...unsuccessful downfall in his life. Beowulf was not able to put his internal struggles to an end. Instead, these struggles brought him to his inglorious end. Greed is one of the unpropitious qualities that Beowulf possessed and battled internally throughout the course of his life.Beowulf avarice for fame is the principal factor that drove him from Geatland to Daneland in a time when no one,not even the Danes’ great lord, was able to defeat a terrifying fiend named Grendel. When he met with Hrothgar, Beowulf even stated that his lord Higlac might think less of him if he was afraid to fight the monster and “hid behind some broad linden shield“.Beowulf’s greed for gaining glory instigated Beowulf to go on a second battle with Grendel’s mother.Hrothgar said that after Beowulf defeats Grendel’s mother, he will be rewarded with “heaped-up ancient treasure” for the battle he wins.Without giving a second thought, Beowulf agreed that he will fight .The same greed also provoked him to fight the horrendous dragon. He did not want to lose his fame and for this reason, he knew he had to go in a battle with the dragon in order to maintain his glory as a king. Pride was another detrimental quality Beowulf struggled with that predominated different periods in his life.Beowulf’s overconfidence was first evident in an event that Unferth,Hrothgar’s courtier, recalls. After Beowulf enters Herot Hall and flaunts about his great achievements, Unferth referred to Beowulf as “the same boastful fool...
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...In the epic poem, Beowulf external conflicts are easy to recognize as they are Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon. As his human tendencies they are pride, greed, and betrayal. He essentially fails to show his internal conflicts as he thinks his power was given to him by god. By him being able to face his external conflicts, he’s able to realize his internal conflicts. To begin with, Beowulf is a brave soldier that is not afraid of anything. He comes across a situation that is being taking place in the Danes. A tremendous monster terrorizing the Danes for twelve years has got his attention. Beowulf’s arrival in the Dane’s is celebrated and greeted by King Hrothgar. At the mead-hall, Beowulf talks about how he will defeat Grendel head-on...
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...and Beowulf are tales that depict the power of greed, fame, and glory. As the stories got passed down there was and still is a lesser and lesser value but the lessons to be learned are still important in today’s society. The frame story is included in “The Pardoners Tale” by the teaching of a moral lesson and is also included in Beowulf by introducing the setting to the story. In both frame stories the characters happen to run into certain challenges and tests. Through the frames story we see the challenge that greed is the root of all evil in “The Pardoners Tale”....
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...once said “Beowulf is the story of a dual ordeal: an external battle with vicious opponents and an internal battle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self- concern”. This quote means that along with apparent physical conflicts between demons and foes, Beowulf also faces conflicts within himself with his character traits. This quote is very accurate because Beowulf confronts physical opposition with Grendel, Grendel's mother and the dragon but, also he faces internal battles with pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self- concern with his self image and men he relied on. There are many external battles throughout this epic where Beowulf fends off an enemy. Beowulf is first faced with Grendel, a horrible monster terrorizing Herot. He battles and kills Grendel for King Hrothgar. After Grendel's death, Beowulf is faced with another external struggle with Grendel's mother whom he also defeats. Then after this battle he is King of Geatland for 50 years where he is eventually faced with another challenge with the dragon. Lastly he defeats the external conflict of the dragon by killing it, his men were though and did not follow their leader into the battle leaving Beowulf more unlikely to succeed. In the end he loses his life in the struggle. All of these conflicts further prove how part of the dual ordeal of Beowulf is external conflicts between Beowulf and an anti- hero or his trusted men. Conflicts also aroused internally between Beowulf and himself...
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...Thesis x2?: The Beowulf poet aims to use the monsters as puppets in order to demonstrate the problematic pride of the Germanic society, thus making the good and bad more similar than initially believed. (Perhaps more like “than given by first impression”) Grendel is one of the representations of the problematic pride within the Anglo-Saxons’ heroic society. As known of the society, one’s glory arises from their accomplishments for their lord or king. The Germanic culture believed heavily on the sharing of prizes, thus making them (nonselfish) people. Their honor was seen to be eternal, considering how their names were known throughout history. In this sense, the natural (happening?) of these accomplishments is for the holder to go higher in...
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...The english language is one of the hardest languages to learn because of its multiple roots of different languages.Before the english that we speak today was spoken,older versions of it had been spoken by the people before us.Since 450,the english language had begun its transition,including the culture of the time periods starting with the Anglo-Saxon. Years before the era of the Anglo Saxon had begun,the royal families of the Danish (the Danes)and the Scandinavians(the Geats),had inhabited the Southern part of Sweden when they had decided to invade the island of Great Britain and settled.This migration had brought several Germanic languages together that formed Old English. Hundreds of years ago,the novel Beowulf was written by an unknown...
