Beowulf fights the dragon and once again claims that “wyrd [will decree]” the victor (Liuzza 2526). He then says that the fight will bring him “that gold — or grim death” (Liuzzia 2536). These two lines are almost entirely Pagan. Beowulf is saying that fate will, or already has, decided the victor, which is entirely Pagan and takes the result out of the hands of God, and the fact that he is fighting for “gold,” shows that he is once again conforming to the Pagan ideal of the boastful and successful warrior. After Beowulf is mortally wounded, he exclaims that he wished he had a son to pass on his war-gear, but “fate” did not “grant” him any heir (Liuzza 2730-1).
The monks who altered the story taught that the pagan god Wyrd does not exist but merely acts as a capability of God. By getting rid of the main pagan god, the monks show God’s almighty power and his ability to control good and evil and decide right from wrong. All evil beings exist because they battled against God and lost; and for rebel... ... middle of paper ... ...imself to do so. The heroic code states that the more glory a person wins in life, the greater and better afterlife they will have. Beowulf and the dragon die together, and with his last words Beowulf requests a burial within a giant tumulus so his grave can guide sailors from the sea.
In this part of the poem, one can infer that King Hrothgar is man with Christian belief, but only momentarily, as a last attempt, resorted to his old ways. King Hrothgar’s actions are reflective of the Anglo-Saxon period by jumping from one religious idea to another in a short amount of text. During the final battle between the fearsome Dragon and Beowulf, in his dying words, Beowulf thanked God for all that God had given him (Beowulf 816-818), and shortly after while crowning Wiglaf the next king, spoke of how “Fate has swept out race away”(Beowulf
When the battle between Beowulf and the dragon first begins, “[his] hand-picked troop/ broke ranks and ran for their lives” (1129). This is a common archetype that allows the hero to face the antagonist alone, all while having assistance during the journey leading up to the final battle. The author used this to emphasize the Anglo-Saxon belief of fate. Beowulf was supposed to face the dragon alone, thus his comrades had to disappear. The two ways to do this would have been to have Beowulf go alone, which would conflict with the belief of Warrior Culture, or portray his allies as cowards which would also help reinforce the Anglo Saxon values regarding courage.
This shows that Beowulf know that this is his last battle and that he is going to die. Comitatus also dies with him when none of his men come with him beside Wiglaf in the end, who helps him defeat the dragon. Beowulf dies at the end of the battle, signifying the death of comitatus and the renewal of a new leader. In Conclusion, an analysis of the three battles is important because Beowulf’s choice of weapons, behavior of the Thanes, and preparation for and attitude toward battle all emphasize the death of the Anglo-Saxon virtue of comitatus. The decline of comitatus is a very important theme of this epic poem and is displayed throughout the three battles that Beowulf faces.
Even Beowulf knew that his chances of winning this fight were small, but he knew what he had to do. At the end of the fight Beowulf was victorious, the Dragon was dead, but Beowulf suffered an injury from the dragon and also died. Because of Beowulf’s sacrifices the people were finally safe once
Many times in literature authors blend two dissimilar traditions and virtues in order to make up a persons true identity. In the epic poem Beowulf, the Christian allegory is woven with a pagan fable in order to truly represent the characters. The Christian and pagan virtues are successfully synchronized and amalgamate the story as a whole which is displayed by the two main characters, Beowulf and Grendel, through their personal traits. Many Christian elements and values create the disposition of Beowulf. The author of Beowulf creates a character who seen as a Christ- like figure in that he possesses the Christian value of self-sacrifice and assists in the fight against evil.
Wiglaf emphasizes that death is preferable to a life without a lord; without a lord, man is adrift in a hostile world. During Beowulf’s battle with the dragon, the poet tells us that Beowulf is not "undoomed", and after the battle during Wiglaf’s attempt to revive the old Warrioir, the poet reminds us that God not only has the power to preserve heroes in battle, but also to take life from them. He is saying at times, God dispenses victories, and at other times heroes lose their lives. Here, Beowulf loses his life. God allows Beowulf to avenge himself against the dragon and fight the good fight, but we must always remember a key idea of the heroic code: a hero mustfight- even thoughhe knows that he fights against fate.
For instance, just before the initial fight with Grendel, Beowulf boasts that he “shall fulfill that purpose, / prove myself with a proud deed / or meet my death here in the mead-hall” (636-8). With this one-sided look at the hero’s feelings, it is difficult to discern true confidence from the illusion of courage fabricated for the story by Beowulf. His virtue of courageousness could easily fall apart if he does not truly possess it. To explore this concept further, consider the fight with the dragon in the final act of the poem. At this point, Beowulf’s mortality creates the conditions leading up to his death, and he acknowledges it, telling his troops, “This fight is not yours, / nor is it up to any man except me / to prove his strength … I shall win the gold / by my courage, or else mortal combat, / doom of battle, will bear your lord away” (2532-7).
After having his offer accepted, Beowulf pledges allegiance to Hrothgar, swearing that he will fight Grendel to the death for his chief: You will not need to hide my head if death takes me, for he ... ... middle of paper ... ...r and Lancelot. Both comitatus and chivalry are rooted in the idea that service to one’s own glory and one’s own vices will result in eventual ruin. Beowulf, unwilling to have his men fight with him, meets his demise at the hands of a dragon. Lancelot, unable to follow the lofty moral codes set forth by chivalry sets off a chain reaction that forever changes the lives of everyone in Arthur’s kingdom. The bottom line is that service to one’s king or chief results in an exalted life.