...“..Beowulf, Higlac’s follower and the strongest of the Geats- greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world--” these are the words that describe Beowulf. The poem Beowulf is the earliest example of poetry in the English language. The story takes place in Scandinavia during the 5th century CE, about a brave Germanic Warrior named Beowulf who lived to fight for glory and honor. In fact, the poem is still around up-to-date, and indeed a movie was made as well. However, the movie Beowulf shows numerous amount of differences within the poem based on our society today. Although the poem and the movie Beowulf share some similarities, the different portrayals of Beowulf’s role as a hero, Beowulf’s last battle, and gender role divulge the values of society in which they are told. To begin with, the first example of similarities and difference in the poem and movie Beowulf is warrior’s role as a mighty and brave hero. In the poem Beowulf; Beowulf was notable for his heroic character, and described as the bravest and strongest of all the geats. When Hrothgar’s herot was attacked by the evil monster Grendel; Beowulf accepted the monster’s terms that...
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...Beowulf in Old English [ˈbeːo̯wʊlf] or [ˈbeːəwʊlf]) is the conventional title[note 1] of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet[note 2] is dated between the 8th[1][2] and the early 11th century.[3] In 1731, the manuscript was badly damaged by a fire that swept through a building housing a collection of Medieval manuscripts assembled by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton. The poem fell into obscurity for decades, and its existence did not become widely known again until it was printed in 1815 in an edition prepared by the Icelandic-Danish scholar Grímur Jónsson Thorkelin.[4] In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats in Scandinavia, comes to the help of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall (in Heorot) has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland in Sweden and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland. Story The main protagonist, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose great...
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...Allegiance throughout Beowulf In Beowulf, loyalty and allegiance is a virtue found throughout the poem. It’s displayed in the battles Beowulf fought to end the monsters’ reign of terror. Also, when Beowulf helps Hrothgar and his men by killing Grendel. Plus, when Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother who killed Hrothgar's closest friend. Finally, when Wiglaf shows his loyalty to Beowulf during his last battle. Overall loyalty and allegiance is a common virtue displayed in Beowulf. At the beginning of the poem, Beowulf wants to repay his debt from when Hrothgar came to his father’s aid. So, he decides to help because Hrothgar’s “country is cursed with some strange, vicious creature that hunts only at night and that no one has seen” (The Coming of Beowulf). Thus, he asks his men to join him in battle, and they agree. That demonstrates loyalty between Beowulf and his men. Beowulf and his men then kill Grendel which ends his reign of terror he instilled on Hrothgar and his men. This proposes Beowulf keeps his words and remains loyal to those who have helped him in the past along with his men. Another example of loyalty in Beowulf was when...
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...Women in Beowulf Beowulf shows the importance of male heroism and the significance of women is minimized. Even though it is true that their appearance is limited and brief, they do play fundamental roles in it. The women in Beowulf could themselves be considered showing heroism, just in different ways. There are two queens in the poem: Wealhtheow and Hygd. They are both queens by marriage to the king, and they are hostesses in that they receive people in the hall and make sure that everyone is drinking and having a good time. Noble women played an important role in heroic Anglo-Saxon society and had an essential influence in the hall, especially in hall ceremonies, though they also played an active role in peacekeeping. The hall is presented as the central social element in the poem, where people gathered together to talk about the major events of the court and to socialize. The poet always makes use of positive words to describe them: Wealhtheow, “she graciously saluted the men” (614), “queenly and dignified” (621). Her role as hostesses has to do with the duty of carrying the mead cup and pass it to the king and warriors. This apparently unimportant task is more revealing than we may think; it establishes a hierarchy in the hall. The first time Wealhtheow makes her appearance in the poem (612-641), she offers the cup to Hrothgar first, making clear that he is the most powerful figure in the hall, the king: “handed the cup first to Hrothgar, their homeland’s...
