The sound of battle echoed from the halls of Heorot to the plains of geatland, Beowulf in all his glory was a conquering hero that was approaching his twilight years as king. As such he faced a new challenge, in his youth he fought and defeated Grendel and his mother to defend the people of Denmark and Heorot, he was now called to defend his land from this dragon. This beast which had awakened from its dormant rest and was now on a rampage to defend its treasure. These monsters shared many similarities that tie together with a unifying message. In Beowulf, the values and views of Anglo-Saxon society are reflected in the idea that both Grendel and the Dragon serve as warning that no man is immortal or god like and that we will all face judgement.…
how beowulf has proposed that it is his fate to fight and battle grendel, it is…
Beowulf eventually becomes king and is growing old when a dragon attacks. The dragon attacks to seek vengeance because of the disturbance of his hoard of treasure. The dragon kills many in the kingdom which angers Beowulf and he is forced to seek vengeance even though his old age. This battle Beowulf is weary of due to his old age and the power of his enemy but still seeks vengeance for his people due to honor. This shows in Anglo-Saxon culture that risking your life for the greater good of the kingdom and for vengeance was rather common and endorsed for the pride of the individual and the kingdom they were a part of. In this battle Beowulf gets hurt pretty badly when the dragon bites him and needs help from his followers he brought along. Only one remains while the others flee and the two end up killing the dragon. Beowulf dies and he doesn't have any heirs to the throne so passes it onto his only follower who remained. This shows the importance of loyalty in Anglo-Saxon culture because he was the only follower to remain while the others fled which then rewarded him with becoming king while the others would never be allowed back in the kingdom for abandoning their…
The theme of Beowulf had the good vs.evil theme to the story when the monster is Grendel is the monster and his mother also a threat to herot and Beowulf is the hero to solve the problems of Grendel is making. Beowulf is the hero in the story and Grendel is the villain. Beowulf is the faced with many trials throughout the story with unferth and the Grendel.…
“So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.” (1-3) In the first few lines of Beowulf, the writer already envelopes you with a sense of uncanny courage. “Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked.” (572-573) With Beowulf saying this, he is implying that if your fate has not been pre-decided, then you can pull through anything and succeed, have you enough courage.…
Beowulf can be analyzed in an endless numbers of ways. There are different morals, themes, and meanings behind the story. A common meaning, maybe even the most important, is the dual ordeal in Beowulf. The dual ordeal is an external battle with vicious opponents and an internal battle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self concern. Each external battle Beowulf wins, his internal battle grows.…
What is an epic hero? Beowulf was an archetype or, perfect example of what an epic hero is. Being infallible, he had many characteristics that showed this. Three of them are strength, bravery, and determination. Beowulf was always eager to face anything he was challenged with.…
To sum it all up, In Beowulf, Beowulf is an archetypal hero who ended up being corrupted by the fame and fortune that was gained while doing the Danes a favour and killing their monsters. In Grendel, Grendel was labeled as a monster who tried to be part of a human society; the failure to be accepted as part of the society has forced Grendel to act like how he was labeled.…
A 48-year-old Carnegie hero once said, while rescuing a woman from drowning in the Pacific Ocean, “‘I’m going to get her out of here. One way or another… I’m going to do it.’” This is just a simple statement of a man’s heroic determination that saved the life of a woman in the Pacific Ocean. Although saving a life, such as this Carnegie hero did, is a perfect example of how determination did good, less severe situations also happen and end with positive outcomes. Often determination is easily seen as competition and not a necessary need of doing something. Differing from the Carnegie heroes event, Beowulf expresses his determination to defeat Grendel, the monstrous creature of the poem, by explaining to Unferth, a warrior, that Grendel does not fear him and continues by saying, “I will show him how Geats shape to kill / in the heat of battle (41).” Without a doubt, these words are powerful and point directly to Beowulf’s determination to do good for those affected by Grendel’s past attacks. The boast Beowulf gives becomes a reality and proves his determination to defeat Grendel to be true. Beowulf’s determination to defeat Grendel amazingly becomes a new scenario for Beowulf’s determination when he fights Grendel’s mother to retrieves Grendel’s head. The narrator expresses Beowulf’s cause for determination as revenge by…
