Analytical Essay On Beowulf

609 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Beowulf as a hero

Dat To
The sins of human on “Beowulf”
“Beowulf” is an adventurous of a hero name Beowulf, who fights monsters to protect his kin and land. The battle between Beowulf and three ferocious monsters represent the fight between human and their sins. All three enraged and vicious monsters symbolize for different sins such as, jealousy, retribution, greed and destruction.
Grendel, a descendant of Cain, personifies an especially frightening image of an outcast and loner of Herot society. He is banished to the swamplands, which is described as “in a hell not hell but earth” and longs for an acceptance of mankind; he is jealous of the society that he cannot be a part of (103-104). Grendel is the worst of two natures, half human, half beasts, resentful, savage, vengeful, cruel and cannibalistic. Grendel, the ogre, himself can never be blessed …show more content…

He faces his ultimate test of his courage when facing the dragon, a monster more frightening and more fearsome. The dragon, an image of the ultimate evil, death itself, is a threat to Beowulf when he gets old and loses all of his power. Beowulf must stand up and defend his people, though he knows his heart is heavy with “knowledge of old age” (2420-2421). The last battle is a tragedy for Beowulf when he no longer a naïve warrior nor believes in the power of his hands. Beowulf slays the dragon and dies eventually, leaving a hero’s exemplar for people to follow. The last battle also represents the last struggle each person must face – the inevitable reality of death.
The monsters which Beowulf faces are repulsiveness and violence. Each one has different physical strength and disgusting features on them.

Work Cited
"Beowulf." Grendel. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.
Effinger, Sandra. "Beowulf Sample Essay." Beowulf Sample Essay. N.p., 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2015.
Kemp, Emily. "Beowulf-Monsters Essay." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept.

Show More
Related

  • Grendel: The Outcast

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Print.

    Read More

  • Hrothgar's Pride In Beowulf

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    In literature, monsters are often used to symbolize characteristics in humans. In the poem Beowulf, monsters are used to symbolize destructive behavior in humans. In the case of Hrothgar and Beowulf, their pride causes them to become selfish. Pride often makes people lose focus of their priorities and that can make their selfishness get out of control, and lead to destructive behavior.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Essay On Beowulf

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do people ever talk about superheroes, and monsters? Especially people into comic books and children. Every child, even adults, have a superhero they look up to, or a role model they want to grow up to be like. Superheroes are everywhere from movies to books. Children even sit in their room playing with toy superheroes, hoping one day they can be just like them. Even hundreds of thousands of years ago there were superheroes! A long time ago in the Anglo-Saxon Period there was a brave and loyal hero! His name was Beowulf, and everyone looked up to him. This hero definitely brought peace to many people, and if it wasn’t for the mighty hero Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons would have been terrorized forever. Therefore, the times were hard before Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon warriors always stood for three values, and the time was changed without monsters.

    Read More

  • The Epic Of Grendel's Metaphamental Monsters In Beowulf

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sir Gawain vs Beowulf

    2062 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ash between good and evil. Beowulf is a representation of a Godly figure, possibly Christ, whereas his enemies represent figures of darkness, possibly Satan. Due to his battle with Grendel, Beowulf realises the true abilities of Gods power and develops into a more Saint like character who is more concerned with giving help rather than Gaining fame. He seeks Gods guidance, but looks to pagan ideals when he deems so. Although he never completely takes complete advantage of Gods power, he does earn the fame and glory that he fought bravely for.

    Read More

  • A Summary of Beowulf

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Beowulf A Hero Essay

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    A hero is someone who is admired for their courage and bravery, as well as their noble accomplishments. They are respected by almost everyone, due to their kindness and charitable mindset, that drives them to fight for the good of others. Beowulf is the perfect representation of a hero, based on multiple characteristics that he displays throughout the novel. Along with his characteristics, Beowulf also takes on many “hero like” challenges and tasks. In the novel, Beowulf is praised and admired throughout the kingdom for his bravery, humility, and selflessness.

