Beowulf Theme Analysis
The central theme is the main idea told through out the story. The purpose of the theme is to tell the moral of the story. Some of these stories only have one central theme while others have several. Beowulf is one of the stories that has more than one theme. The themes of Beowulf are Good vs. Evil, Loyalty, and Courage.
Loyalty is a very prevalent theme in Beowulf. As shown in the end of the epic, Beowulf was loyal to his king, King Hygelac. "The treasures that Hygelac lavished on me I paid for when I fought, as fortune allowed me, with my glittering sword. He gave me land and the security land brings, so he had no call to go looking for some lesser champion.". What is shown here is that Beowulf is loyal to King Hygelac because in exchange for his loyalty he is given treasures. Wiglaf is also loyal to Beowulf when he decides to risk his life to fight the dragon with Beowulf. "Your deeds are famous,so stay resolute, my lord, defend your life now with the whole of your strength. I shall stand by you." …show more content…
The theme of Good vs.
Evil is shown in Beowulf very clearly. Beowulf went to kill Grendel because he was terrorizing a village. This sets up the Good vs. Evil theme. A quote from the story says, "So times were pleasant for the people
there until finally one, a fiend out of hell, began to work his evil in the world.". It is referring to Grendel because he is the evil in the story. In this quote Beowulf speaks about how a good king should be, "In the end each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whale-road had to yield to him and began to pay tribute. That was one good king." which demonstrates that he is good.
The theme of courage is shown by Beowulf many times through out the story. He shows a lot of courage when he fights the dragon at the end of the story because he has aged and grown weak. "And now the youth was to enter the line of battle with his lord, his first time to be tested as a fighter. His spirit did not break and the ancestral blade would keep its edge, as the dragon discovered as soon as they came together in the combat.". Wiglaf showed courage by risking his life to help Beowulf fight the dragon to keep the village safe even after all of the other soldiers had ran away.
The purpose of the theme is to tell the moral of the story. Good vs. Evil, Bravery, and Courage are all themes in Beowulf and all of the themes are heavily displayed through out the entire story.
Loyalty is a very prevalent theme in Beowulf. As shown in the end of the epic, Beowulf was loyal to his king, King Hygelac. "The treasures that Hygelac lavished on me I paid for when I fought, as fortune allowed me, with my glittering sword. He gave me land and the security land brings, so he had no call to go looking for some lesser champion.". What is shown here is that Beowulf is loyal to King Hygelac because in exchange for his loyalty he is given treasures. Wiglaf is also loyal to Beowulf when he decides to risk his life to fight the dragon with Beowulf. "Your deeds are famous,so stay resolute, my lord, defend your life now with the whole of your strength. I shall stand by you." …show more content…
The theme of Good vs.
Evil is shown in Beowulf very clearly. Beowulf went to kill Grendel because he was terrorizing a village. This sets up the Good vs. Evil theme. A quote from the story says, "So times were pleasant for the people
there until finally one, a fiend out of hell, began to work his evil in the world.". It is referring to Grendel because he is the evil in the story. In this quote Beowulf speaks about how a good king should be, "In the end each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whale-road had to yield to him and began to pay tribute. That was one good king." which demonstrates that he is good.
The theme of courage is shown by Beowulf many times through out the story. He shows a lot of courage when he fights the dragon at the end of the story because he has aged and grown weak. "And now the youth was to enter the line of battle with his lord, his first time to be tested as a fighter. His spirit did not break and the ancestral blade would keep its edge, as the dragon discovered as soon as they came together in the combat.". Wiglaf showed courage by risking his life to help Beowulf fight the dragon to keep the village safe even after all of the other soldiers had ran away.
The purpose of the theme is to tell the moral of the story. Good vs. Evil, Bravery, and Courage are all themes in Beowulf and all of the themes are heavily displayed through out the entire story.