J.R.R. Tolkien was able to successfully capture the essence of Anglo-Saxon literature throughout The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. Though he wrote these books decades later, Tolkien used his knowledge and interest of Anglo-Saxon times to create this mythical, dark, and adventurous tale. Tolkien showed many themes of which were often seen in books written during the Anglo-Saxon time period (450 A.D. – 1066 A.D.) He drew much of his inspiration from the epic poem Beowulf, which is seen all throughout The Lord of The Rings. This book is known as the greatest prime example of literature from that time period. He used similar Anglo-Saxon themes such as Good versus Evil, Christianity versus Paganism, and lastly, the idea of courage and loyalty. Tolkien, fascinated by Anglo-Saxon literature, used similar context, themes, and ideas to create a parallel between Beowulf and The Lord of The Rings.
Tolkien was very interested in the nature of the Anglo-Saxon time period. He was fascinated by the old, dark mythologies of that time. He specialized in Old and Middle English, and taught classes such as Heroic verse, History of English, and Anglo-Saxon Language as a Professor at various colleges. He even uses Old and Middle English as the main dialect seen in all of his books. His love and interest for these topics, languages, and the Anglo-Saxon time period are shown greatly throughout The Lord of The Rings Trilogy.
Beowulf, being Tolkien’s biggest inspiration in The Lord of The Rings, is the prime example of Anglo-Saxon Literature. Written anonymously, it is the oldest surviving epic poem in history. The Anglo-Saxon time period thrived on the heroic codes of Honor, Strength, and Bravery. The warrior, Beowulf himself, exemplified this heroic code...
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... and his own Lord of The Rings Trilogy. The theme of good versus evil is found in both Beowulf and The Lord of The Rings and main characters are used to represent good and evil, showing how much power good or evil can have. The second theme, Christianity versus Paganism, contrast in both books, and show sides of Anglo-Saxon religions and of possible allegories that lye beneath the surface of the story. Lastly, bravery and loyalty are shown in characters of the books, and shine through, showing values of Anglo-Saxon Literature.
Tolkien created this mythical series based on his love and knowledge of Anglo-Saxon literature. There were many inspirations he brought from Beowulf into his books. Through these Anglo-Saxon inspired themes, he brought out the best elements in all of his characters and his own plots and themes throughout the whole Lord of The Rings series.
To qualify as an epic poem, Beowulf reflects the values of the culture in which it was created. The Anglo-Saxon culture and the poem share many of the same values. They shared a heroic ideal that included loyalty, strength, courage, courtesy, and generosity. Like all epic poems Beowulf is a long narrative work that tells the adventures of a great hero and also reflects the values of the society in which it was written. Both Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons believed in those qualities as an individual.
In the lecture Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics by J. R. R. Tolkien, he discusses Beowulf through a different aspect. Tolkien argues that the epic poem is infact, overlooked and not seen by the true aspect of the poem. He argues that Beowulf is a piece of literature that should be viewed as a piece of art, an epic poem, rather than just a composition of history. Tolkien supports his argument by carefully analyzing the text, including literary elements and themes the creator includes in Beowulf.
In literature it is common for authors to borrow elements of a different story and make it their own. In “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, Tolkein follows the hero’s journey and uses many concepts found in the poem, Beowulf. Beowulf is an ancient English story of the king of the Geats, Beowulf. Beowulf is a superhuman King that’s fights magical creatures in hope of being remembered. In “Lord of the Rings”, A young hobbit, Frodo, is given the great responsibility of protecting an evil ring until it can be destroyed. Because Tolkein was a Beowulf scholar, elements of Beowulf are depicted in “Lord of the Rings”. Both protagonists, Frodo and Beowulf, are similar by how they receive their call to adventure, their strength, and their motives. Beowulf and Frodo can be compared by these three aspects however, they have contrasting details for each.
