Beowulf
The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is the most important work of Old English literature, and is well deserved of the distinction. The epic tells the story of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, a descendent of Cain, and of his exploits fighting Grendel's mother and a Dragon. Throughout the epic, the Anglo-Saxon storyteller uses many elements to build a certain depth to the characters. As I read Beowulf, I found it full of important character elements such as Wealth & Honor, Biblical & Paganistic, and Man vs. Wild themes. Many of the characters in Beowulf are, like in most epics, defined by their status. But, in addition to status, the Anglo-Saxon culture also adds an element of honor. To the Anglo-Saxons, a character's importance, as well as their wealth and status, where measured not only in monetary terms, but was also measured in terms of honor, fame, and accomplishments. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, is one example of the Anglo-Saxon measurement of importance in Beowulf. In Stanza 1, the storyteller describes his wealth and importance, not as mounds of gold or jewels, but instead as his ability to "[lead] the Danes to such glory." and as his tendency to "In battle, [
Grendel was the name of this grim demon And out of the curse of exile there sprang In misery among the banished monsters, The Eternal Lord had exacted a price: Because the Almighty made him anathema Cain got no good from committing that murder Cain's clan, whom the Creator had outlawed The original Epic was obviously Paganistic due to the time period of it's creation. But, as time wore on, the rewriting and touching up of the manuscripts by various sources including religious monks, caused the characters to have slight Christian characteristics. Including the Christian characteristics into this epic, made it better for Beowulf's character as the Hero of the poem, because he looked to God as his own hero and for protection. These Christian themes have become very important to the epic to add an element of depth that wouldn't be possible in modern times due to the lost of the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs. An example of the Biblical motif in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel is biblically described as evil in this excerpt:
Some common words found in the essay are:
Eternal Lord, Biblical Paganistic, Grendel Beowulf, Honor Paganistic, Beowulf Stanza, Goodness Beowulf, Including Christian, Grendel Grendel, Beowulf West-Danes, Beowulf English, wealth honor, wealth status, throughout epic, looked god, anglo-saxon culture, biblical reference, depth characters, paganistic vs, biblical paganistic, vs wild,
Approximate Word count = 1212
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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