Beowulf Character Study Essay
There are many religious influences and implications in Beowulf, ranging from the characters, to their journeys and their religious beliefs. One of the main religious implications is Beowulf himself, in the text Beowulf appears as a “Christ-like” figure.
Beowulf and Christ follow very similar journeys, both men travelled to an exotic land, and began to save and protect the people that lived on it. Beowulf traveled to Danish land; in order to protect them from the incoming threat of Grendel, who also plays a sort of religious character by being a “devil-like figure”. By killing Grendel and his mother Beowulf cleared the Danish land of all threats, and the Danes were forever grateful. “Forever you will be your
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Jesus suffered day and night, he was an outcast among the people he was trying to bless and protect. People called him a liar for saying that he was the son of God, and they physically harmed him. At the start of Beowulf’s journey, no one believes that he is capable of slaying Grendel.” No matter, therefore, how you may have fared in every battle until now, this time you’ll be worsted; no one has ever outlasted an entire night against Grendel” (37, 525). He gets mocked and people talk about him behind his back, until he proves them all wrong. He slays Grendel and his mother, and proceeds to be worshiped by the Danes. Both Jesus and Beowulf defied the odds, and proved people wrong. Jesus resurrected after three days of being dead, proving to everyone that he truly was the son of God.
Their journey’s also ended in the same way; they both died for their people. Beowulf died at the hand of a dragon that he killed to protect his people, and Christ let the Romans kill him in order to let all the sins that have happened, would happen, and could happen die on the cross with him. So Christ died to cleanse the sins of mankind, and Beowulf died to protect his land and his
With ancient understandings and tales in the early times, Beowulf sings of times long forgotten, the times where the only tombs men sought was the battlefield, and their legacies, glory from the most extraordinary of feats. Eras filled with monsters, demons and selfless devotion towards the Glory of God. Even the flamboyant stories from the early centuries, still ring with connections to our world today, that our
This shows his courageous deeds because even though all of his allies but on left him to die, Beowulf wasn’t leaving until
The epic poem “Beowulf”, translated by Burton Raffel, focuses on a hero by the name of Beowulf who goes on a quest to rescue King Hrothgar and his people from an egregious monster by the name of Grendel. This Anglo-Saxon tale gives insight into the values and beliefs of the people from whom the story originated. Their war-centered ideology and views on loyalty and courage were the principles that the Anglo-Saxon culture was founded upon. While warfare was a focal point in their lifestyle, it was far from a savage, barbaric state of fighting. Honor and prestige were bestowed upon those who died during battle and selflessness for fellow warriors was a fundamental belief.
As one can see all of these reasons shown can make a direct correlation between Beowulf and Jesus
Beowulf is centered around Beowulf and the epic deeds he accomplished. Beowulf follows the role of the archetypal hero and fulfills it by going on epic quests to help and save kingdoms. But being the hero ultimately killed Beowulf. Although Beowulf dies, it shows how honorable he was to die for his kingdom. This is just one of the many characteristics
The names of Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. are known worldwide. They have lead many fighting what they believe in. One man many people think of when being a leader to fight for his beliefs of the people is Jesus Christ. Jesus is loved by many and hated by the powerful, just like these three other men, but their is one comparison that has been made to a certain protagonist of ancient times. In the epic poem ,Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, is a leader who fights for the betterment of society while being the one that many look up to.
Critically assess the extent of Christian and Latinate influence on Beowulf. When first reading Beowulf it would appear that the Christian references within it superimpose onto the essentially pagan view that makes a huge body of the poem. Therefore, within this assignment, there will be investigations of inconsistencies. Sources clearly show that Beowulf was written by Germanic pagans that had been debauched by some leftist ecclesiastic wordsmith , to the insistence that the author designedly created the Christian allegory along the lines of Book 1 of The Faerie Queen. It is know that Germanic traditions and techniques were used by Anglo-Saxons to frame Christian literature, just as it was with the poet of Beowulf.
With the battle to protect the city against the dragon, even though Beowulf was king he fought the dragon. He fought the dragon because no one else could. No one was as selfless as he was to risk his life to protect the city. Without Beowulf these monsters would over power good and there would be no balance between good and evil.
So every elder and experienced councilman/ among my people supported my resolve / to come here to you’” (Heaney 409-417). This first example suggests that Beowulf and his men come to Denmark to fight and help the people because he has heard about the terrible things Grendel has done, and thus starts the
He strangled Grendel with his bare hands. He fought Grendel’s mother by himself with no hesitation and fought the dragon to the death but in doing so Beowulf gave his life for those he vowed to protect. Beowulf’s life story is a true epic hero that will be spoken for
Near the end of his life as a king, Beowulf found that his citizens were being terrorized by a dragon. Although he was old and grizzled, the king took it on in battle. He showed tremendous courage even when knowing the odds were not in his favor. Previously, during his time in Denmark, Beowulf killed Grendel’s mother with the sword made for a giant. This showed his superhuman strength because as an ordinary human being Beowulf was able to handle and control the giant’s sword.
Beowulf is part of another tribe and is willingly offering to help the Danes. This shows that providing protection and safety to the people, even those of another
Beowulf went through so much to prove he was worthy enough to protect their kingdom and defeat Grendel. The story Beowulf was a great story to read and a great movie to watch; however, the battles were very eye catching and had a lot of extravagant and heroic doings of Beowulf. The first scenario that I’m going to discuss in the movie and story of Beowulf is The Battle with Grendel. In the movie Grendel attacked Beowulf in the Heriot while everyone was dancing and singing.
Further, it is later implied that though Beowulf is an instrument of God in doing this deed, “he is not entitled to enjoy Christian salvation,” since he was motivated by revenge and not salvation, as the former was what drove many non-Christian Scandinavians (Cain). Cain also remarked that the coming of Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons in the
Beowulf is an archetypal character within a legendary piece of text. He embodies the conglomerate of many Anglo Saxon values expressed throughout his heroic journey. Contrived by the mighty Northern Anglo Saxons, Beowulf is the manifestation of the Anglo Saxon ideals. This work of art helps us identify and analyze Beowulf’s ideals in a way that lets us deduce the values of the Anglo Saxon society. Examination of this poem lets us familiarize ourselves about a society obsessed with religion, vengeance and war-lust beings.