Beowulf Essay, Research Paper

Beowulf & # 8211 ; Analysis of the Epic

The Anglo-Saxon heroic poem Beowulf is the most of import work of Old

English literature, and is good deserved of the differentiation. The heroic poem

Tells the narrative of a hero, a Norse prince named Beowulf, who

rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, a descendant of Cain, and of

his feats contending Grendel & # 8217 ; s female parent and a Dragon. Throughout the

heroic poem, the Anglo-Saxon narrative Teller uses many elements to construct a

certain deepness to the characters. Merely a few of the of import character

elements in Beowulf are Wealth & A ; Honor, Biblical & A ; Paganistic, and Man

vs. Wild subjects.

Many of the characters in Beowulf are, like in most heroic poems,

defined by their position. But, in add-on to position, the Anglo-Saxon

civilization besides adds an component of award. To the Anglo-Saxons, a

character & # 8217 ; s importance, every bit good as their wealth and position, where

measured non merely in pecuniary footings, but it was besides measured in footings

of award, celebrity, and achievements. Hrothgar, male monarch of the Danes, is

one illustration of the Anglo-Saxon measuring of importance in Beowulf.

In Canto 1 the narrative Teller describes his wealth and importance, non

as hills of gold or gems, but alternatively as his ability to & # 8220 ; [ take ] the

Danes to such glory. & # 8221 ; and as his inclination to & # 8220 ; In conflict, [ leave ] the

common grazing land untasted, and taking no lives. & # 8221 ; Through this show

of compassion for the common man who doesn & # 8217 ; t battle in conflicts, Hrothgar

proves the full extent of his award and hence the extent of his

wealth and position. Beowulf, the hero-prince, besides proves his true

wealth and position through his workss as guardian of the Danes.. As he

battles and lickings Grendel, Beowulf Earns Fame and wealth from his

comrades, and from the Danes, but more significantly, he earns award

raising him to the degree of an archetypical hero. Grendel, on the other

manus, is the entire antonym of Beowulf. He has no wealth, no award,

and he in ill-famed as an evil slayer. This deficiency of wealth and award

defines Grendel as a symbol of immorality and corruptness. In add-on to

utilizing Honor and wealth to specify a character & # 8217 ; s character, the

story-teller ( s ) have incorporated alternating Biblical and Paganistic

motives in the epic-poem.

The original Epic was evidently Paganistic due to the clip

period of it & # 8217 ; s creative activity. But, as clip wore on, the revising and

touching up of the manuscripts by assorted beginnings including spiritual

monastics, caused the characters to hold little Christian features.

These Christian subjects have become really of import to the heroic poem to add

am component of deepness that wouldn & # 8217 ; t be possible in modern times due to

the doomed of the Anglo-saxon civilization and beliefs. An illustration of the

Biblical motive in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel it biblically described

as immorality in this extract:

[ Grendel ] was spawned in that sludge,

Conceived by a brace of those monsters born

Of Cain, homicidal animals banished

By God, punished everlastingly

for the offense

Of Abel & # 8217 ; s decease. The Almighty drove

Those devils out, and their expatriate was acrimonious,

Shut off from work forces ; they split

Into a thousand signifiers of evil & # 8211 ; liquors

And feinds, hobs, monsters, giants,

A brood everlastingly opposing the Lord & # 8217 ; s

Will, and once more and once more defeated.

The Biblical mention in the heroic poem has become a modern twenty-four hours archetypal

motive, and serves to give the hearer an thought of the extent of

Grendel & # 8217 ; s pure immorality and gives a logical account for Grendel & # 8217 ; s

homicidal behaviour. This illustration, non merely shows the immorality in

Grendel & # 8217 ; s nature, but besides the anguish in his bosom caused by his

Banishment from God. It serves to give the reader an thought of why

Grendel would kill the Danes for no ground other than their

felicity. Beowulf besides has a spiritual motive to his character. One

illustration of this is in Canto 6 line 381 in which Hrothgar provinces, & # 8220 ; Our

Holy Father had sent [ Beowulf ] as a mark of His grace, a grade of His

favour, to assist us get the better of Grendel and stop that terror. & # 8221 ; This spiritual

description shows Beowulf as a kind of christ sent by God to salvage adult male

from evil. But, more than that, since Beowulf is in fact non a

christ, this description shows the good in Beowulf & # 8217 ; s bosom and the

intent of his mission. Another Biblical mention in Beowulf is

shown in the tower of Herot which is really similar to the tower of

Babel in the fact that it & # 8217 ; s built as a mark of high quality and

achievement. Like Babel, though, Herot merely serves as a symbol of

downfall more than one of glorification because it causes many deceases and the

coming of Grendel.

Apart from Wealth, Honor, and Paganistic vs. Biblical subjects

and motives, character is besides shown through a certain Man vs. Wild

motive. This motive shows the difference between world & # 8217 ; s ways ( good ) ,

and evil & # 8217 ; s wild nature ( evil ) . Grendel for one, is wholly wild and

is hence shown as immorality. His wild place, & # 8220 ; Grendel, who haunted the

Moors, the wild fens, and made his place in a snake pit non hell but

earth. & # 8221 ; shows his wild, wild, and therefor evil nature. Grendel & # 8217 ; s

wilderness is countered in world & # 8217 ; s ways, particularly Beowulf & # 8217 ; s.

Beowulf is tame and civilised, the epitomy of goodness and pureness.

Beowulf doesn & # 8217 ; t fight evil in a wild mode, instead, as shown in his

first conflict with Grendel. First off, Beowulf is pure and shows

this before his conflict when he removes his armour and vows non to utilize a

arm to get the better of Grendel. Get the better ofing Grendel, he shows that adult male,

without armour and arms, can get the better of evil in any signifier including that

of his enemy Grendel. This title serves throughout the heroic poem serves as a

symbol of Beowulf & # 8217 ; s Goodness.

Beowulf has many other such archetypal, symbolic subjects and

motives, but the most of import subjects that serve to add deepness to the

characters are the wealth, award, spiritual, adult male, and wildness subjects.

These subjects don & # 8217 ; t merely function to specify a character, but they besides

factor in as a motivation for their actions.