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...Wisdom as a Warrior Beowulf, an epic tale from the Anglo-Saxon era, depicts a hero that goes by the name Beowulf. Beowulf is a Geatish warrior who lives to later on becomes a king. On this journey from a young warrior of the Geatish nation, to a king amongst the people, Beowulf experienced many battles and ended up victorious to his last breath. Out of the many battles Beowulf had, three specific battles stand out to show how Beowulf evolved as a warrior. These battles are; the battle with Grendel, the battle with Grendel’s mother, and the battle with a dragon. The progress achieved in each battle proved to be constructive to his wisdom as a warrior. The first battle took place in the land of the Danes with, “This grim spirit called Grendel, / mighty stalker of the marches,” (Beowulf 103-104). Grendel terrorized the mead hall named “Heorot.” This terrorizing of the mead hall, by Grendel, took place for twelve long winters in the Danish land. Word of this terrorizing reached the ears of Beowulf which caused him and his army to travel to land of the Danes. Grendel’s terror consisted of sneaking upon sleeping soldiers in the mead hall and fulfilling his bloodlust and hatred by slaying the Danish soldiers. As said before this slaying took place for twelve winters. At this point, Beowulf is a young and naïve soldier. This is shown by his battle with the monster Grendel. Instead of going into battle with armor, weapons, and anything else that would give Beowulf the upper hand on Grendel...
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...While there are many differences between the lead characters in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf—Beowulf is able to save many people during his battles and is more spiritual, while Gawain’s battle was with himself and he pays more attention to his morals—there are also similarities between the two. In fact, many fail to recognize that both characters share similarities throughout their individual stories. These similarities come with human error making each knight memorable and more realistic. Sir Gawain and Beowulf are very similar in that they both display heroism and feel a need to prove their worth, ultimately showing that one can prevail even when mistakes are made. Sir Gawain and Beowulf, both feel the need to prove themselves,...
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...story of Beowulf represents what qualities a hero should embrace. Many heroes are portrayed as men with god-like gifts, or born half god; Beowulf is simply born strong, courageous, brave, and selfless. He does what good he can do where he can. His mood and tone are always that of someone doing the good deed, for the sake of the deed itself. In the film Beowulf, filmed in 2007, the hero still retains some of his virtuous qualities but in a smaller form. Beowulf still comes to Hrothgar’s to repay his father's debt, however, in the film Beowulf gives lust, and is clearly attracted to Hrothgar’s Queen. In the book, Beowulf does not think twice about the queen. His virtues keep him from drifting off task, as he is simply there to kill the monster, which plagues the Danes. The film may not have meant to, but does portray Beowulf as prideful concerning his achievements. A portion in the story addresses Beowulf’s swimming race with Breca. In the film, Beowulf is matched in strength with Breca and claims he was saving his strength for the last loop. In the book, Beowulf makes note that he and Breca were tied, and neither could beat each other. Unferth challenges whether or not Beowulf can even beat Grendel, because of his loss of the swimming race. Beowulf’s response in the book shows his maturity and a level head. Though he is young he manages to answer very calmly, traditionally Beowulf would have had rights to challenge Unferth, despite having this opportunity Beowulf declines...
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...LITERATURE OF THE OLD ENGLISH AND THE OLD IRISH PERIODS (600-1100 A.D.) 1- OLD ENGLISH HISTORY AND LANGUAGE Initial literatures are spoken and that oral literature have been many amplifications, later appear the texts. Beowulf was oral first and then became written. There are lots of fragments written literally. Some texts were lost and now we only have fragments. These texts are writing in manuscripts, there weren’t books in that period. In particular there are four manuscripts that contain most of English literature: Cotton Vitelius, Exeter Book, Junius Manuscript and Vercelli Manuscript; they are from 10th century. However the poetry and the texts contain the literature from 9th century, but they originated in 7th century orally (all of them originated orally before they appear written). That manuscripts tell some things about the society of this period of time, so we know details of this century. This period is the Anglo-Saxon period, before them there were the Britons who were invaded by some different people. They spoke different dialects of old English, the stronger kingdom was Wessex, which dialect was the most important and it called “west saxon”. Beowulf was writing in this dialect. In 597 appeared the Christianization. This means that the English became Christian, it became familiar with the church language: Latin. Latin is the culture language. The entry of Christianity is the entry of the culture in Britain. 2- WRITTEN RECORDS OF THE ANGLOSAXON PERIOD ...
