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Fate in literature
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The warrior culture was a dominate aspect of Anglo-Saxon society. Anglo Saxon’s lived an agrarian lifestyle relying of the land as a source of life. Because of their lifestyle, the Anglo Saxon’s lived in small communities. Anglo Saxon England consisted of hundreds of tribes and clans. These tribes and clans were always at war between one another. This is where the warrior culture was dominate. Each tribe needed a warrior to protect them from neighboring clans. In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf is the warrior who goes to Denmark to fight the evil monster Grendel. Like a good warrior, Beowulf possesses the traits of loyalty and bravery. The Danes have been under attack of Grendel for twelve year. The people of Denmark live in destruction, …show more content…
As every day is a battle to survive, Beowulf leaves his home of Geatland, to go fight for the war-torn tribe in Denmark. Beowulf, the warrior, sets out to defeat the evil monster Grendel. Beowulf presents the Anglo Saxon values of a honorable death, the epic hero, and the thane to demonstrate the warrior culture of Anglo Saxon society. In Beowulf, the warrior culture of Anglo Saxon society is evident through the value of a honorable death. Life in Anglo Saxon society was viewed as tragic; It was noted as grey, gloomy, and catastrophic. Due to the tragic life they lived, death seemed inevitable. This lifestyle promoted the idea of fate (McNary 58). Fate is the something which is predetermined or destined. In Beowulf, fate is said to be a judgement by God. “ Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgement by God”(Anonymous 440-441). This quote demonstrates that fate is a predetermined judgment by God. A warrior’s bravery hinges upon the acceptance of fate, the fact that someday he will die. This acceptance motivates him to fight for an honorable death rather than to wait for death to come (Disraeli 56). Fate must be fought against at all cost. A warrior must be brave and fight for his honorable death, a death which
In the epic Beowulf, the reader can clearly find the very distinct conflicts, although some go unnoticed. This poem came to be around the birth of Christianity and the dying out of paganism. In Beowulf, the battles between the monsters and the warriors are interpreted as a battle between the old way of faith and the coming of Christianity. Beowulf himself comes across many conflicts of his own. A literary critic, Alfred Bammesberger, analyzed the person who gives Beowulf the idea to go to Herot and fight Grendel, “.... Beowulf wanting to fight single-handed and challenge Grendel based on the information he had given to his uncle, the Great King Hygelac” (Bammesberger). The Danish king asks not for help however, Beowulf goes anyways. While he has many physical battles with enemies, he also has internal conflicts that seem to hold heavy in his mind. These conflicts include but are not limited to, “Battle of Grendel”, “The Battle with Grendel’s Mother” and “The Last Battle.”
He lives in solitude in a cave at the bottom of the lake and is angered by the parties in the mead hall. To further emphasize the archetype, he is said to go on raids only during the nighttime. This shows more of his loneliness because he can not show his face in broad daylight. When his arm is ripped off, Grendel runs away. This shows his cowardice since he runs instead of finishing the fight on the spot. For the Anglo-Saxons, death in battle was the most glorious type of death, Thus Grendel running away would have been mocked by the crowd and re enforced the quality of courage. When the battle itself begins, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel bare handed. His comrades however stay to help him fight. This reveals the theme of loyalty. This theme is prominent during the main battle because Beowulf is shown to be, “Surrounded closely by his powerful thanes” (98). This ties into the theme of loyalty to one’s kin because although the weapons do no damage, Beowulf’s brethren stay by his side to help. This is also used to emphasize the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture, the battles serve as a way to show the listener the deep cultural significance of the kinship of the warriors. They are treated as one group,
Nobody dared to stop the bravest man in all the land known as Beowulf. Beowulf is the strongest warrior from Geatland. When Beowulf hears about the Danes and Hrothgar’s struggle to keep his men safe, he offers to help. The Danish king, Hrothgar, accepts Beowulf’s request to kill Grendel and his mother. Beowulf proves his strength and becomes famous when he defeats Grendel in a battle using nothing but his bare hands in Herot. He keeps Grendel’s arm as a symbol of his victory. Grendel’s mother looks for revenge, but she is also killed by the brave warrior. Beowulf becomes the King of Geatland after the king’s son, Heardred, is killed. Beowulf rules for 50 years and he is very successful in keeping peace across the land and Geatland becomes very prosperous. Beowulf later dies after a final fight against a dragon. The Geats build a tower strong and tall just as Beowulf requested so that sailors could find it from far and wide. Beowulf perfectly embodies the Germanic heroic ideal.
