Beowulf 6 Essay, Research Paper

Beowulf: A Booklet of the Anglo-Saxon Beliefs

Beowulf is a terrific illustration of a narrative that portrays the beliefs the Anglo-saxon people. Their full civilization was based on gallantry and trueness. They encouraged epic action in the face of day of reckoning and liberally rewarded courage. These charcteristics instilled a sense of bravery and trueness in many persons. They besides tries to connote the message that one should ne’er give up, no affair how much the odds are against you. The importance of courage, generousity, trueness, and the King-warrior relationship can be seen in the heroic poem Beouwulf. The epic elements in the heroic poem verse form Beowulf are apparent in the characters. Beowulf is depicted as a superhero. Beowulf takes it upon himself to salvage the Danes from Grendel. In his conflict with Grendel, Beowulf chooses non to utilize arms ; he relies on his strength. During the battle, Beowulf & # 8217 ; s strength takes over and Beowulf wrestlings with Grendel until he is able to rend one of the monster & # 8217 ; s weaponries out of its socket. Superhuman feats besides appear in the battle with Grendel & # 8217 ; s female parent. When Beowulf enters the H2O, he swims downward for an full twenty-four hours before he sees the underside. He does this without the usage of O. During the conflict with Grendel & # 8217 ; s female parent, Beowulf realizes that Unferth & # 8217 ; s blade is useless against the monsters thick tegument. He grabs an tremendous blade made by giants, about excessively heavy to keep and cuts through the monster & # 8217 ; s organic structure. Beowulf & # 8217 ; s spirit and instructions do non let him to discontinue, even though he may decease. The Anglo-saxons use Beowulf as an illustration that thier soldiers should follow. Even though Beowulf posses super-human qualities, his triumphs are non won easy. He struggles merely every bit much as those who do non posses super-human qualities. Even though Beowulf fought many monsters by himself, he would non hold been able to carry through any of those workss without an extraordinary sense of gallantry. The Anglo-saxon Tradition encouraged epic action in the face of day of reckoning and Beowulf lives up to their outlooks. One illustration of this is his battle with the firedrake. Even though Beowulf is an old adult male, he stands up to the firedrake and wounds him. The firedrake in Beowulf tongues fire with such intense heat that it melts Beowulf & # 8217 ; s screen to his organic structure. Although Beowulf is fatally hurt

himself, he still manages to deliver the final blow that kills the dragon. The belief that one “should never give up” is once again clearly evident. Grendel is also seen as a superhuman monster. The dragon is also seen as a super powerful adversary of the hero of the story. Beowulf’s great deeds for the Danes, do not go unrewarded. The King would always reward his warriors because he believed that generosity would encourage bravery and loyalty. One such example is when the warriors raid the village give all their earnings to the King. The King then rewards the warriors by giving them a small percentage of what they stole back. The warriors were also given a feast where they had a party and drank alcohol until they were intoxicated. These celebrations and the King’s kindness made the warriors loyal to their King. Another example of the King rewarding his warriors is when Beowulf defeated Grendel. The King gave Beowulf a sword, sheild, and chain armor. Rarely did a king give one warrior all of those items on one occasion because those items were in high demand and very expensive. The chain armor also took a long time to create. The King-warrior relationship was very important because if the warriors did not like their King, the whole kingdom would be in peril. By treating his warriors like a second family, the King made each warrior feel needed and appreciated, which made each warrior work harder in order to please his King. All in all, Beowulf possess all of the Anglo-Saxon traits. Their entire culture was based on heroism and loyalty. They encouraged heroic action in the face of doom and generously rewarded bravery. Beowulf served as an example of how the ideal warrior, King, and person should be. Beowulf is a like a brochure of beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons, such as the King-warrior relationship. Beowulf showed you that you could overcome the odds, no matter how much they were against you. Everyone should strive to be like Beowulf because he never gave up. He demonstrated that he could do anything that he wanted as long as he was determined to do it. You may not have superhuman strength, or have to fight superhuman monsters, but you will come face to face with many different conflicts. Beowulf demonstrated that you must rise to the occassion in order to accomplish your goal, no matter how hard it may seem.