Throughout this paper the dictional similarities of the purposes of the authors of the Dream of the Rood and Beowulf will be compared and discussed. Both authors present their goals by using characteristics of the Norse Mythological Gods, to describe the heroes in both poems to lead their readers, the Anglo- Saxons, to convert to Christianity. There is a lot of historical context that is involved with this topic which describes the struggles in Britain in converting the people into Christianity. Anglo-Saxons that came into Britain were originally pagan which consisted of them worshipping gods of nature and trees and rocks. They would pray to these gods for materialistic things such as a good harvest or to win an upcoming battle.
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.
121 there are Geats speaking about Beowulf, and they basically sum up the fame of Beowulf’s among the average person. “Telling their sorrow, telling stories of their dead king and his greatness, his glory, praising him for heroic deeds, for a life as noble as his name.” Another positive repercussion of bravery is wealth. In this epic wealth would include land, money, and most importantly for a warrior, grandiose armor and weapon. In this epic soldiers can earn wealth by displaying bravery on the battlefield (or wherever else they may be battling). One example of this is after Efor and Wulf kill Ongetho, the Swedish king.
121 there are Geats speaking about Beowulf, and they basically sum up the fame of Beowulf’s among the average person. “Telling their sorrow, telling stories of their dead king and his greatness, his glory, praising him for heroic deeds, for a life as noble as his name.” Another positive repercussion of bravery is wealth. In this epic wealth would include land, money, and most importantly for a warrior, grandiose armor and weapon. In this epic soldiers can earn wealth by displaying bravery on the battlefield (or wherever else they may be battling). One example of this is after Efor and Wulf kill Ongetho, the Swedish king.
Certainly he is in search of fame. Though this is true it must not discount his brave actions. He gains his fame truthfully by doing battle with menaces to society. He does not lie or manipulate to achieve fame, he uses what is rightfully his, his bravery. Beowulf's bravery differs from that of King Arthur's for several reasons.
One of the main topics discussed in lesson one is the fact that heroes over time and overseas all heroes have something in common; which is true in the case of King Arthur and Beowulf. It is obvious that they are similar in the fact that they are both heroes, but what makes them an idol of their time and in their culture are poles apart. There are many things that are different about Beowulf and King Arthur, but the ones that stand out the most are what kind of hero they are and what actions they did to make them heroic. Both heroes possess qualities that others do not have, but it is what they do with those abilities that prompts someone to write a story about them and idolize them in time. King Arthur and Beowulf are both Heroes that stories originated in the England area.
Acts of generosity can be materialistic items such as gold and armor, or it can be things you cannot see. Kind and boastful words are an example of such generosity, or in other words “right for the people” (l701). Hrothgar is the perfect balance of both types of generosity. He is very wealthy in gold, for he has been ruling for a long time. He is also wealthy with his words, his experience of being king has given him the wisdom he needs to pass down to others.
All three of these examples serve to show that in any situation of praise or respect, the greatest concern for the characters of Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons was fame and reputation. Siegmund was only respected because of the fame and treasure he accumulated, and the most significant reward for Beowulf’s defeat of both Grendel and Grendel’s mother was fame. Conversely, it is evident in Beowulf that the loss of reputation and fame is also treated with equal importance. The argument between Unferth and Beowulf, in which Unferth reveals an embarrassing story about Beowulf and ridicules him, is given significant detail in Chapters 8 and 9 because Beowulf’s reputation is on the line (Beowulf). In addition to being the most important aspect of Anglo-Saxon culture, the concept of fame also prevails through time into present
Unfortunately, most of their culture is built around upholding a heroic code instead of a single deity. Rather than completely forsake the standards that they had lived by for so many generations, they incorporated their old ideals into the new Christian dogma (Ogilvy, Baker 27). In a similar fashion, the poet's task was to apply this same transformation to a story deeply rooted pagan society. The Beowulf poet "was concerned to extol the virtues of ancient Germanic heroes while acknowledging regretfully that the were deprived of the Christian revelation enjoyed in [the poet's] own era" (Robinson 1). Many flaws originate from this change, however.
Beowulf has the noble status of the prince of the Geats, making his death seem unbelievable because of his superior nobility and courageousness. While the Danish coast guard observes Beowulf, he says, “Nor have I seen / a mightier man-at-arms on this earth / than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken, / he is truly noble” (247 – 250). In the beginning of the epic poem, Beowulf truly exemplifies the identity of a courageous hero, and he also has the noble status of a prince. His appearance is bold and intimidating, giving people the impression that he is an audacious hero of great significance. This makes the readers admire Beowulf, and this is quite ironic, because later in the poem Beowulf is pitied as a tragic warrior who is killed in a gory battle with a dragon.