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...Ms. Beaudoin English IV Honors Scholars and critical readers have various opinions about the themes of Beowulf. Choose one statement to argue for or against a particular extent and in a well-developed, proofread paper support your choice with examples and quotations from the text of the epic. 1.) Beowulf presents an ideal of loyalty. The failure to live up to this ideal on the part of others points up the extraordinary faithfulness of Beowulf. 2.) Beowulf is a blending of Christian traditions with a folk story that praises loyalty, courage, and faith in the face of extreme danger and even death. It presents a model of a human being willing to die to deliver others from terrifying evil forces. 3.) Beowulf is the story of a dual ordeal—an external battle with vicious opponents and an internal battle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self-concern. 4.) Beowulf is the universal story of life’s journey from adolescence to adulthood to old age. The hero grows in wisdom about self about the world through the pain and triumph of personal experience. Requirements: (1) 3 full pages. (2) Times New Roman 12 pt. font, double-spaced, proper MLA format. (3) Work Cited page (Note this is a translated excerpt from your textbook). (4) Submission of typed hard copy in class. (5) Upload to Turnitin.com by 7am on due date. (6) Write choice of topic number on back of hard copy. Penalties: -5/period(s)...
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...Beowulf is one of the epic poems portraying a heroic concept. The Anglo-Saxon time frame used Old English to come forth a generation of literature, which included heroic poetry. Beowulf consists of many characters contributing to the plot of the poem. There are both basic and complex archetypes shown in the poem. The epic poem includes many archetypes but the most dominant ones including the hero, the shadow, and the herald. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the author uses archetypes to develop the plot. The main character Beowulf, displays a superior archetype in the epic poem by being the hero within the story. A hero is defined as one who gets praised for brave acts and Beowulf does exactly that. Beowulf displays this archetype in various ways...
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...the evolution of society. In the days of Beowulf and the Vikings, a hero was a man who was strong and courageous, willing and able to protect his tribe and provide for his people. But today, since our culture has vastly changed, so has the meaning of this word; now it is used for the brave and selfless people of the world. Though Beowulf may have acted in ways that were not so heroic, he should be recognized as a hero. Many people recognize Beowulf as the hero of Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf was the first poem told in Anglo-Saxon England sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, but it's not actually set in that time and place. It's actually set several hundred years earlier, in the 5th or 6th century. Beowulf does not take place in England, instead, the action happens in the land of the Danes what is known as the nation of Denmark and the land of the Geats which today is known as the nation of Sweden. The main action of the story is set around 500 a.d. Judging by Beowulf’s many feats and strengths, Beowulf’s heroism is not hard to believe. When Beowulf slays the monster Grendal in the classic tale," he was considered a great hero. The slaying of Grendel required courage, bravery, intelligence, perseverance, and mental and physical strength. Certain passages in the story support the opinion that Beowulf has all these qualities. However, in the epic, Beowulf explores the great lengths the character had to go through to succeed. Beowulf did anything in his power to prevail, leading...
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...Lynn Wells Dr. Brandy Lowery ENGL2322 16 September 2015 Title “Beowulf” is the universal story of life’s journey from adolescence to adulthood and to old age. The hero grows in wisdom about himself and about the world through the pain and triumph of personal experience. In the mythical poem “Beuowulf” the audience is able to see how he grows in wisdom about himself and about the world with each monster he faces. Beowulf is a hero who battles three different monsters, Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the Dragon. Each monster he faces represents different meanings to him. In times of battle, Beowulf experience many hardships and victories. Grendel is a strong evil water-monster who went to Herot Hall and slaughtered many of Hrothgar’s men. When Beowulf is called to fight Grendel he depicts himself as a man with no fear. Beowulf knows that he is a young strong warrior and is the only one who has the strength to defeat this evil monster. He accepts the challenge and announces that he will fight barehanded which concludes that he is fully confident in himself. He announces, “I have also heard the thrust of a weapon no threat to his threws. Thus I foreswear my sword and strong shield. Instead I shall grab and grapple with Grendel, fighting for life with that fearsome foe” (Gardner 40-41). Beowulf proves his expertise to defeat Grendel by keeping Grendel’s arm. As described, “ As a token of triumph, the troop leader hung the shorn-off shoulder and arm by its hand: the grip of Grendel...
