Annotated Bibliography
Biggs, Frederick M. “Beowulf’s Fight with the Nine Nicors.” The Review of English Studies, vol.
53, no. 211, 2002, pp. 311-328. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3070641.
In “Beowulf’s Fight with the Nine Nicors”, Biggs highlights that Beowulf is not the type of hero audiences believe. He argues that Beowulf twists his own story in order to feign heroism. Furthermore, Biggs uses Beowulf’s own words against his status as a hero in order to defend his argument. In the work, the author is able to describe to the reader that Beowulf is manipulative. This is critical because it shatters the idea of this king being an honest hero. Biggs is able to refer to different passages within “Beowulf” that show how the king changes his story to fit his own needs. The work expands on the character of Beowulf. The characterization is critical in that it shows Beowulf’s main
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“King Lear.” The Norton Anthology of English LIterature, edited by
Stephen Greenblatt, W. W. Norton, 2012, pp 1251-1339, vol. b.
King Lear is a tragedy written by Shakespeare. The tragedy is about a king who is vain and temperamental which leads to the destruction of his kingdom and the lives of his daughters. King Lear is so consumed that he ends up paying the ultimate price for his actions when his daughters perish. This scene pushes King Lear into acceptance that he has caused all of the destruction within his homeland.
Moreover, it is important to note that King Lear has this moment of realization. The moment he realizes his greatest mistakes that were born from his vanity and greed parallel Beowulf’s weaknesses. The two characters King Lear and Beowulf were excellent kings. However , both Lear and Beowulf battle with the emotions that take over and consume their rational and logical decision making abilities.
Tamblyn, William Ferguson. “Tragedy in ‘King Lear.’” The Sewanee Review, vol. 30, no. 1,
1922, pp. 63–77. JSTOR, JSTOR,
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
The Epic poem of Beowulf is a story of heroism, loyalty, ego, and fate. To be a great leader of men; a great king of the people, you must be respected and trusted. Loyalty is given to those who earn the respect and trust of their people. Beowulf was blessed with great physical strength, the pride and fearlessness of a warrior, and an equally strong command of the spoken word, which he used skillfully to his advantage. He gained the respect and trust of nearly everyone he came in contact with, largely because he possessed the characteristics of a true hero, but in the end it was his ego that sealed his fate. Although it could be said that Beowulf’s character was flawed by an enormous ego, fueled by thoughts of immortality, it is this very trait that made him an ideal hero and king.
Crossley-Holland, Kevin, trans. Beowulf The Fight at Finnsburh, edited by Heather O’Donoghue. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
In the the epic poem Beowulf, several contrasting symbols and pieces of imagery contribute to the overarching theme of the fight between good and evil. Whether comparing the characters in Beowulf, their respective environments, or their motives, it becomes very clear that an immense separation between the worlds of good and evil characterizes the story.
Beowulf. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume A. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 34-100.
Beowulf begins with a history of the Danish kings. Hrothgar is the present king of the Danes. He builds a hall, called Heorot, to house his army. The Danish soldiers gather under its roof to celebrate and have fellowship with each other. Grendel, who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, is awakened and disgusted by the singing of Hrothgar's men. He comes to the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years Grendel stalks the mead hall known as Heorot.
The brawl experienced by the epics central character Beowulf test his ethics his aptitude to prevail over sinister forces. All the way through its authoritative use of metaphors and illustration, Beowulf sketches a transparent difference between good and evil. Moreover good always prevails over evil. The ...
Wright, David. “The Digressions in Beowulf.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.
Abrams, M.H., ed. Beowulf: The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.
Rogers, H.L. “Beowulf’s Three Great Fights.” Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Tuso, Joseph F. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1975. Print.
Beowulf is an epic poem telling the story of Beowulf, a legendary Geatish hero who later becomes king in the aforementioned epic poem. While the story in and of itself is quite interesting, for the purpose of this paper it is important to look at the character more so then his deeds, or rather why he did what he did.
Camargo, Martin. “The Finn Episode and Revenge in Beowulf.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.
King Lear is a play about a tragic hero, by the name of King Lear, whose flaws get the best of him. A tragic hero must possess three qualities. The first is they must have power, in other words, a leader. King Lear has the highest rank of any leader. He is a king. The next quality is they must have a tragic flaw, and King Lear has several of those. Finally, they must experience a downfall. Lear's realization of his mistakes is more than a downfall. It is a tragedy. Lear is a tragic hero because he has those three qualities. His flaws are his arrogance, his ignorance, and his misjudgments, each contributing to the other.
King Lear as a Tragedy Caused by Arrogance, Rash Decisions and Poor Judgement of Character