Beowulf is an epic poem that was written in the late tenth-century, at the kingdom of the West Saxons. The two main characters are Beowulf, a young man; and Grendel, a furious dragon. Beowulf's world is a very violent society with wars as a dominant part of daily life. Dragons and monsters are a constant threat to the Danes and the Geats. Warriors are a necessity to this war-like society. Beowulf is a hero as well as a great, and honorable, warrior.
The epic Beowulf is one of the oldest poems written in English. According to the Norton Anthology, "the poem was composed more the twelve hundred years ago, in the first half of the eight century. Its author may have been a native of what was Mercia, the Midlands of England today, although the late tenth-century manuscript , which alone preserves the poem, originated in the south in the kingdom of the West Saxons" (Norton 21). Although the poem is of English origin, it speaks of tribes (the Danes and the Geats) that are from the "Danish island of Zealand and southern Sweden respectively" (Norton 22). The main character, Beowulf, demonstrates that he is a warrior who places heroism and bravery over his own well-being and life. Beowulf is a hero and an example of a great warrior. His actions give us a good example of the pagan warrior mentality. The pagan society is a warrior society, in which courage and bravery are extremely prevalent. Beowulf fights against monsters and dragons, and he would rather die in battle, then anywhere else. Beowulf is called upon to help defeat Grendel, who is a monster that has taken over the hall of Heorot. He is greeted with great hospitality. Hrothgar, the King of Denmark, is relived to see Beowulf. There is some skepticism by Unferth, who recalls a fight in which Beowulf lost in Battle. Unferth is wrong, and Beowulf says this great line: "fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good." Beowulf defeats Grendel with great ease and the people of the hall are gracious to Beowulf.
Right away, readers encounter the main character in Beowulf as he arrives in Denmark after a long journey from his homeland of Geatland. Beowulf has traveled to Denmark in an attempt to slay the monster Grendel that constantly terrorizes the Danes. “Then news of Grendel, hard to ignore, reached me at home…my one request is that you won’t refuse me, who have come this far, the privilege of purifying Heorot…” (Heaney 409-431). This immediately shows a selfless and heroic act of Beowulf. He has ventured into a country he does not even reside in to help protect the people of Denmark. The hero brings a wave of confidence into a sputtering community of Heorot that desperately needs some assistance in their fight against Grendel. Thankfully, Beowulf slays Grendel and even does so without any weapons, “…it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield to mow him down…the monster back-tracking, the man overpowering…an extraordinary wail arose, the howl of a loser…He was overwhelmed, manacled tight by the man of all men was foremost and strongest in the days of this life.” (Heaney 679-789). Beowulf successfu...
The character Beowulf, “a man of great strength and bravery” (Magill 388), is a hero in the way he defends his neighboring country, Denmark. When the word that a hostile creature, known as Grendel, was killing tons in Denmark, Beowulf set sail to help defend the people and rid them of the hideous monster.
The battle between fate and free will produces a lopsided victory by fate in Beowulf. A continuous reference is directed to fate by context as well as in elements of theme, plot, and character. The most prominent relation to fate is seen with Beowulf. From his early adventures as a warrior to his later rule as king, fate strongly influences Beowulf's beliefs and courage. He attributes the successful outcomes of his many fights and struggles to the reasons of fate. The lives and outcomes of Beowulf and his enemies are obvious examples of the Beowulf poet showing that God has the power to control everything, resulting in predetermined fate. "Fate goes ever as fate must."(Line 455)*
Throughout the story, Beowulf fights three battles against frightening monsters. Beowulf, the prince of the Geats, was a well known warrior with extreme strength who makes a promise to protect his people under any circumstance. In the poem, his strength is tested, but he uses it to save many people in battles against: Grendel, Grendel 's mother, and a dragon. Before, during, and after each of these battles Beowulf shows many similarities and differences in his actions.