    Read More

  • Beowulf is a Genuine Hero

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Fear is a painful emotion excited by the expectation of evil. In “Beowulf”, translated by Charles W. Kennedy, fear is not an option, or emotion, nor does it even exist for the hero. The hero, Beowulf, is also given strength equivalent to thirty men. These things are demonstrated in the tale of the most celebrated hero of Anglo-Saxon times, Beowulf. A man, of which people loved and respected throughout the entire region where he lived. He made the people feel that they had someone to rely on through times in which failure seemed unavoidable. Beowulf, from the epic poem “Beowulf”, is an extremely courageous hero and confronts his many difficult battles without fear.

    Read More

  • How Literature Mirrors the Era

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is one of the oldest known literary records of the beginnings of the English language. Beowulf is about a warrior who engages in a quest to help King Rothgar defeat a monster named Grendel. Throughout the whole story Beowulf is on a mission to destroy Grendel, and Grendel is out to murder and destroy life. In the end Beowulf is a hero and all rejoice. This reflects the Anglo-Saxon era in that there is a war between Grendel and Beowulf which end in death, also Grendel is a monster who is man eating which has to do with the violence and blood during this time.

    Read More

  • Hrothgar's Pride In Beowulf

    486 Words  | 1 Pages

    In literature, monsters are often used to symbolize characteristics in humans. In the poem Beowulf, monsters are used to symbolize destructive behavior in humans. In the case of Hrothgar and Beowulf, their pride causes them to become selfish. Pride often makes people lose focus of their priorities and that can make their selfishness get out of control, and lead to destructive behavior.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Grendel And Beowulf

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    The epic poem Beowulf is an amazing story about heroism, bravery, and courage of man named Beowulf who rids a town of a monster who has been killing its people for over twelve years. While the author of this poem is unknown, he does an amazing job providing the reader with vivid details and an overall good story of the journey and life of Beowulf whom fights three monster to save the lives of others. The first monster Beowulf fights is Grendel, Grendel is monster who kills just to make others unhappy. While reading the story of the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, the reader learns of many similarities and differences between the two characters.

    Read More

  • Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Symbolism

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anglo Saxon’s history is well known for their loyalty, courage and bravery. Beowulf our protagonist is symbolized as a hero, who represents the Anglo Saxons at the time. Beowulf earns his fame and respect through battling creatures nobody else would want to face. These creatures symbolize the evil that lurks beyond the dark. Beowulf’s intense battle with these creatures’ symbolizes the epic battle of good versus evil. In the end good triumphs over evil but one cannot avoid death. Beowulf’s death can be symbolized as the death of the Anglo Saxons. Beowulf’s battle through the poem reflects the kind of culture that the Anglo Saxons had. The youth of a warrior to his maturity then the last fight which results in death. Beowulf wanted to be remembered and be told in stories that are passed on from generation to generation after his death. These story tellers relate to the Anglo Saxons time when they told stories about their great heroes.

    Read More

  • Beowulf narrative essay

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Grendel and the Dragon in Beowulf

    1277 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beowulf’s life was truly epic struggle. The monsters he battled made it so. Grendel and the dragon, capable of crushing men physically, stood for evils that could just as easily crush men in spirit. These two beasts represented society’s greatest fears, as well as detriments, and Beowulf fearlessly took them on. Grendel taught the hero a valuable lesson about maintaining one’s humanity in a world dominated by the dogs of war. The dragon, showed Beowulf’s mortality, his imperfection, but the hero eradicates it nonetheless, saving his people from not only physical threat, but sin. Bringing in such spiritual and moral dimensions, these two beasts certainly give the story of Beowulf depth.

    Read More

  • Christianity & Paganism in Beowulf

    474 Words  | 1 Pages

    The last battle in Beowulf was against the fierce dragon that could also be saw as the power of Satan. During this battle Beowulf chooses to use a weapon because of the dragon’s deadly venom, it would only be fair. It was a hard fight but Beowulf wasn’t capable of defeating the dragon. This battle could be compared to the will of Christ, in which Christ gave his life for the people, while Beowulf did the same. The dragon now represents the evil a man must fight in order to preserve the good in life. Although Beowulf was defeated, it was not shamelessly, just like Christ he saved the people. Beowulf had a good heart but was sometimes overturned by the bad influences in life. He represents the fact that everyone makes mistakes, you can’t be perfect all the time, everyone’s bound to lose.

    Read More

More about Analytical Essay On Beowulf

Open Document