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...English Study Guide E period Beowulf * The Wrath of Grendel Grendel, a murderous, powerful monster lurks outside Hrothgar’s a Danish King’s, extravagant party. God drove out the demons, but they split into many forms of evil spirits, fiends, goblins, monsters, and giants. Grendel is a demonic monster. At night, when the party ended, Grendel ate 30 guests and left blood everywhere. In the morning, the people of Herot and Hrothgar mourned the deaths of Grendel’s victims. However, Grendel came again and ate all of Hrothgar’s soldiers, leaving Herot bare. Hrothgar was incredibly saddened by this. However, God protected him and no help came from the pagan sacrifices. The only protection came from God. * The Coming of Beowulf In the land of the Geats, ruled by Higlac, Beowulf was the greatest and strongest of all the men. He decided to go to see Hrothgar, because he has heard of the horrors Grendel brought. The Geats egged on his adventure, so Beowulf took a crew of the mightiest men he could find and set forth on his journey. They arrived at the Danish shore and were questioned by the guard, who thought they might be raiders or pirates. Beowulf explained they were Geats; his father was Edgetho, a famous soldier and explained why they were there. The guard lets them pass. They enter Herot and are called to see the King. Beowulf is greeted by Hrothgar and explains why he is there. He says he will fight and kill Grendel without fear, and if he looses to...
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...Beowulf: A Historical Masterpiece Written in approximately 750 A.D., Beowulf is the only remaining transcript of the 10th century. Even before it was written though, it had been circulated though it’s original oral narrative. Many of the events and characters tie to battles and actual figures in history that pre-date the Anglo-Saxon invasion in 450 A.D. Though originally pagan in nature, due to the Anglo-Saxon conversion to Christianity Beowulf was told through a Christian poet. The poet does reference to biblical thoughts and ideas, it’s mixed within the basic Anglo-Saxon principle. Which is pretty impressive. The fact that one can use Beowulf as a way to look at and understand the Anglo-Saxon culture, which may have been lost without it, is an historical feet all on its own. The values shown in the characters in Beowulf are the same values the Anglo-Saxon had. When it came to the values of the warrior class, it’s especially similar. Beowulf is in a sense the quintessential Anglo-Saxon warrior. Warriors at that time were first and foremost loyal to his people and his thane. A warrior was also brave and valorous. Without these what kind of warrior would one be? The warrior had to be courageous to go out to battle without certainty of coming home. Along with courage, a warrior also had to be proud. Not too proud as to offend the thane or his lady, just enough to make him seem worthwhile. Strength was a very sought after trait in a warrior. Strength was so highly viewed in...
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...(The three kinds of Evil in the story Beowulf) Have you ever felt the evil in the world? Have you ever been in a situation where you know it doesn’t feel right? The evil in the world can cause many things for people, such as fear, hurt, and most of all stress. Evil is evil, and that makes people, fear the world around them. In many different aspects there is evil all around us. When someone decides to start doing drugs, or binge drinking it is called evil. All of that stuff takes over your life, and it can change people’s perspective on life. In the story Beowulf, this hero is fighting three types of evil, they are all different but in some way they are all the same. The evil in the story is something...
