Beowulf is brimming with a variety of symbols, motifs, and themes. When examined through a through an analytical lens, it is obvious that the poem uses simplicity to reveal much deeper meaning. Beowulf’s slaying of monsters is not transparent, on the contrary, the majority of the text’s substance is found within the encounters that Beowulf has with these creatures. The hero’s encounter with the dragon is an allusion to the sin of greed, while his battles against the monsters in general show his heroic nature. In addition, the events in the story show Beowulf’s internal struggle of simultaneously being a hero and a king and the importance of self-reliance. Beowulf’s combat against the various monsters in the text show his true heroic nature, …show more content…
Throughout the text, there are many examples of a moment in which a character has to rely on themselves and cannot employ the help of others. This theme is illustrated in the constant failure of swords in the poem. Often, when Beowulf uses a sword it fails him, in other situations he chooses to not use a sword at all. Before his fight with Grendel Beowulf announces “I count myself no less active in battle…I will not send [Grendel] to sleep with my sword…this night, [we] / shall forego the use of weapons” (90-91). Beowulf chooses to not use weapons as a showing of pride, he wants to fight Grendel without a perceived advantage, the most important aspect of this battle for Beowulf is pride. Having the egotistical nature of a hero, Beowulf is confident in his abilities and believes he will easily emerge victorious. As a result, he would like to gain as much fame from defeating Grendel as possible and chooses to face him in hand to hand combat. Even when Beowulf entrusts a weapon it fails him, in the fight with Grendel’s mother Beowulf “whirled his blade, / swung his arm with all his strength… his gleaming blade could not bite into her flesh” (112). Beowulf was battling with Hrunting, a sword said to have never failed in battle until that point. After the hero realizes his blade is useless, he decides to “[trust] in his own strength” (112). The emphasis on self-reliance becomes obvious in the word “trust”, one should not have to rely on outside forces to face their challenges. It is important to have the strength to overcome obstacles alone, even when Beowulf finds a new sword among the creature’s horde of treasure and decapitates Grendel’s mother, the sword melts at the touch of her blood. If Beowulf did not have the strength to slay her with one strike, the second sword would have been rendered useless and Beowulf could easily have met his demise. Beowulf his victorious by his strength and
In Beowulf, the essence left behind by a true hero is extremely important. In epics such as this one, leaders tend to have the determination and boldness of a hero. On the other hand, the main character, Beowulf, does not display these certain traits. In this heroic poem, respect and trust come naturally. Honor and integrity are present throughout the poem.
In Tolkien’s lecture, “Beowulf: The monsters and the Critics,” he argues that Beowulf has been over analyzed for its historical content, and it is not being studied as a piece of art as it should be. He discusses what he perceives the poet of Beowulf intended to do, and why he wrote the poem the way he did. Tolkien’s main proposition, “it was plainly only in the consideration of Beowulf as a poem, with an inherent poetic significance, that any view or conviction can be reached or steadily held” (Tolkien). He evaluates why the author centers the monsters throughout the entire poem, why the poem has a non-harmonic structure, why and how the author fusses together Christianity and Paganism, and how the author uses time to make his fictional poem seem real. He also discusses the overall theme of Beowulf and other assumptions of the text. To support his viewpoints, Tolkien uses quotations and examples from the poem, quotations from other critics, and compares Beowulf to other works of art. Tolkien discusses several statements in interpreting Beowulf as a poem.
In the length of the poem, Beowulf goes from abandoned child to gallant warrior to King. This transformation, expressed in the tone and content of the poem, shows the importance of the relationship between lord and thane and expresses the ultimate value of that connection. From the difference in battle scenes to Beowulf’s speeches, it is clear that he has gone from a somewhat self-loving hero to a selfless king. Within this change he also goes from serving a lord to becoming a lord, and in that way the poem shows us the importance of both sides of the relationship.
Beowulf is a poem about strength and courage. This is illustrated in the eighth section of the story called “Beowulf and the Dragon.” A slave, a hero and a dragon play a big role in this section. The characters are well developed, as is the setup for the conclusion of the poem.
Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.
Beowulf: The Selfless Hero Beowulf is an epic poem that describes the heroics of a man with superhuman strength and bravery to go with it. The poem starts with a journey across the sea to defeat an enemy that has plagued the land of Herot for twelve years. The poem ends with Beowulf’s final deed of defeating a dragon that was plaguing his own land, but with the defeat of the dragon also comes the death of Beowulf. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a poem of bravery by one of King Arthur’s knights. Sir Gawain takes up the deed of playing a Christmas game with the challenging Green Knight.
Next, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel with his bare hands. He could have easily obtained some kind of weapon to fight with. Beowulf was the first warrior ever to have enough sheer bravery to go up against such a monster with neither help nor weapon or shield to aid him. he was a warrior that believed somewhat in fate and in God. Believing that God made the decisions and was in control, Beowulf trusted that his life was in good hands. Defeating Grendel with his bare hands, Beowulf not only proved his bravery but also his loyalty.
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
The epic poem, Beowulf, coming from the years of 600 to 700 AD has been translated in many different styles. In these excerpts by Burton Raffel and Lucien Dean Pearson, provides a clear understanding of this epic poem. Reading the two different translations, Raffel tends to provide the reader with a better understanding of the evil nature of Grendel and the heroic characteristics of Beowulf.
Back and forth from building to building Spider Man is swinging chasing Hobgoblin they’re going from street to street messing up window panes. Spider Man snatches Hobgoblin and takes him to the ground. Strength. Bravery. Selflessness. Spider Man has a lot of the same qualities as the heros from the Anglo-Saxon time period. Like Beowulf he has the same exact heroistic qualities to be a hero. Beowulf shows the characteristic qualities of an Anglo-Saxon hero by being selfless, brave and being really strong.
Beowulf is the longest British poem about an ancient hero. Beowulf is more interesting than what expect, especially towards the end. Beowulf sacrifice himself for redemption, it makes the people sad a bit during the fight with dragon. The story basically reflect that although human being can be seduce easily, but they can also have the courage to overcome and be a responsible person. In “Beowulf”, author use the element of theme, characterization and conflict to described this King’s psychological changes.
direction is like trying to hit a cloud with a bow and arrow. A hero is also
Beowulf is an epic poem that, above all, gives the reader an idea of a time long past; a time when the most important values were courage and integrity. The only factors that could bestow shower fame upon a person were heroic deeds and family lineage. Beowulf, as the paradigm of pagan heroes, exhibited his desire to amass fame and fortune; the only way to do so was to avenge the death of others. This theme of retribution that is ever present throughout the poem seems to color the identities of its characters.
The most supporting quote from the epic poem Beowulf, is on page 48, lines 264-269. Beowulf says, “My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were too afraid to, if I hid behind some broad linden shield: my hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster.” It is in this moment that Beowulf shows that he doesn’t want Higlac’s respect for him to drop or be any less. He would rather fight by hand than to let someone, especially the lord think any less of him or lose any respect. To Beowulf, it seems that respect from not only highly respected people, but the common people as well, means a lot to him. He earned the respect that he has and to do something to make him seem like a weaker or lesser person is not an option for him. Although Beowulf uses armor and weapons to fight other monsters, this does not lower anyone’s thoughts for him. This is due to the fact that both Grendel’s mother and the dragon are stronger, more difficult battles to face and the people don’t want to see him fail. Simply by being able to defeat these monsters and keep the Dane’s safe earns their respect for him. Although Beowulf may not have known it, he was extremely respected, even in death. So much that they buried him with the silvers, jewels and treasures that were taken once he killed the dragon. It’s quite clear that Beowulf was respected throughout
The epic poem Beowulf centers around the hero. From the character of Beowulf, the reader can see the importance of community, orality, and heroism. Beowulf, as a result, is an icon of his ancient Germanic heritage. He is mimetic of the world around him. In addition, he reflects the past?s tradition of heroes; he follows in Shield and Sigemund?s footsteps, mirroring their characteristics and actions. Thus, when Beowulf passes on, both the ancient world and the new world collapse.