Old English poem Beowulf offers a number of contrasts in telling the story of the hero Beowulf and his fight to save a community not his own first from the monster Grendel and then from Grendel's mother. Later in the poem, Beowulf also fights a drag Continue Reading...
Beowulf: Examining Grendel One of the reasons that Beowolf is such a timeless text is because of the entrancing ambiguity of many of the characters described. Perhaps the most quixotic is Grendel, an entity which is described as monstrous, but which Continue Reading...
This is perhaps a significant difference between the two characters. While on one hand, Beowulf is undisputedly the leader of his kingdom, Achilles is an unofficial leader, unrecognized in function, but perceived so on the battlefield. Achilles is Continue Reading...
Beowulf: A Classic Medieval Archetypal Leader Beowulf is one of the earliest epic poems. It tells a classic tale of a great hero. The style of the epic reflects a much earlier writing style found in the Viking sagas. Yet the story is that of a Danis Continue Reading...
Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons Part 1: Introduction Although the epic Old English poem Beowulf has all the characteristics of myth and legend that pertain to fiction, as a historical document it is useful in teaching about the past—the values and Continue Reading...
Gilgamesh, Beowulf, And Young Goodman Brown The relationship between male figures in stories such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, both by anonymous writers, and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne not only highlight the importance of mal Continue Reading...
Leadership, Values, And Beowulf The epic poem of Beowulf is a narrative a famous warrior who eventually becomes a powerful king. The story involves the exploits of a Scandinavian warrior-prince who comes from the land of the Geats, located in what i Continue Reading...
Beowulf" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" are two tales which show striking similarities in many different literary aspects. These two tales, which were passed down orally from generation to generation in Northern Europe, include many elements Continue Reading...
monsters in Beowulf represent the abstract idea of evil, while Beowulf himself symbolizes good. In his quest, Beowulf faces three monsters: Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the fire dragon. Each of these monsters represents darkness, or an evil that e Continue Reading...
.. she would disclose nothing about the one unto the other, save what might avail to their reconcilement." (Confessions, Book IX, 21) It is certainly true that Monica was patient and long-suffering with her arbitrary son. The pitiful story depicted Continue Reading...
Role of Women Beowulf Breaking the Dichotomy between Male and Female: The Role of Women in Beowulf In her 1995 book article "The Women of Beowulf: A Context for Interpretation," Gillian R. Overing writes that "[t]he women in Beowulf, whether illegi Continue Reading...
Christian Elements in Beowulf Blending Pagan and Christian Themes in Beowulf The epic poem Beowulf was written during a time of great change. Ancient pagan societies were going through extreme religious and cultural transitions with the widespread Continue Reading...
He is not afraid to battle Grendel and his mother; in fact, he seems to welcome the challenge. This is important to the story because it helps back up the poet's tales of bravery and courage, and helps show that Beowulf is indeed an epic hero. A her Continue Reading...
Beowulf experiences tough circumstances and because he does the right things, he emerges a hero and can live knowing he did the best he could. Here, responsibility leads to good works and, subsequently, a good life. In "Sir Gawain and the Green Kni Continue Reading...
Seeing that he was miserable, she told him he could either have her loyal but ugly or beautiful and unfaithful (Chaucer pp). The knight leaves the decision up to her thus, giving the old hag exactly what she wanted, to be in control of her husband. Continue Reading...
Beowulf, like Prometheus, stands apart from the rest of his society. He possesses great strength and wisdom as a king, and only he can slay the monster Grendel. He must wait alone in the Great Hall, waiting for the beast, and he has no choice. Only Continue Reading...
Interestingly, although Raskolnikov's punishment comes before the end of the novel, only after he is banished to Siberia is he able to truly let God into his heart. This shows how earthly punishment and salvation are not always linked. The novel end Continue Reading...
villains in Beowulf and the Song of Roland, I believe those in the last-mentioned work are more justified in their actions than those in Beowulf. This at least is true from the perspective of the 20th century religious paradigm. In the modern world, Continue Reading...