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...The key character in the poem Beowulf, is a heroic and a legendary character whose actions are embodied to the Anglo-Saxon culture. As a hero he has the accepted and the most ideal characteristics that are accepted in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The tale revolves around these characteristics to make up an epic tale. Beowulf is moulded to possess the virtues, traits and beliefs that were highly respected and requires in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Therefore, is displayed to have these virtues in his own actions and words during different circumstances in the tale. Reading Beowulf brings out lots of similarities with many pieces of literature from the Ancient Greek and the Modern literature. The Beowulf carries is similar to many Greek dramas that focused on a protagonist who was turned out to be a tragic hero. There was an element of belief in the gods who had super- human powers and had unique and ultimate special skills of their own, and overcame unsurmountable problems. However, in Beowulf, there is no Greek or Roman gods, but there are other supernatural beings defined as monsters that exist and are difficult to win over. Beowulf is extra-ordinarily strong, agile, and super intelligent. He is portrayed as one who overcomes many obstacles and was able to kill Grendel and his mother and the others in the sea. In addition, the wide character list and meaningful names is similar to those of other types of literature of the early eras. The story of Paradise lost opens in hell. Satan...
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...this essay I will be comparing and contrasting two great warriors who have earned to become a hero. Beowulf, and the character from the 13th warrior are two amazing hero’s that have a lot of courage and strength for their people and their own soul. Beowulf came to be considered a hero when he hears the tragic story of king Hrothgar. Afterwards he sailed to Denmark to help out the helpless king Hrothgar and his army who have been attacked many times by the cruel Grendel. Grendel in the story is considered to be a horrible demon that lives in the swamplands of Hrothgar’s kingdom. Grendel attacked the warriors because of the noise they made when they were in Heorot. Therefore Grendel terrorized the warriors every night, killing them and defeating their efforts to fight back. Beowulf who at the time was inspired by the story he heard went with some of his closest companions, and asks the great king Hrothgar if he could fight the mean devil Grendel, and without a doubt the helpless king accepts the offer. At last Grendel arrives, to a feast the king held for Beowulf brave remark. Beowulf fights him unarmed, proving himself stronger than the demon, who is terrified. As Grendel struggles to escape, Beowulf tears the monster’s arm off. Badly wounded, Grendel escapes back into the swamp to die. The severed arm is hung high in the Mead Hall as a trophy of victory. Later that night Grendel’s mom shows up to the Mead Hall, seeking revenge for her son’s death....
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...Beowulf versus Grendel is a classic duel that has been told for centuries. While the majority of people have heard the point of view of Beowulf, not many have also thought about Grendel’s side of the story. In the beginning of the meat of the story, Grendel would sneak into the town in the middle of the night and eat most everyone it could find. Typical monster. Being the great tactician he is, Beowulf arrived and devised a plan to take down Grendel. As the monster would creep down the hall Beowulf hid in a bed simply waiting for Grendel to reach him. At this point is where people might begin to question Beowulf’s plan. On the way to the “sleeping” savior, quite a few people died without any type of reaction from Beowulf. However, finally when he was reached, he opened his eyes and grabbed onto Grendel and started beating the monster down. Being the hero story it was, all the details were ignored as Beowulf fought Grendel but the typical ending was introduced of Grendel running away in pain to die. The real interesting part of the story comes with the reading of Grendel. The entirety of the fight, Beowulf had the advantage over Grendel pertaining to the fact that he had the element of surprise and could have beaten Grendel in a small margin of time, but why didn’t it happen that way? To what...
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...turn causes Grendel to come to accept his role in life and goes on living the monster he was meant to be. Grendel himself exhibits signs of nihilism. While stuck in tree as the bull is attacking him he thinks to himself saying, "I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears" (21-22). This view of Grendel's is a nihilistic one and is one he continually enfolds throughout the book. To Grendel, the value of human life has no meaning. He is constantly killing Hrothgar's people as if it was a mechanical thing he does. An example of how Grendel disvalues human life is when he storms Hrothgar's mead hall determined to kill Wealtheow after seeing how much she means to the king and his people. "I would kill her and teach them reality" (110). He does however change his mind because he concludes that killing her would be as pointless as not killing her. It would have had no meaning in the end. "I changed my mind. It would be meaningless, killing her. As meaningless as letting her live" (110). This in turn expresses Grendel's nihilistic view of life, one that was influenced by the dragon himself. The dragon is the definition of nihilism. When Grendel seeks his advice about...
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