Conqueror
Beowulf, an old poem, translated and written in English accomplishes the task of generating a worldly and other-worldly in aspect in relation to man and what is led to be the Christian God. The main character, Beowulf, put forth worldly and transcendent motives in battling the beast known as the dragon. The motives in which he exhibited were the need to be a conqueror and defeat his opponents by simultaneously gaining riches. The other motive was to do the just thing by protecting people and acting as a savior who would destroy the evil that reigned down fire upon his town.
Continuing, the dragon in reference to the poem is the representation of several factors in regard to a religious structure. The poem suggest that the dragon was the guardian of an immense underground treasure for a lengthy amount of time for three centuries according to the text. The dragon could easily serve as a representation of the devil and the den in which it resides in could be taken into perspective as Hell. These attributes could be in regard to the dragon because the devil is usually perceived as an evil demon who resides in Hell and Hell is associated with fire. Lines 2278 -2283 “For three centuries, this scourge of the people had
…show more content…
There is the motive of doing God’s will, and ridding the world of its main evil and there is also the motive of being immortalized for the battles and accomplishments he’s successfully completed. These motives reinforce one another because Beowulf believed he was doing the will of God by ridding the word of evil. Also he was protecting his people as well and gaining favor over those who would eventually hear his great battles. With the abundance of glory, fame and titles earned from completing battle and war storied, Beowulf was warped in an unmistaken boast of pride, also a deadly
Beowulf was a strong young man who was able to defeat a terrible monster known as Grendel. During this era in human history young men were expected to be far more durable and adequate compared to those of today. Those young men commonly had the dream of becoming king, defeating strong monsters, go on adventures, or even die a hero. All of which Beowulf managed to do making him a perfect role model for the young men at the time. The story of Beowulf truly captured all of the dreams of young men at the time and it was a perfect story for the time. Although times changed the dreams of the people never died, they were just advanced, edited and remade into new stories, better stories for better
As Beowulf slayed the Water Witch after Grendel, citizens of Danes never bothered to think about what they would have done if it was their son who has been killed. Through this scene, a typical reader, including myself, would see Beowulf as a hero as well as a leader from a glance. However, because Hrothgar, the king of Danes who requested Beowulf's assistance, is the individual who informed and convinced Grendel as a threat, he is the leader of his Danish environment. Shunned from society, Grendel, in the other hand was not, for all his life, he only lived and interacted with his mother, the Water Witch. From this, I concluded that the poem Beowulf is written in the perspective the victors of this event, Hrothgar and Beowulf, since at the
Beowulf is a great tale but as a person, he isn’t that all that people make him out to be. In his older years his need for attention and glory ended up with the death of him. He fought the dragon alone and in return, ended up killing the dragon, but also sacrificed himself. Even as he died he asked for one thing, his people to build him a memorial near the sea so everyone could see the person that he was. His need for attention, lack of planning, and need for glory caused him to be just a prideful man, not a
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 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.
...fend off death. The spirit of warriors grew its roots deep into his soul. His values of honor and valor would not let him die a peaceful death; no he would die in battle. Beowulf knew he would die in the midst of battle the day he chose to be a warrior. To die in battle was the greatest honor that he could
In Beowulf the concept that good and evil are constantly contending is one of the most central themes to the epic. The poet makes it expressly evident that good and evil cannot exist without the other, for there would be no way of determining which was which. The religious undertone in Beowulf that God is intervening on the side of good is apparent in many of the battles fought, allowing Beowulf to prevail where someone evil could not have. Literature has questioned, for centuries, why God would have created a creature such as Satan to cause and teach evil, and what purpose He had for human life. Beowulf stretches itself to answer this question by showing that good cannot be known without a present evil.
The poem Beowulf is a renowned story that displays many different surroundings and religious beliefs. Some may believe the story of Beowulf portrays pagan beliefs or customs and others believe that the poem is more in agreement with Christian ethnicity. The author of Beowulf uses both Christian and pagan elements in the poem to define the heroic warrior, Beowulf, and the evil dragons. After reading Beowulf the author clearly shows how Beowulf is a man who is filled with Christian customs and is willing to die and defend the world against evil using the help of God.
Pride manifests itself into many different forms and will sometimes overshadow a person 's good judgement, in turn affecting their actions. It is truly the cause for the rise and fall of men for centuries and thus has become one of the greatest concepts to be addressed in British literature. Throughout the literary works studied this semester, some form of pride has always presented itself as a major theme.
Beowulf has multiple archetype that can be defined as figures, character types, settings, and story patterns that are universally shared by people across cultures. Three that stick out the most are character archetypes, symbolic archetypes, and situational archetypes. The reason these stick out the most to me is because Beowulf goes on an adventure driven by his desire to help. Also Beowulf is the main hero of the novel and is constantly saving the day. Cause Beowulf is depicted as a hero it is easy to say that this show character archetypes. Him fighting the Grendel, Grendel’s Mother and the Dragon can be seen as symbolic and situational archetypes.
Beowulf’s death at the end of the book took me by surprise. Even though he foreshadowed his own death in multiple ways, I never expected him to die. The entire beginning of the book was about fate and how heroes passed on their legacy, but I was not anticipating such a sudden death. However, he died as any hero would want, defending his people's honor and receiving much fame and glory.
The oldest epic poem of the Anglo-Saxon period is the tale of good and evil. The crusade of heaven and hell, the bloody war that waged between our hero Beowulf and the infamous Grendel and his mother. But there seem to be two sides to this heroic and yet tragic story of these troubled and arrogant souls.
Before a time of light, people usually go through a time of darkness and struggle until they persevere through it. The struggles and darkness that Beowulf goes through allow him to prove what he is made of. In Beowulf, through the hero's victorious battles, the author paints a detailed distinction between light and dark. The story heavily depicts light and dark imagery, through the battles of good and evil, in which light ends up victorious.
The epic poem Beowulf is a story of heroes and monsters, good and evil. The poem tells about the accomplishments and deeds of a legendary Geatish hero who first rids the Danish kingdom of Hrothgar of two demonic monsters: Grendel and Grendel's mother. Later in the story, Beowulf meets a dragon, kills it with the help of Wiglaf, but dies of wounds.
to have been composed between 700 and 750. "No one knows who composed Beowulf ,