. There is nothing any man can do to change that
The Beowulf manuscript, written around the year 1000 and containing approximately 70 Christian references/allusions, could owe part of its Christianization to the Catholic bishops, priests, monks and laity who made The Lindisfarne Gospels a reality about 300 years prior.
"p" sound is line 160, "From my prince, no permission from my people for your
Beowulf, an epic poem written in the late tenth-century, in the kingdom of the West Saxons, steeping with pagan tradition, this epic depicts nature as hostile and forces of death uncontrollable. Blind fate chooses random victims and people never feel at peace with the world. Also Beowulf ends as a failure to help heal the wounds of his society. Although there are parts of this statement which can be construed as true, for the most part, it doesn't give Beowulf the credit he deserves. For someone whose life was cut short, Beowulf did many great deeds for his time in the world.
Blair, L. (2011). Birth Order: What Your Position in the Family Really Tells You About Your
Pagans do not believe in an afterlife. Pagans simply believe that there is nothing after living on Earth. The only way to live on after this life is to be something of a hero and have someone write poems of the hero. The people will tell stories about the hero and the hero will continue to live on in their memories. In lines 186-90, Beowulf explains after telling Hrothgar that he will be the one to kill Grendel, "...And if death does take me, send the hammered/Mail of my armor to Higlac, return/The inheritance I had from Hrethel, and he/From Wayland. Fate will unwind as it must!" This quote makes the reader think Beowulf is pagan. Fate is the paganistic belief that no matter what one does to prevent something from happening, it will happen anyway. Beowulf is also trying to become a hero which matches up with pagan beliefs. Why would killing Grendel make him a hero, one may ask? Grendel is a monster that has been killing the members of Herot Hall for years. Beowulf decides he nee...
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.
Growing up in my family I was the first born of two children. For me this meant that I was the ultimate guinea pig for my parents, and therefore how I was raised was much different from how my younger brother was raised. I notice, now that I am older, there were many differences on the parenting techniques that were used to raise us both as individuals. Ultimately this caused my brother and I to be totally opposites. To this day I feel like birth order plays a large role in my family, and sometimes it is hard to watch my brother get of easy when I am living a more difficult life.
...ement motivation has nothing to do with birth order, and others say otherwise. Few studies show how the birth order does not affect the achievement motivation in individuals (Toni Falbo 1981, Healey and Ellis 2007, Reese, Averett and Argys 2008, Srivastava 2011). What careers do each of these groups most commonly pursue? First borns since they are considered the very intellectual ones they tend to go for high professional careers. For the middle- borns and the babies of the family, with their risk-taking, and laid back personalities they go for artistic careers (Brooks 1984, and USA Today 2002). This once again comes down to the influence parents put on their children, they put a heavy load on first borns on getting a really good career, but the time later borns are choosing their career paths they have eased up and allow them to take more risks (USA Today 2002).
To Birth Order." CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc., 10 Jun 2002. Web. 28 Feb 2014. .
...vin Leman said, “Once you figure out your birth order and the birth order of those you love, you’ll be way ahead of everyone in the game of life” (1). Parents and scientists agree that how a child turns out insists on birth order. Birth order makes every person unique.
Birth order is a commonly discussed topic inside the realms of psychological research. Many studies have been organized to show the differentiation of personality concerning birth order. Characteristics of a personality, absent of birth order, play a monumental role in how a person reacts to social influence. A principle examination will occur concerning the view of the first-born child in comparison to the later born child for the purpose of illustrating how their susceptibility differs from one another. A related yet separated analysis will be done encompassing the characteristics of personalities of the first-born individual, as well as the later born individual focusing on the Big Five Personality Dimensions.
There is proof of this. Parents start with the first kid, they are cautious and inexperienced. Just when the first child gets use to the attention, the second born rolls around ("Birth Order: What is "Birth Order"?"). The parents are as careful with the second child, but now the second gets the attention. The firstborn has to achieve great things to get any attention now. The second and first will usually have different personalities. “The middle child will demonstrate the greatest variety of character traits but they will be opposite of their older sibling” (Teresa). Then the last-born comes and steals all the ...
This paper will take a closer look at this phenomenon through an introduction to the field of study regarding the link between birth order and personality. To set the stage, theories of birth order will first be briefly reviewed. The progress of studies from this initial theoretical stage has cause...
During the 1920’s Alfred Adler began research into a topic that would forever impact the behavioral sciences; he studied the role of one’s birth order and how it influenced personality (Eckstein & Kaufman, 2012). This concept arouses my interest because of how personal it is to me; I come from a larger family and witnessed the very traits they discuss in the article in my siblings and myself as well. Indeed I am a firm believer that birth order is significantly related to presence of certain personality traits in a person because of the different experiences and parenting styles each child grows up with. Additionally, I have devised my own type of principle relating to middle children, like myself, in larger families with lengthy age gaps.