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...In all stories there has to be some sort of conflict, and because of the strong influence of Scandinavia culture, battles were almost a necessity in Beowulf. Because there had to be battles, only two options were available when Christians decided to take on the epic: Beowulf kills, or he himself dies. If Beowulf dies, then there is no story and he cannot kill another human being, for it expresses extensively in the bible that it is a sin to murder, and that we as humans, should never kill other humans. So this causes a dilemma due to the necessity for both battles and the main character to not sin against the leading religion of the time. The solution is what may be plausible evidence for the theory that the Christian narrators changed the characters from the original Beowulf into monsters. In reality this solution is incredibly genius, as it provides the audience with the action and fighting that they demand, while Beowulf technically never commits a serious sin. In fact, the transition to monsters as the antagonist provide a wider variety to the story, as they are now more unknown and cause extra excitement and anxiety to the...
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...Old and Middle English Literature In many works from the Old English period, which was approximately between 600-1100, there were many distinguishing characteristics, which included heroism, a strict class system, religion, and teachings of moral behavior. Some different characteristics of Old English literature, which is a language derived from Old German, include a strong belief in fate in a very poetry dominated era. Many of the poems are called elegies of that time, which were sorrowful poems, such as “The Wanderer.” Another large characteristic of Old English literature is that of praising or honoring heroes of any kind, especially ones that prevail in battle. Some of these include the Cross from, “Dream of the Rood,” Beowulf from Beowulf, the lost hero in “The Wanderer,” Judith from “Judith,” and the biggest hero who is included in almost all poems and pieces of Old English literature, Christ. Many of these works express much religious faith having to do with Christianity. The Anglo-Saxon people also had a very strict class system. Going along with the faith they believed in the Great Chain of Being, which said that when God made the entire world each creature was put in their position. God made a monarchy and put the members of that high status position there for a reason and did the same for a person who was a slave, God made them that and put them in that position in society. The people on the top of the chain are supposed to help the others on the lower end...
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...Fate was an entity for the tribal Germanic people. This was the force that controlled the direction of their very lives. The Fates were three women who wove the lives of the people with thread. In contrast, the poet gives “dread loom” into the hands of God (Raffel 696).Hrothgar gives a speech on the sovereignty of God, his control over everything (Raffel 1724-1731). God is said to ordain everything. At his will, “all the world turns when he spins it” (1738-1739). Yet, fate is called upon and referred to though the entire epic. The tug of war over fate is yet another illustration of the war between Christianity and Paganism. Though many things define a culture, the Germanic people of Beowulf’s time were defined by the warrior code. This was...
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...The Many Discoveries of Beowulf Although this poem isn’t of love or lust, it is filled with epic fights that lead to a great amount of bloodshed and celebrations for the hero. Beowulf’s writer created a great deal of complications when writing this poem. He used many themes and symbols the portray his tragic poem. The characters are very unclear but each have their reasoning for being in the poem, one being revenge on something or someone. Kathryn Hume stated, “ If a good man and the abstraction “ troublemaking” are given heroic shapes and matched in contest, we expect the good man to win, for troublemaking is not a sin likely to overcome him” (10). “ The early history of every nation is full of legend and myth. In literature, people try to record and describe the early history and to honor their heros in poems, epics, and folklores” (Wang 52). Beowulf is the main character throughout the poem, however the author tells us nothing about Beowulf’s past life other than his father was a great warrior as well as Beowulf himself. However, a young age Beowulf was considered cowardly. “ Were the poem centered on Beowulf himself, we would expect to learn something about him as a person” (Hume 2). The little we do know about Beowulf is still a great amount on his courage. He fights three battles and with each one he portrays a little bit of heroism. “Though he was little-known when coming to the Danes, he is full of courage and energy. Though he decreases in his strength in his old...
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...Good Vs. Evil In Beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the poem's main and most important aspect. The poet makes it clear that good and evil doesn’t exist as only opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. Beowulf represents the ability to do good or to perform acts selflessly and in help of others. Goodness is also showed throughout this epic as having the ability to cleanse evil. Even though evil is presented by Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon, who are filled with a desire to act against people and ultimately destroy them, even pride, a human quality, is presented in Beowulf as a sign that evil exists. This story might even be considered a classic because it mainly talks about the old fashion good vs. evil, hero vs. villain. Beowulf and the three monsters show the significant difference between good and evil, and why god will always prevail. At the beginning of the play, one reads about Grendel, who is a man eating monster who is feared by everyone. Grendel represents sin and evil throughout the story in various ways. Evil is first shown by the monster Grendel when, “Suddenly then the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting places and rushed to his lair”. (Beowulf 120-124). Grendel lives in the darkness and has absolutely no remorse on human life. This shows a very big quality of an evil being and how the Anglo-Saxons viewed evil in forms of monsters. Evil is also thought to be greedy...
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