Religion And Beowulf Comparison

Religion in Macbeth and Beowulf Whether it be a play or a poem religion will influence how the author writes their story. Some writings might hold more religious standing than others, for example Macbeth and Beowulf. While both Macbeth and Beowulf express Christian views, Macbeth’s Christian standing is stronger because it doesn’t use paganistic views like Beowulf, and the characters express a more biblical background. Shakespeare's biblical imagery in Macbeth is far greater than Beowulf’s biblical standing.

Many people have had to read Beowulf as part of their high school literature curriculum, but why is this ancient epic still taught in this day and age? The epic, in itself, almost seems to be a historic reflection, not by means of its content but the way civilizations are portrayed. The facets that can be identified within Beowulf were prevalent in the Anglo-Saxon time period and can also, to a certain extent, be representatives of today’s society. Learning and recognizing these conventional and distinctive traits within the epic allows for a deeper understanding of previous lifestyles. While Beowulf demonstrates a variety of important characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon time period, classical allusions to religion, fame, and comitatus are the

Beowulf is an epic poem and movie that had many initial differences throughout each. It is a tale about a warrior, Beowulf, who faced many challenges and risks throughout his life as a warrior and king. One way the movie differs from the text is that Beowulf was more humble towards the end of the movie whereas he was still greedy towards the end of the text. In addition, the movie differs from the text because Grendel, the evil beast, attacked the Danes while they were awoke in the movie; he attacked the Danes while they were asleep in the text. In the final analysis, the movie differs from the text because Beowulf and Grendel’s did not fight in the movie whereas in the text, they did battle.

The epic, Beowulf, sings the song of a hero who rescues a besieged land and the society he comes from, told by the Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-Saxons are Germanic people who ruled over Denmark and Great Britain from the 5th century to the 11th century. Hailing from a patriarchal society that places great importance in loyalty and a warrior’s way with a sword, and even more, their way with words. Around Beowulf’s origins, Christian beliefs were being introduced, intermingling with their pagan religion. Told orally until circa 1000 AD.

One of the common themes in Beowulf is religion and life after death. As would be expected of a work scribed by monks, the epic has many references to God and Christianity. However, Beowulf also has many pagan elements that contradict the beliefs of Christianity. Beowulf himself, though he praises God in many occasions, is not guaranteed a spot in Christian heaven because he is an “unbaptized pagan” (106n3). The many pagan elements in this epic emphasize the Anglo-Saxon values of glory, vengeance, and wealth.

Because of its complicated origin, Beowulf has elements of both pagan Germanic culture and Christianity. The story of Beowulf probably originated as an oral tradition sometime in the 7th century. But the only surviving manuscript of Beowulf was written in the 11th century by Christian scribes, who either inserted the Christian overtones to the story, or were working from a manuscript set down by previous Christians who added the Christian elements. Suffice it to say that the resulting Beowulf is like a pagan story wrapped in Christianity. This results in some strange inconsistencies.

God and Hrothgar create a paradise for their kingdom, and each of them calls on a Savior, which in this case would be Christ or Beowulf, to defeat the evil (Satan/Grendel) trying to destroy it all. The three main characters in Beowulf; Hrothgar, Beowulf, and Grendel; have no Christian traits about them. But within what they say and do, they

For the most part, the Norse pagan characteristics of Beowulf seem to outweigh the more trivial traits of it. The various Norse creature such as the dragon and Grendel are far more essential to the structure of the narrative than say, one of the warnings of sin given to Beowulf or the ideas of self-sacrifice that Beowulf portrays that also overlap with Norse ideal characteristics. Even so, it would seem possible that Beowulf could exist as a complete work if any mention of Christianity, primarily in small pieces of dialogue and descriptions of characters, is omitted whereas deletion of the Norse elements, such as all the antagonists, would call for a drastic rewriting of the text. Moreover, the entire nature of Beowulf is far different to the New Testament texts of the Bible emphasized in Christianity and more similar to the Old Testament kings, which also share parallels with Sumerian writing styles and myths. This would suggest that Beowulf would likely have originated a pagan text but was then rewritten by Christians in either an effort to reconcile their cultural beliefs with Christianity or as a deliberate effort to encourage conversions.

