Epic Poem, Beowulf - Women in Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Society
opinion Essay
965 words
Women in Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon Society
Beowulf, one of the most translated and reproduced epics of all time, is literature that concerns characters. While Beowulf himself is the obvious hero of this Anglo-Saxon epic, many companions and fellow travelers are mentioned throughout the text. Some of these secondary characters are almost as noble and courageous as Beowulf himself, while others are lowly cowards. Be what they may, all are captured in this timeless tale of adventure. Women, however, are rarely mentioned in Beowulf. This is because of the context of an Anglo-Saxon society with rigid beliefs and customs. Even though there is very little mention of women in Beowulf (and any other document of the time period), it is possible to gain an understanding of the position of women in an Anglo-Saxon society.
Both Wealhtheow, Hrothgar's queen, and Hygd, Hygelac's queen, apparently
held power in their courts. Wealhtheow's actions in rewarding Beowulf after
his battles show the queen's role and position as hostess. She awards him
"two arm ornaments, mail, rings" and a be...
... middle of paper ...
...men in that society, though it may have little tangible
impact on today's life, seems to imply that it is not entirely true that the
Anglo-Saxons restricted the freedom of women in favor of a purely
male-oriented, hero-worshiping society.
Works Cited
Beowulf and Other Old English Poems. Trans. Constance B. Hieatt. New York; Odyssey Press, 1967.
Gies, Frances and Joseph. Marriage and Family in the Middle Ages. New York; Harper and Row, 1987.
Page, R.I. Life in Anglo-Saxon England. New York; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1970.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how beowulf, one of the most translated and reproduced epics of all time, is literature that concerns characters.
- Opines that the cup-bearing, perhaps as a sign that she is of age to take on the challenge.
- Opines that bede is so well-known for her wisdom that she says of her that "not only ordinary"
- Argues that impact on today's life, seems to imply that it is not entirely true that the impact isn't completely true.
- Opines that the marriage agreement was in effect earlier, even if it was not spelled out in law.
- Explains beowulf and other old english poems by constance b. hieatt. gies, frances and joseph.
Related
- analytical
- argumentative
- Anglo-Saxon Women In Beowulfanalytical essayAnglo-Saxon women are objects who are gifts to generate a fragile peace. Bloody combat between men attempting to earn fame embodies the Anglo-Saxon era. But does history include women? No, in fact, most women in the epic poem Beowulf are unworthy of even a name. Men trap women as objects; those who rebel become infamous monsters in society’s eyes. Because Anglo-Saxon men view women as objects, they are unable to control any aspect of their lives--no matter if she is royalty or the lowest of all mothers.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that anglo-saxon women are objects who are gifts to generate a fragile peace.
- Analyzes how men ignore royal women's orders and desires, resulting in women being powerless regardless of social status.
- Analyzes how thryth, a disgraced princess, orders multiple male deaths because they looked at her face, and is exiled from the community.
- Analyzes how grendel's mother inspires minimal fear for her gender, and objects are not to be feared. anglo-saxon men enact revenge even if the guilty paid their wergild.
- Explains that anglo-saxon women live in a shadow men force her to dwell within. royal women cannot even leave the darkness they are confined to. even women's greatest accomplishment, motherhood, is easy to steal from their hands.
1115 wordsRead More - Women in Beowulf and Arthurian Legendanalytical essayWomen in Beowulf and Arthurian Legend A common theme in the stories we have read is that glory, happiness, and success come in cycles (this theme is commonly represented as "the wheel of fortune"). This theme is present in the Arthurian tales, as well as in Beowulf. Each story tells a tale (or part of a tale) of a rise to glory, and the proceeding fall to disarray.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that women in beowulf and arthurian legend have a common theme that glory, happiness, and success come in cycles. the men always were the kings and warriors, but the women played different roles.
- Explains that the women of beowulf were used to bind up peace, whereas those of arthurian legend tended to disturb the peace and cause strife.
- Explains that in beowulf, there are two main categories of women. hildeburh and freawaru were bound by arranged marriages.
- Compares the women in beowulf with those present in arthurian legend. wealtheow, the queen of the geats, and thyrth were both kind and generous.
- Opines that guinevere was present in most of arthur's knights' stories, but she is most often described as unfaithful to her husband. in the story of lanval, she accused him of trying to seduce her.
- Analyzes how lanval's mysterious lover, guinevere, robbed the round table of one of its knights. the lady in sir gawain and the green knight purposefully tried to disprove his honor.
- Compares how hildeburh and freawaru, present in beowulf, were married to people in other countries, and the conflicts that arose after their marriages were not directly related to their decisions.
- Analyzes how morgan le fay and beowulf displayed an irrational hatred for those around them. the character type of the generous queens in arthurian stories does not seem to be mimicked.
- Analyzes how the metaphorical wheel of fortune played an important role in every story. wealtheow, the queen of the geats, and queen thyrth, lanval's lover, guinevere and morgan le fay all did things the way they wanted to.
