Christian Themes And Symbolism In The Song Of Beowulf

Majority of tribes, heritages, countries, or any type of community withholds a story, song, or poem that they all know. For instance, majority of Americans say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the Star Spangled Banner. Lyrical poems and songs are used to symbolize one’s country or community as a whole. This type of symbolism has been carried throughout history and is still in use today. Anglo-Saxons, once inhabitants of the land, sang a lyrical poem called Beowulf. The song’s authors are still unknown to this day, but there is a conspiracy that the song was translated and altered by monks, which is why there is Christian views inserted randomly throughout the poem. The main character of the lyrical poem is Beowulf. Throughout the song of Beowulf, he encounters many outcasts that cause destruction towards others. The outcasts consisted of Grendel, a boorish type of giant, Grendel’s mother, a much larger version of Grendel, a greedy, and a truculent dragon. Each character, outcast, and hero played a special role to create the song’s storyline, showing values and traits looked down upon.

The type of characteristics given to that character made them the outcast they were. The traits were jealousy, vengeance, and greed. Jealous type of people that are concentrated on revenge tend to live unhappy lives, since they are mainly focused on negative aspects. Beowulf did not possess these traits. He was optimistic for others and did not go after innocent people if his comrades were killed. Beowulf was the hero to share his fortunes. Those characteristics made Beowulf the hero he is portrayed to be in the lyrical poem, or the type of person the Anglo-Saxon people were meant to