The story of Beowulf describes a tale of heroics and beliefs. It presents the reader with a combination of different beliefs that conflicted but would transform the beliefs of the Anglo-Saxon people who were responsible for writing the story and had their lives affected by its impact. The presence of pagan Nordic culture existing alongside Christian beliefs reflected the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons into Christianity. The depiction of Beowulf as a great and courageous warrior who was also a humble servant of God served as an ideal for the Anglo-Saxons to strive for. Beowulf was a major factor in assimilating the original Nordic culture the Anglo-Saxons brought to England with Christianity, creating a cultural evolution.

As Christianity began spreading across England, the cultural ties with paganism were not so easily broken and tossed aside, for the Anglo-Saxons still incorporated fate, dragons, knights, and damsels-in-distress into their everyday folklore. But, by being caught in such a cultural crossroads, Beowulf exhibits a linguistic tension not found in any other piece within this paradigm. The thought present during the Christian paradigm transitioned from a purely metaphoric understanding to a slightly more metonymic understanding. Truth went from being a unified concept to being more of an attainable object, but in the case of Beowulf, it was a unified and attainable through the renunciation of pagan rituals followed by the wholehearted embrace of Christian thought, of good over evil, of salvation from God. It is curious to think about how the Anglo-Saxons gave up their known morals in lieu of something unknown.

Religion plays an extremely large role in Beowulf. The theme of religion is a recurring topic in the poem. There are many mentions of God. Along with that, the story mentions Pagan and Christian Religion There are several allusions to biblical stories within Beowulf. Whenever Beowulf goes to battle, he allows God to help him.

Beowulf was originally written as a pagan oral tradition before the Christian monks infused their religion into it. The epic hero showed his faith to God as he battled the monsters and depicted the world of Christianity. However, the ideas in the poem are presented in both Christian God and pagan power which exemplifies Wyrd. Christianity and paganism are at opposite ends of the religious spectrum and each represent different beliefs and customs. Christians believe and follow the teachings of Christ and depend on the Bible for Spiritual guidance, but paganism is based on the belief and worshiping of other gods through sacrifices.

The Anglo-Saxon society, similar to whatever remains of the Germanic tribes, was basically agnostic. On account of the Anglo-Saxons specifically, this ocurred until Christianity touched base on the island, inferable from the mission of the pope Gregory in 595 AD to change over them and attributable to Irish missions too. Consequently, Christianity started entering their way of life and this is the motivation behind why all through Anglo-Saxon writing it could be watched that the religious viewpoint is available, suggesting Christianity yet to agnostic convictions also. Agnostic qualities can be found in this present individuals' writing and Beowulf is not a special case. Beowulf, however written in the VIII century about Anglo-Saxons' progenitors,

Beowulf is an elegiac narrative that is considered to be one of the oldest of the great poems written in English and is said to have been composed somewhere between the 8th and 10th century, though probably closer to the middle of the 8th. The writer of this epic poem is unknown, adding mystery to the values of said writer. The main concern of this poem is the constant encounters of the monstrous, and the work to defeat it, all while dealing with life in the exhaustive aftermath. Beowulf, being an epic, has a bounteous amount of not only visual imagery, but also an intense emotional credibility through death, battles, and an intriguing story line. A major theme in this poem is that of good vs. evil, and a character’s ability to do what all

In Anglo-Saxon history, Beowulf is noted as one of the most memorable epic poems. Beowulf has shown certain aspects of the Anglo-Saxon’s real life values, and one of these includes religion. Two types of religious elements can be found in Beowulf: Christian elements and pagan elements. Beowulf tends to have a variety of beliefs. Many times, pagan views are brought up in the poem and the idea that fate will be the decision maker in their lives.