Ina word, Beowulf is a hero that can be described with one word - loyal. Beowulf is nothing if he is not loyal. This is a significant trait and one that every warrior or hero must possess. We know that a hero must not only be loyal to oneself, but Continue Reading...
character similarities and differences between Grendel and Beowulf based on the classic poem, Beowulf. I would like some specific quotations (at least 5) to support the paragraphs in which the two characters are compared. Beowulf and Grendel are tw Continue Reading...
embedded values within the Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon communities through their fundamental belief systems. In particular, it seeks to uncover the underlying similarities as also the divergence apparent in the cultures by addressing the implication of Continue Reading...
ancient culture had its own views of right and wrong, of what made individuals weak or strong, their own views of religion and politics, what role women should play, and ideas regarding courage, wisdom and death. Reading Antigone, Beowulf and Gilgam Continue Reading...
Dante's Inferno And The Heroic Quest Like Homer's "The Odyssey," and "The Iliad," Dante's "The Inferno" begins with a kind of god's eye view of the world. However, rather than the gods looking down and squabbling about the morality of humans they se Continue Reading...
Epic heroes are drawn from ancient mythology and similar long narratives and epic poems. The term is variously used to refer to any celebrated figure in ancient legends. The heroes belong to a princely stature that is usually born to royalty, gods an Continue Reading...
Humanities Annotated Bibliography Annotated Bibliography Beowulf: A dual-language edition. (1977). NY: Doubleday. One of the most striking examples of literature to come out of the Dark Ages was Beowulf, created by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet and Continue Reading...
Troublemakers Though an audience trained by the principle of chivalry and Christian sentiment might expect an epic hero to be a paragon of virtue, the ancient epic heroes were quite often more what the postmodernists have created in the modern antih Continue Reading...
Mead hall plays an important role in ancient Anglo-Saxon warrior culture. As we see in Beowulf, the mead hall functions as a meeting place, a place of refuge, and a place for socialization. The mead hall of Heorot also served as the seat of governmen Continue Reading...
Grendel And After that it's Elephants All the Way Done Wagner's Grendel is one of the most finely crafted pieces of postmodern fiction because it performs both of the functions with which postmodern literature is tasked. First, it is a work of lite Continue Reading...
features of residual (or "secondary") orality preserved in Voluspa, according to the criteria Ong (1982) advances? Ong (1982) talks about how cultures in the past were only able to preserve their heritage through stories that meticulously passed do Continue Reading...
Male Figures In works of fiction, the hero's journey will always be fraught with danger. He will not only have to overcome his own shortcomings, but will also encounter individuals who hope to impede his journey and prevent him from accomplishing h Continue Reading...
However, because of Gilgamesh's thought that he may be invincible, he is actually putting his friend's life at risk by going on his adventure. In his attempt to prove that he is brave and that he would rather die for a cause, he actually indirectly Continue Reading...
This notion was reinforced during her second marriage. After her son died, again because of the societal expectations, she had to remarry. It would not be good to be a single woman at her age. She however, did not want to be put into a marriage, so Continue Reading...
Emilia, Wife of Iago Do not learn of him, Emilia, though he be thy husband.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Othello, Act II, Scene i.] More than once, I think to myself how life could have been differed between that of my previous past to that which I have now Continue Reading...
Likewise, the Nazis also employed state agents and encouraged citizens to inform on one another to the authorities for speaking out against the Nazi regime. Obviously, the author wrote the work as a caution about the intrusion of the state into the Continue Reading...
Warrior Hero: A Stranger in a Strange Land The figure of the hero is set apart from the common herd of ordinary men by virtue of his special qualities and abilities; in some works, this separateness is literal - he is in a strange land apart from h Continue Reading...
Epic and Epic Heroes Epic is probably one of the most fascinating forms of ancient narratives and its contribution to the growth and evolution of literature cannot be overestimated. To seek a clear definition of an epic would be a futile attempt sin Continue Reading...
Mentor for the Squire The Canterbury Tales" and "Beowulf" were written centuries apart, yet, each work contains similar elements such as heroism and chivalry. Chaucer's tale, set in the late 1300's England, depicts English society as each character Continue Reading...
The Tale of the Heike The Tale of the Heike focuses on heroic qualities as depicted by the Japanese culture of the 12th and 13th centuries. It is deeply ingrained in the Buddhist tradition, with its central morality focusing on the foolishness of Continue Reading...
Greek Hero Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey and the Northern Hero Beowulf in the saga BeoWulf, discussing how either can be heroes and arguing in some ways that it is more than deeds that marks a hero, but also the way in which they behave and relate to Continue Reading...
Thryth is however easily rehabilitated by marriage, as she is to some degree functional within her society. Grendel's mother is not, and the only remedy for her type of complete evil is death. As her son, she is an outcast, and deserving of a death Continue Reading...
