Religion Throughout British Literature

With all the books read in class this year, there has been some type of influence on the way each story was written. From Beowulf to Paradise Lost, there have been many, mostly religious, persuasions in the style and approach to writing of the novel. These influences, whether they're religious or cultural or psychological, have a deep impact on the story and are reflective of a literary time period. The differences in each story show the changes in the culture, religion, or the way people thought. The purpose of the sequential order of the stories is to show how man has changed his ways, how he has failed and how he has redeemed himself.
The first piece of literature to be analyzed is Beowulf, which was written in approximately the late 800's A.D. Now, the author of Beowulf who is unknown to this day, "was believed to be a Christian. Beowulf reflects well-established Christian traditions" (Abrams 29). And there are many references in the epic poem that suggest Christian beliefs. Beowulf only slightly mentions the pagan beliefs. For example, the author refers to the warriors as pagan warriors, and revenge and battle are pagan oriented. Other than that, the entire poem is all based upon Christian beliefs. In the story, it is stated that Grendel, the flesh devouring, man-eating brute, is a descendant of Cain, the first man to slay his own kind. The story of Cain and how he killed his brother is a Christian belief. Later in Beowulf, Beowulf, the hero, and Hrothgar, Beowulf's king, are referred to as being monotheistic (Abrams 30), which means believing in only one god. This a Christian value. Throughout the story, Beowulf is referred to as being supernatural. He is just that. This is a pagan idea. But the Danes, the victims of Grendel's attacks, pray to God for help. This is a Christian practice. At the end of the poem, Beowulf sacrifices himself to save his people. He is responsible for defending his countrymen; and to do so, he must slay a dragon. At an old age,