A Critical Response to Beowulf After reading the story Beowulf as translated by Burton Raffel‚ I saw two aspects of this story written in the Anglo-Saxon period. When reading the story you notice that there are multiple aspects of paganism and of Christianity included in the story. Many scholars have debated whether of not a monk might have written it during the paganism period or whether a second author might have added to the story later on in history. I believe that it might have been written
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in Beowulf Throughout the story of Beowulf‚ the concept of religion plays a significant role. The Christianity ideology views state that man can survive and do great things through the protection of God. A strong desire of pride is also represented in the form of a hero in Beowulf‚ which in a sense goes against Christian morals. This clash with Christian morals in Beowulf was in the context of pride vs. humility and selfishness vs. sacrifice. In the book‚ Hrothgar first explained to Beowulf that
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present in Beowulf are good vs. Evil and the magic and supernatural elements. Beowulf is a basic poem that contains many examples of good against evil. This story shows how good will always prevail even against insurmountable odds. For example‚ Beowulf is the perfect example of a good warrior. He is loyal to his king and family and can defeat any monster. Grendel on the other hand is born evil and enjoys killing the Danes. When Beowulf and Grendel engage in battle‚ Grendel sees good in Beowulf and is
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Arjuna and Beowulf vs Larger Society When looking at literature from the past‚ one can see the essence of what it meant to live back then. The text paints a portrait of the past‚ and lets us see some intricacies of their society. By looking at the individual characters specifically we can conclude a lot about the ideal person of that society. Much of ancient literature portrayed the main character as the perfect individual‚ and is a guide as to how people of the day should live. This
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is what happened in the novel Grendel by John Gardner; it was a retelling of the epic poem Beowulf just Gardner gave the reader an insight to what it was like to be in Grendel’s shoes. Although these two stories had a similar background‚ a main difference in the two was the perception at which each of the stories was told. Grendel was told from the perspective of the antagonist Grendel himself and Beowulf had a narrator telling the reader the story. Since Grendel was telling the story in first
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A Closer Look Into Heorot and Grendel’s Mother’s Lair In Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf‚ the city of Heorot and Grendel’s Mothers Lair are completely opposite of each other. Heorot is described as very bright and joyous. The lair on the other hand is said to be very glum and dark‚ with a close resemblance of hell. Heorot is an enormous city filled with riches and gold‚ and it is said to be “the halls of halls” (page 7). Not only was Heorot gigantic‚ but “it was handsomely structured‚ a sturdy
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Christian vs. Pagan Approaches in Beowulf Beowulf was written by a Christian poet around the eighth century. Having been changed a number of times‚ this manuscript has been observed in the older pagan period‚ and influence by pagan rituals. There are two different cultures reflected towards Beowulf which‚ are the Christianity culture and the pagan culture. Paganism and Christianity are both equally portrayed and expressed in Beowulf. It cconsists of heroes that are called Anglo-Saxons‚ who prided
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British Literature 9/28/13 Beowulf vs. Batman The model hero owns power‚ ethics; and‚ above all‚ fights evil. This definition was functional in the time of Beowulf and still is functional in today’s time only slightly altered. Due to the use of such inventions such as television and internet‚ our culture has come to value physical desirability and sensual feelings‚ as evident in the example of Batman‚ a 21st century hero. In addition‚ humility has become a desired value in modern times‚ whereas
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Beowulf is a masterpiece that has pillaged and powered through centuries of oral retelling and translating just as the character it vividly illustrates does throughout the epic. Despite being so impressive and entertaining on the surface‚ the Old English classic embodies something a lot greater‚ and that is the moral struggle of religion going on at the time. Religion played a huge role in Anglo-Saxon culture for it was what gave the people a reason to live for‚ it was what motivated people to work
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The Age of Heroes vs. The Age of Humanity The notion of alienation is a very unusual one yet it is a widespread feeling—a very subjective‚ somewhat indefinable feeling—and a critique of the nature of any society that exists today. This theme of a sense of estrangement from one’s surroundings‚ oneself‚ and other people‚ appears to be as old as history itself. Depicted in a new verse translation of “Beowulf”‚ by Seamus Heaney‚ as a man’s fight in a hostile world‚ much like an alien spirit‚ engaged
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