Beowulf is driven by forces that are beyond his control. Just as his lineage contributes to his preeminence, so to do the values of generosity and loyalty common to most Anglo Saxon warriors impact the course of Beowulf’s life. The lineage of a character in Beowulf greatly affects the character’s life expectations, especially for princes, warriors and monsters. The concept of fate (wyrd) manifests itself in Beowulf as the will of God, which Beowulf often credits his success in battle. Beowulf, along with other characters, believes that God will determine the winner in every battle. Because of this belief, Beowulf puts his trust in God and accepts that “fate goes ever as fate must” (455). Fate is a concept that is accepted by many characters
The belief in fate for the Anglo-Saxon’s is everything to them. For example, when Beowulf is about to fight Grendel: “fate intended him to gnaw the bones of his last human supper”(295). So Grendel’s fate has already been determined that he was going to lose and die to Beowulf. Also, this is a biblical allusion referring to Jesus’s last supper indicating that Grendel will perish because it was already decided for him that fate was not on Grendel’s side anymore but on Beowulf’s. For the Anglo-Saxons their belief in fate was one of the most important traits of their culture. When Beowulf is fighting the dragon he can tell that fate has switched its loyalty. For example, in the epic poem Beowulf’s shield fails him from the start which is indicating slightly that fate is no longer on his side; best said by Renee Yewdaev: “A great warrior can fight his best but if fate is not on his side that day, then he will lose.” (Beowulf). With this being said no matter how good of a fighter you are will not matter if fate is not on your side. As seen in the epic poem, when Beowulf’s shield fails completely allowing the dragon to strike and inflict Beowulf with poison; thus ending his life. However, looking back before Beowulf was slain he would fight as if it were his last. As Anglo-Saxon view fate the same way as specified by Rene Yewdaev:”After all, if a man has not already been predetermined to die, the his
The Anglo-Saxon culture ran on the outline of the heroic code. The warrior pledged allegiance to his lord in exchange for protection (“Beowulf” 38). Through acts of strength and bravery in battle, the warrior rose in levels of nobility and received rewards from his lord for his bravery (“Beowulf” 38). Hrothgar, king of the Danes and lord of the Scyldings, builds a mead hall, Heorot, to honor his warriors and give gifts to them (Beowulf 67-73). A savage demon named Grendel attacks the great hall and kills thirty of Hrothgar’s men (Beowulf 122). Beowulf, a young Geat warrior, leaves his homeland to aid King Hrothgar in purging the Danes of Grendel. Beowulf’s act of allegiance extends past the kingdom of his homeland by ‘rescuing’ the Danish people. His actions not only illustrate courage but the principle of allegiance to his family and himself. Upon arriving on the Danish shore, Beowulf states, “We belong by birth to the Geat people / and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac. / I come to proffer / my wholehearted help and counsel” (Beowulf 260-1, 277-8). Beowulf declares his allegiance to his lord and is willing to come to the Danes’ aid. Hrothgar knows that Beowulf is only in Denmark to “follow up a...
Existence as an Angelo-Saxon warrior was rewarding, however at the same instant it was difficult. Warlords had a number of warriors obliged to serve them. Being a warrior had a worthwhile life, they spent their time shining armor, readying their sword and intimidating the other warriors. Being an Anglo- Saxon warrior was gratifying life because warriors got fame, glory, recognition, and treasure. The younger boys looked up to either their father that was a warrior or another warrior. They idolized these men because they received fame. The idea of jewels, clashing of metal hitting your foe painted great images in Angelo- Saxon boys. In their culture fame is the most important thing you can have. By reading Beowulf I realized that loyalty is sometimes more important to them than their religion.
“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.
On the surface, the poem Beowulf seems to be a simple tale of a brave hero who triumphs over three monsters and who engages in several other battles in order to preserve what is just and right. A more thorough reading, however, reveals that the epic poem is filled with events that symbolize historical and social conditions that prevailed during the European reign of the Scandinavians in the seventh century to around the ninth century, following the Danish invasion of England (Sisson 1996).