1281 wordsRead More - Beowulf Gender Rolesanalytical essayEven though Beowulf mainly focuses on the heroic acts of males, female figures contribute largely to the story. They have an essential place in the poem even though the common belief is that the females are believed to be very passive and submissive. This misconception of the female characters is based on the belief that their roles as noble women, monsters, or peace-weavers are not as important as the roles of the men. It is important to realize that the expectations of the time were much different then they are today. While each gender was “equal”, they were deemed suitable for certain roles within their society. Typically men were looked on for their physical prowess while women were the focus of fertility. This does not mean that women
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how beowulf focuses on the heroic acts of males, but female figures contribute largely to the story, even though the common belief is that the females are passive and submissive.
- Analyzes how wealhtheow asserts her power in the hall by passing the mead cup to the king and warriors.
- Analyzes how wealtheow's role as the gift-giver makes her important because she gets to decide beowulf’s reward for killing grendel.
- Explains that hildeburh and freawaru, the pace-weavers, were married off to a man in an enemy tribe to create an alliance between the two families. without them, fighting and death would settle feuds.
- Analyzes how grendel's mother is another example of a powerful woman in beowulf. she relies on physical violence rather than words or marriage to get what she wants.
- Analyzes how grendel's mother is portrayed in a feminine way. her monstrous abilities enable her to get revenge, but her female identity does not prove to be an advantage or disadvantage.
- Opines that the way women are portrayed in beowulf is surprisingly favorable and not sexist as i would have originally thought. they are not insignificant, weak, or passive.
994 wordsRead More - Gender Roles In Beowulfargumentative essayGender Roles In the article, “The Women of Beowulf: Power and Duty in Anglo-Saxon Society” Robert Harris states, “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals. We should stop defining each other by what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are.” Throughout history, men and women have been given certain standards on how they should act and behave on a day to day basis. However, in the epic Beowulf, there are many examples of gender roles exposed through certain jobs, activities and everyday task.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that it is time to see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals. in the epic beowulf, there are many examples of gender roles exposed through certain jobs, activities and everyday tasks.
- Explains that gender roles have continuously caused problems throughout history dating back to the year of 500 c.e.
- Explains that the peace-weaver is a climatic role played by the women throughout the epic of beowulf.
- Explains that a hostess is one of the most honorable and powerful roles for women in beowulf.
- Analyzes how the female monster in beowulf illustrates the preceding behaviors. grendel's mother uses physical force and violence to solve conflicts rather than discussing the issues in a proper way.
- Concludes that beowulf displays numerous examples of gender roles and how they relate to men and women. gender roles have had a great impact on society during the dark ages as well as pieces of literature.
710 wordsRead More - Women's Roles In Beowulf Research Paperanalytical essayThroughout the history of literature women were never the lead role. Sometimes the women could be playing central character no matter how close they were to the male character. In Beowulf the women are often overlooked because of the male heroism. There are three major women’s roles in Beowulf, the hostess, the peacemaker, and the monster.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that in beowulf the women are often overlooked because of the male heroism. the hostess, the peacemaker, and the monster are the three major roles in the novel.
- Analyzes how the hostess, queen wealhtheow, serves the men according to their status by the cup of mead. she is responsible for upholding the social customs of her country.
- Explains hildeburh, the danish princess, was a gift from the danes to the jutes in hopes to bring peace between the countries and establish an alliance.
- Analyzes how grendel's mother embodies masculine energy and counteracts the social expectations of a woman in society.
409 wordsRead More - Women In Beowulfanalytical essayWith any great society, there is a strong and invincible structure supporting it. This structure is made up of various factors and variables that when added up together equal something much grander than ever imagined. No matter how microscopic the part is presumed to be, anything can drastically alter the course of time and the people involved. One example of this is the Anglo-Saxon society that is ever present in the literary work Beowulf. Throughout the epic the strong sense of community and brotherhood are present; yet, one very important aspect of their world is swept under the rug and undermined. This would be, of course, the favorable effect women have in the society and how their roles, although presumed by many as minute and insignificant,
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the anglo-saxon society of beowulf is swept under the rug and undermined by the positive effect women have on the society.
- Analyzes how the women of beowulf exhibit their vital role in society and their positive impact on society with their words.
- Analyzes how wealtheow demonstrates another important trait of women when she reminds her husband of his possessions and his offspring. hrothgar is too overwhelmed with emotion, and perhaps even mead, to think rationally.
- Analyzes how the women of beowulf show their value and the positive impact they make in anglo-saxon society with their attire.
- Concludes that the women of beowulf have undeniably affected the society they live in. treaties made in the hopes of peace would be mere concepts used of in legends.
- Analyzes how the women of beowulf establish their crucial role and the constructive impact they make in society with their actions.
