In the past many writers wrote stores with an underlying message or moral. During the Anglo-Saxon time period, when Beowulf was written, writers used stories to tell people what characteristics they must have to be a commendable person in society. The same idea goes for the time period in which The Canterbury Tales were written, however the authors in that time period wrote more about moral lessons rather than specific characteristics. Beowulf exemplifies courage and loyalty, while The Canterbury Tales show the wickedness of greed and the idea of a allowing a wife to have power in a relationship. One of the biggest ideas in Beowulf is Beowulf’s courage. The writers of this story wanted everyday people, of that time, to be inspired by …show more content…
The most loyal person Beowulf is Wigalf, one of Beowulf’s warriors. While Beowulf is inside a cave attempting of slay a fire breathing dragon, “Wiglaf’s mind was made up; he raised his yellow shield and drew his sword” (Pg. 61) then entered the cave to save Beowulf even if that meant the cost of his own life. The writers again do not expect people to go running into a cave to slay a ferocious beast, but they do want people to aspire to support other and have their back. Along with Wiglaf the Geats as a Nation ae loyal to their courageous leader, Beowulf. “The Geats build the tower, as Beowulf had asked…” (Pg. 66). This shows that as a group the Geats were always loyal to their leaders and the writers longed to see this in real life as well. They wanted people to follow their great leaders and be loyal to them. Not only does Beowulf display underlying morals and lesson but other stories written later in time do as …show more content…
As the tale goes a knight has committed a crime and the queen sends him off to search for the answer to the question; what do women desire most? After struggling for most of the year he meets and old woman who swears to have the answer, “A woman wants self-same sovereignty over her husband as her lover, and master him, he must not be above her.” (Pg. 186). The queen agrees that this answer is correct and spares the knights life. However, now the knight is forced to marry the poor, ugly, vile, old woman. After much discontent the old woman gives the knight an ultimatum, he can either have an old, ugly wife who will do no wrong in the marriage or a beautiful, young wife who may not be loyal to him. After being completely puzzled by the choice he tells the woman to choose, luckily for the knight this was the correct choice to benefit himself. The old woman has “won the mastery” (Pg. 192) over her husband and grants him with a beautiful, young, faithful wife. Chaucer shows his reader that by allowing the wife to make choices in a marriage can benefit the man as well. He wanted to prove the point that the man does not have to be completely in charge. Chaucer wanted the people to take this into consideration and start to apply it to their own
In Beowulf, the essence left behind by a true hero is extremely important. In epics such as this one, leaders tend to have the determination and boldness of a hero. On the other hand, the main character, Beowulf, does not display these certain traits. In this heroic poem, respect and trust come naturally. Honor and integrity are present throughout the poem.
The Story Beowulf is an Epic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon period. The author of the poem is unknown. Beowulf is the hero of the story and the Thane to Hygelac the king of the Geats in Sweden. When Beowulf finds out the Grendel (the big guy) is causing problems in Denmark he decides to go over there and help them out. He fights Grendel and everyone is happy. Then Grendels mother comes to avenge her son so Beowulf has to go fight her also. After winning that battle Beowulf goes back to the Geats and becomes king and rules for fifty winters. Everything is good until he has to go fight this dragon. The dragon ends up killing Beowulf. In the story you can see how things like Honor, fame, and Courage are associated with Beowulf. The reason that he take the dangerous journey is to gain all there of those characteristics in his journey. Out lines below is how he gets each one of those traits in the story.
In the poem Beowulf, the protagonist is portrayed as a heroic figure who strives to spread his name and glory out across the land in order to be remembered. Although his acts may not entirely be for the right reasons, Beowulf does express his heroic qualities of bravery, arrogance, and brute force.
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
With those who are good shrouded in light and those who are evil relegated to dark and misty caves, the Nordic people’s separation of moral right and wrong is difficult to overlook. An Aristotelian study of ethics depicts vices and virtues on a linear plane, with the mean virtue in the center and its extremes on either side. A deficiency of a virtue, courage for instance, is cowardice, while an excess of courage can lead to rashness (Aristotle). This view forms the basis for my argument that the characters in Beowulf are subjected to a sliding scale of virtue. Wealhtheow, Grendel, and Beowulf provide valuable insight into how the virtues of modesty, steadfastness, and fortitude are perceived by the audience inside and outside the story, as
The story of Beowulf has captivated for many centuries because of Beowulf’s heroic qualities. Beowulf was the epic hero reflecting values and heroic ideals of the Anglo-Saxon society. He not only attained unbelievable strength, but also was honorable throughout Herot. He portrayed what an Anglo-Saxon leader should be---loyal, brave, and generous.
Beowulf portrays the life a warrior turned king who demonstrates the qualities that not only the ideal king should have, but also the ideal warrior should exhibit. This allows the reader to notice how kings in the past were, and the power they possessed over the people of the area.
The religious theme is one thing that both Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales have in common. In Beowulf, religion can be an issue because the poem is Christianized. The period would have been medieval Scandinavia, which would have been pagan. The narrator compromises by referring to God in wide-ranging terms. There is no way to change the fact that Beowulf would have been pagan. In Beowulf, there is a reference from the Old Testament in the Bible about the descendants of Cain. The Canterbury Tales references the New Testament of the Bible often. For Chaucer, it is a way for him to attack the bigotry of Christianity. Both poems are experiencing religious revolutions and upheaval of what they believe.
The story of “Beowulf” begins at a time where a great hero is needed. This is where Beowulf’s character takes the initial place of an epic hero. In the first story of “Beowulf,” Beowulf takes on the responsibility of destroying the great threat, Grendel. This immediately shows the courage, honor and bravery of Beowulf. When Beowulf sailed to the Danes to kill Grendel, he was not searching for money, he was simply putting the Geats lives before his own. Beowulf was not yet
Chaucer exemplifies this in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.” Living in a male-dominant society, the wife ...
Beowulf, written between the 8th and 10th centuries, is an epic poem set in southern Sweden. The poem illustrates the Anglo-Saxon’s strong belief in the heroic code. The loyalty between the warrior and his king bound the culture together. The warrior was the ultimate hero who represented strength and courage. Beowulf, the hero in the poem, illustrates the Germanic principles of the heroic code. Through the battles and character interactions, Beowulf converges loyalty, strength, courage and forgiveness into the hero archetype.
Beowulf is an interesting story in that it has a meaning that is firmly rooted in fantasy creatures based in mythical origins while providing insight into religious ideals and practices of the time. It also speaks of tradition and the struggle of man against things perceived as evil. In this tradition especially, Beowulf is an incredible allegory regarding the struggle of good and evil in the Christian tradition.
The story of Beowulf was originally a old Pagan story. It’s purpose was to show heroic deeds on how a man, named Beowulf, killed a monster named Grendel, his mother and a dragon. It shows its character loyalty to his soldiers or people, the importance of honor
Beowulf teach the readers how to be brave, loyal, and strong while the pardoner from the canterbury tale teach the readers do not be gready. Also the wife of bath tale teach the reader how to respect women and how to treat them and how to be a gentleman and be thankful for what the one have.
Beowulf has been handed down orally since the early centuries. In the eighth century, Beowulf was officially written down for the first time. As an epic poem, Beowulf tells the story of a legendary hero who has supernatural courage and strength which have helped him become the hero he is after fighting in numerous battles, all coming out on top. Beowulf was summoned to a land to help eliminate a beast of a man, once and for all. The cultural elements represented in Beowulf are shown in spiritual beliefs, the mannerisms of the warriors, and the burial ceremony.