...est of the work, which are accented by the break in narrative that the songs create. The accentuation of these themes increases reader awareness of the Biblical undertones and creates Christian equivalences in the songs themselves and the surrounding text. The use of songs as a religious communication tool was developed by the Anglo-Saxons, and is seen in their work as well as their Old- and Middle-English successors. Tolkien’s practice therefore of using songs is a derivative of his work in Old-English literature and scholarship of Anglo-Saxon language and culture. The historical tie of Tolkien’s work to that of his studies validates the connection and the significance of the songs in The Lord of the Rings, and despite Tolkien’s denial of intentional allegory in his epic, Christianity was an integral part of his life, and its presence in his work is undeniable.
Beowulf, an epic poem, written by unknown and translated by Seamus Heaney, is an artifact of the Anglo-Saxon era because it is a piece of literature that was documented once. During the time it was written, writing was not common. The poem reveals a lot of the Anglo-Saxon practices and beliefs, but it also is compared to Christianity because was written down by a christian monk.
Imagine yourself in a pre-industrial world full of mystery and magic. Imagine a world full of monsters, demons, and danger, as well as a world full of friends, fairies, good wizards, and adventure. In doing so you have just taken your first step onto a vast world created by author and scholar John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Tolkien became fascinated by language at an early age during his schooling, in particularly, the languages of Northern Europe, both ancient and modern. This affinity for language did not only lead to his profession, but also his private hobby, the invention of languages. His broad knowledge eventually led to the development of his opinions about Myth and the importance of stories. All these various perspectives: language, the heroic tradition, and Myth, as well as deeply-held beliefs in Catholic Christianity work together in all of his works. The main elements of Tolkien’s works are Good versus Evil, characters of Christian and anti-Christian origin, and the power of imagination.
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.
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
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.
With one story having a ring that offers eternal youth and another with a sword that keeps its owner from ever bleeding, it is hard to imagine what the two could have in common. After looking at the make up of the groups, the heroes, the villains, moral codes, supernatural elements and knightly quests, it is easy to see that they do share many similarities. Tolkien’s work deals more with fantasy characters and places but all in all they are very similar.
Beowulf is among the earliest surviving works of literature. It was written in Old English and dates back sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem is set in Scandinavia, and tells the story of the heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf was the perfect hero. He fought for his people and defeated evil with his ability to bring on justice. Three of Beowulf’s traits that serve as evidence of this were his remarkable physical strength, his ability to put the well-being of others before his own well-being, and his courage.
In Anglo-Saxon culture heroes were determined by their bravery, strength, and glory. In the epic Beowulf, Beowulf is the epitome of an Anglo-Saxon hero because he displays all of these traits. Beowulf exhibits his bravery in the way he fearlessly goes into each of his three battles. He then displays his strength as he defeats each of the monsters. Finally, Beowulf is glorified by his comrades because of his heroic actions. Beowulf is an epic hero because he embodies his people’s ideals of bravery, strength, and glory through his battles.
The author J.R.R. Tolkien has used many Norse mythological influences when writing his books the Lord of The Rings. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa(biography) Before Tolkien wrote the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, he was a major scholar of Middle english, he was also a twice professor of Anglo Saxon at the university of Oxford ("Biography”). While Tolkien was a professor at Oxford university he started a writing group called the Inklings. One day while Tolkien was grading a paper he just randomly wrote down “there was hole in the ground where there once lived a hobbit”. His book The Hobbit was published in 1937, and it became a children 's book even though it wasn’t intended to be. Over the years Tolkien
Beowulf was written in the time when the society was in the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. In this epic poem, these two religions come through the actions of its characters. The acceptance of feuds and the courage of war are just a few examples of the Pagan tradition, while the Christian mortalities refrain from the two.
Beowulf is one of the greatest surviving epic poems. It was composed by Germanic people more than twelve hundred years ago. Although it is written in Old English, it deals with the Scandinavian forebears of the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes and the Geats. This epic poem concerns itself with Christianity, internal and external evils, and the warriors defeating monsters.