1479 wordsRead More - Female Characters In Beowulfanalytical essayAll through the historical backdrop of writing, female characters are frequently side characters that don't get much acknowledgment from readers. Male roles are what we see most and what we read about. In the epic of “Beowulf”, we see the action between Beowulf and three monsters to save Heorot. We see the heroism and the male comitatus of this warrior and king. However, the women in this epic are highly overlooked. Three noteworthy women assume essential parts all through the epic: Wealhtheow, Hildeurh, and Grendel’s mother. These women fascinate, bring peace, and renounce societal desires of the female sexual role, either straightforwardly, or in a roundabout way. The epic of “Beowulf” represents three notable parts for the ladies in the society: the queen, the peace-weaver, and the monster.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how female characters are often side characters that don't get much acknowledgment from readers. in the epic of "beowulf", women assume essential parts in the society: the queen, the peace-weaver, and the monster.
- Analyzes the role of the queen in anglo-saxon society. they are the hostess in the mead hall, play a role in diplomacy, and serve and support the king in any aspect.
- Analyzes how the helming woman went on her rounds, queenly and dignified, decked out in rings, offering the goblet to all ranks, treating the household and the assembled troop, until it was beowulf’s turn to take it from her hand.
- Analyzes how wealhtheow proves to be an extraordinary queen in every way possible and holds political force in the hall. she is certain that the king will comply with these social traditions.
- Analyzes how hildeburh, the strongest peace-weaver in the epic, unites two enemies in death, exemplifying how she wants to join the opposing forces, regardless of their alliances.
- Analyzes how grendel's mother is considered to be a monster because she is out of the norm. her instincts when she dies, are what any mother would do.
- Describes how the prince of war-geats, warming to this fight with grendel's mother, gripped her shoulder and laid about him in a battle frenzy.
- Explains that she is an outcast of the sort, and because she does not fulfill the female duties of an anglo-saxon woman, is considered a monster.
- Concludes that the women of the epic "beowulf" have many duties to fufill. they are prime examples of a queen, peace-weaver, and monster.
1143 wordsRead More - Beowulf's Heroism - Virtue or Flaw?analytical essayNiles, John D, Beowulf: The Poem and Its Tradition. (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1983).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes beowulf's heroism against the dragon and the grendelkin as a counterpoint to the inexorable violence of the anglo-saxon world.
- Analyzes how the juxtaposition of heroic triumph and human sorrow casts a shadow over beowulf's heroic achievements.
- Analyzes the negative view of beowulf's heroism, as first pronounced by john lyerle in 1965, by postulating a causal relationship between the two.
- Analyzes how a man of magnificence, whose understandable, almost inevitable pride commits him to individual, heroic action and leads to national calamity by leaving his race without mature leadership.
- Analyzes the fatal contradiction at the core of heroic society: the hero follows a code that exalts indomitable will and valour in the individual, but society requires kings who act for the common good, not for his own glory.
- Analyzes leyerle's argument that the geats' downfall is a consequence of the lack of heroic qualities among the next generation of geatish leaders.
- Analyzes how niles and leyerle are too narrowly concerned with apportioning blame for the geats' downfall. the world of beowulf is rife with the conflicts and feuds of men, which simmer at the edges of the poem.
- Analyzes how beowulf's heroic stature arises from his ability to put a halt to the violence of the monsters.
- Analyzes how the juxtaposition of beowulf's victories over the monsters and impending human violence is a motif that runs throughout the poem.
- Explains that the poem's events take place in a scandinavia of "days gone by", but the feuding and violence it depicts were contemporary realities for the anglo-saxons.
- Analyzes the juxtaposition of heroic triumph and mortal despair at the end of beowulf's poem.
- Explains halsall, guy, "violence and society in the early medieval west: an introductory survey."
- Explains heaney, seamus, beowulf: a verse translation, ed. daniel donoghue, norton critical edition, 2002.
- Cites murtagh, alfred, "absent beowulf." the heroic age, no. 11 (may 2008).
- Explains niles, john d., beowulf: the poem and its tradition.
1771 wordsRead More - The Women's Role In Beowulfanalytical essayThe queens role in the epic Beowulf is to establish dominance among men. Queen Wealhtheow is a powerful charter that uses he position to enforce a social policy. When Beowulf arrives to save the Danes they feast at Heorot the mead hall. The feast was thrown to honor Beowulf’ where the people looked to his words for comfort and bond. During the feast the queen enters and establishes herself as a powerful entity within the country. She takes the mead glass and serves the wine in an order that is not only an obvious nod to the hierarchy in the Hall but also a enforcement of her authority to carry out her country’s customs. “observing the courtesy’s, adorned in her gold, she graciously saluted the men in the hall, then handed the cup to Hrothgar(king),
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the queen's role in the epic beowulf is to establish dominance among men.
181 wordsRead More - The Wife Of Bath Women Analysisanalytical essayThe struggle for women equality is not a new one, and works of literature from different times in history can be used to show the differences and similarities between women’s rights then and now. In “Beowulf” there are not many female characters, the ones who are mentioned however, give plenty of insight on the kind of lives women led. One of the women
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the stories "beowulf" and "the wife of bath" provide examples of the treatment of women during the times they were written in.
289 wordsRead More