Response to Literary Criticism In Tolkien’s lecture, “Beowulf: The monsters and the Critics,” he argues that Beowulf has been over analyzed for its historical content, and it is not being studied as a piece of art as it should be. He discusses what he perceives the poet of Beowulf intended to do, and why he wrote the poem the way he did. Tolkien’s main proposition, “it was plainly only in the consideration of Beowulf as a poem, with an inherent poetic significance, that any view or conviction can be reached or steadily held” (Tolkien). He evaluates why the author centers the monsters throughout the entire poem, why the poem has a non-harmonic structure, why and how the author fusses together Christianity and Paganism, and how the author uses time to make his fictional poem seem real. He also discusses the overall theme of Beowulf and other assumptions of the text. To support his viewpoints, Tolkien uses quotations and examples from the poem, quotations from other critics, and compares Beowulf to other works of art. Tolkien discusses several statements in interpreting Beowulf as a poem. …show more content…
He explains that Beowulf’s greatest weakness is that he is a man and men are not immortal. The author, according to Tolkien, is “concerned primarily with man on earth… each man and all men, and all their works shall die” (Tolkien). Therefore, all humans must be prepared to meet their end and accept their. I other words, individuals must learn how to die is the lesson that emerges from Beowulf. The reader learns that “defeat is the theme. Triumph over the foes of man’s precarious fortress is over, and we approach slowly and reluctantly the inevitable victory of death” (Tolkien). Even though Beowulf defeats the monsters he encounters and is victorious, he still has to die and nothing can change the fact because it is inevitable. There is nothing any man can do to change that
Frank, Roberta. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
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
Shippey, T.A.. “The World of the Poem.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987..
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
In the past weeks we have read “Beowulf, “by Daniel Donoghue. Beowulf is an old English epic poem which includes three important monsters, Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the Dragon. Each monster had a big part of the epic poem. Grendel was assumed to be killed by Beowulf, until Beowulf showed up at the palace and was told the monster attacking them was Grendel. Once Beowulf finally killed Grendel, his Mother appeared. However, at the very end the most important monster to me was the Dragon. The Dragon is the one that put an end to Beowulf’s life.
You may have heard people say things like“Who needs English class, there 's not much to it, all you can do is read it.” “ Writing is like math, some people are just born with the talent.” There are now innumerable jobs requiring a writing paper off any source to confirm that one is set for the company. If a customer service company were to have unprofessional representatives, the company will lose more than half of its customers. Throughout my educational years, I’ve been assigned many papers; some examples are research papers, lab reports, summary papers, and analyzing papers. During my last year of high school, I was introduced to a new type of writing, named “Analyze with Reflection”. In class, the teacher would hand out articles, to read through; which then followed with by analyzing the summary and reflecting it on everyday life. I understood the assignment very well, maybe because most of the assignments were about
One of the first literary work studied by our class was “Beowulf,” the longest and greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem. The poem is packed full of Christian and Pagan elements that are constantly fighting for the dominant position. In order to understand these thematic elements portrayed throughout “Beowulf,” we must first discover
While the classic battle between good and evil forces is a major theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may question whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars such as Herbert G. Wright claim that “the dragon, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf can have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other” (Wright, 4). However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and believe that there is “something deeply human about the ‘monsters’” (Orchard, 29). While Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts within Beowulf that can also lead a reader to believe that the “monsters” may not be so monstrous after all. In fact, the author of Beowulf represents the “monsters” within the poem with a degree of moral ambivalence. This ambivalence ultimately evokes traces of sympathy in the reader for the plight of these “monster” figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem.
Beowulf is one of the oldest, most renown poems from between the 7th and 10th century. The author is unknown, however, in the 21st century students from all over still read and study this epic poem about a magnanimous man named, Beowulf. Beowulf is a man of unrivaled strength and courage. With great strength and courage in the 7th century comes great rewards and acknowledgments. But, with this famous stature at times comes intense pride and boastfulness. Beowulf exemplifies such pride all throughout his adventures as a great savior. As readers, we begin to ask ourselves whether or not this pride that Beowulf embodies is an asset to him or a tragic flaw. At times within the poem, Beowulf’s pride achieves him astonishing accomplishments, but,
Tolkien, J.R.R.. “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
“Beowulf.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by Greenblatt, Stephen, and Meyer Howard, Abrams, 9th ed., Norton & Company, 2013. pp. 36-106.
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.
His demise was mainly caused by his arrogance and excessive pride in himself. Beowulf states “So now I am come, my lord king, to fight single-handed against this Grendel” (Hinds, Book 1). This illustrates that Beowulf’s ego was so intense that he felt no need for weapons. This is significant because it shows that Beowulf relied on his inhuman strength to battle against the conflicts he endures throughout the graphic novel. His hubris, or excessive pride in himself, played a noteworthy role in the actions he took. From Beowulf’s perspective, the text states “Twas my comrades who put thought in my heart, for they have seen my valorous deeds, how I had conquered the foes of my country and brought the race of giants low and slain monsters both on sea and on land” (Hinds, Book 1). In other words, Beowulf exemplifies his large ego when he boasts about his past achievements. His success earlier in in his life caused for him to believe that he was invincible and indestructible. However, there is a turning point when Beowulf is mortally wounded after his confrontation with a dragon in Book 3. His overconfidence supports him temporarily, until his tragic death at the end of this battle. Ultimately, his hamartia led to his death. Therefore, he is a prime example of a tragic
Answer (2): The story of Beowulf begins with the funeral of the great and loved king Beo, and ended ultimately with the death and funeral of the great and strong king Beowulf. This is not just a coincidence, but it symbolizes how important and meaningful the death of a king is to the Danes. We know this because in lines 36-40 it states “Next to that noble corpse They heaped up treasures, jeweled helmets, Hooked swords and coats of mail, armor carried from the ends of the earth: no ship had ever sailed so brightly fitted,”. We already know how important treasure is to the Danes, so for them to send off their king with so much treasure shows us how important the concept of death and the afterlife is to the Danes. Sadly the story of Beowulf also
Beowulf ‘s stylistic features will be examined in this essay, along with the perspectives of various literary critics.