Deciding what is the best choice for others and deciding what choice is best for us is an ongoing battle. Sometimes the best choice for you might not be the best for others, which deems us selfish. The remaining times, the best choice for others might not be the best choice for us, which judges us as people pleasers. Most audiences can relate to the story of Beowulf because we all battle through these similar conflicts daily. Throughout the poem Beowulf, the audience becomes conscious of the fact that the characters of this time period are continuously fighting two contradicting battles; an external battle between the vicious monsters and an internal battle with human habits of pride, cowardice and self-concern.…
Pagan and Christian beliefs both have a good versus an evil. At times, it seems as if Beowulf believes in both God and fate. After battling with creatures at sea, Beowulf says, "...God's bright beacon appeared in the east, the water lay still..." (Raffel 30). This illustrates that Beowulf believed God would take care of him, but soon after he states, "Fate saves the living when they drive away death by themselves!" (Raffel 30). This quote suggests that fate saved Beowulf, not God. Beowulf believes that both fate and God help him during battles. Though written in a pagan time period, Christianity is predominantly the main belief in Beowulf. Paganism is no belief in a personal God, in contrary, Christianity is the belief in Jesus Christ. Fate is a pagan belief that the future cannot be controlled, but Beowulf knew God was in charge of his. It was God who gave Beowulf victories and success, not fate. Even though fate is brought up several times, it is clear that Beowulf believes that God is his Almighty Savior. In the end, before his death, Beowulf thanks God and acknowledges Him as "Our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth" (Raffel 45). Another pagan belief is where a warrior must acquire fame in order to gain immortality, unlike the Christian belief, that eternal life is by faith and not by works. There are many differences between paganism and…
Dr. Martin Luther king once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Ali B. Ali-Dinar; Ph.D.) Justice! What is justice? The quality of being just; guided by truth reason, justice and fairness. The portrayal of justice is an eternal controversy that has developed over time from ancient civilizations to modern democracies, Not only portrayed overtime but though mediums of media and lit, earlier in the development of literature justice was depicted to be carried out in a more hero fashion meaning a person coming into a conflicting situation and solving the conflict or bring justice to light under his or her conditions therefore adopting a heroes attributes and overall distinction in the public eye as an enforcer of justice…
The poem “Beowulf” exemplifies Campbell’s claim of the call to adeventure. “Beowulf” was translated by Burton Raffel and is about how a king must protect his castle from a demon at night. “The Call to Adventure” was written by Joseph Campbell and is a guide for The Hero and what he does to become whatis known as the hero.…
Many human characteristics derive from the imperative trait of self-interest. This egoistic personality can be observed through the ages. A resulting characteristic from this self-centered behavior is the ambition for a lasting legacy. Self-centered behavior creates an aspiration for a legacy because people want their own names to be well remembered. Therefore, a legacy can create an illusion of immortality and have an eternal impact on future generations. In the epic poem Beowulf, Shield Sheafson, Hrothgar, and Beowulf display a will for a legacy. The Scop reveals the desire for a lasting legacy as an archetypal human trait because a legacy decreases the fear of death by providing a form of immortality and as a result can be seen throughout human history.…
Beowulf is loosely divided into three parts, each of which centers around Beowulf’s fight with a particular monster: first Grendel, then Grendel’s mother, then the dragon. One can argue that this structure relates to the theme of the epic in that each monster presents a specific moral challenge against which the Anglo-Saxon heroic code can be measured and tested. Beowulf’s fight with Grendel evokes the importance of reputation as a means of expanding one’s existence beyond death. Grendel’s great and terrifying nature ensures that Beowulf will long be celebrated for his heroic conquering of this foe. His subsequent encounter with Grendel’s mother evokes the importance of vengeance. Just as Beowulf exacts revenge upon Grendel for killing Hrothgar’s men, so too must Grendel’s mother seek to purge her grief by slaying her son’s murderer. Beowulf’s final encounter with the dragon evokes a heroic approach to wyrd, or fate. Though he recognizes that his time has come and that he will thus not survive his clash with the dragon, he bravely embraces his duty to protect his people, sacrificing his life to save them.…