...What is Beowulf doing? (An analysis of the motivations for Beowulf’s actions in the poem) Beowulf is a hero figure that fights many monsters and for many reasons. Beowulf has been translated from an oral tale to a written tale in old English, to a written tale in modern English. It is unclear who the original author of the tale is, although many think that monks are partially responsible for it. Beowulf has three main battles throughout the tale and there is a motivation behind each one. The three motivations for Beowulf’s actions are that it is his duty, he wants to be a hero, and he wants to leave something behind for his people. In the Anglo Saxon time period, something being someone’s duty is something that is really important and Beowulf...
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...The Reasoning for Beowulf’s Killing (An Analysis of why Beowulf Killed The Three Monsters in The Story Beowulf) Beowulf is an epic poem of a man, who had the strength of 40 men, called Beowulf. He is a Norsemen which were scary, brutal killing men. The tale begins as an oral story, told around campfires and not being written down until several years later. These men live by a code called the Anglo-Saxon code. The code set guidelines on how the Norsemen are supposed to act and behave. This code gave an understanding of the power of a role model, which the men would look to, or in other words, the leader. Beowulf faces three monsters in the poem, and tries to defeat them all. In the epic poem, Beowulf, Beowulf has three motivations for killing the three monsters. In the story, Beowulf, Beowulf’s motivation to kill the first monster, Grendel, was because of duty. Beowulf travels from his country to Harot in order to fight Grendel because his people knew of his ability to fight, therefore, making it his duty to kill the monster. When Beowulf meets Hrothgar, the aging lord of the Dunes, and gives him information about where he comes from and his background. Obligation is another word associated with duty, which made Beowulf...
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...was the most exciting. During this underwater fight, the second of his three fights, Beowulf and his adversary continually battle throughout her home. Although the conflict seems unrealistic because of the location, it makes the battle even more thrilling and suspenseful. For this and several more reasons, the battle between Beowulf and Grendal's mother is the most exciting episode in this brilliant epic. The battle begins when Beowulf travels for many hours underwater to take revenge against Grendal's mother the day after she carried of one of Hrothgar's men. Beowulf and she proceed to fight until her miserable death in her own home. When Beowulf was almost to the point of death, he grabbed a giant sword of the wall and slew Grendal's mother. To me, this entire fight is very unrealistic. The sword, supposedly a massive sword created by giants, could never have been lifted by a normal person. The fact that he took several hours to get to the bottom of the lake makes the episode seem very unlikely, but it is also very useful in creating suspense in this poem. This entire episode is filled with excitement, suspense, and imagery. Suspense and imagery were hand-in-hand during this fight. Not only did suspense keep the reader's attention; it also created the mood of this episode. The most exciting point was when Beowulf took the giants' sword off the wall and killed Grendal's mother. When Beowulf took the sword down, I could actually see the sword in my head. As I thought of it...
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...supernatural beings. Comparing Beowulf to Percy Jackson based on their culture and heroic characteristics involving bravery, leadership, strength, personality traits, fighting style, and their motivation to fight. Focuses on the two different aspects of heroism as defined by Greek and Anglo Saxon culture. Beowulf and Percy Jackson share the heroic traits of leadership skills, superhuman strength and bravery. Beowulf is the leader of the Geats,...
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...Beowulf vs. Achilles “They were combat causalities, brave men and women who risked their lives to safeguard our freedom. And they paid for our liberty with their lives” (Cannon). So many people die for the freedoms that the American person values. As society grows and becomes different the true heroes are becoming less recognized. What modern day people would say about today's heroes would be far from the brave, and courageous war soldiers. A very long time ago, there were two brave and courageous warriors, Beowulf of Denmark and Achilles of Greece. These two individuals reached the highest expectations and excelled at successfully leading their people in battle. Both amazing leaders and determined fighters, but they came from different backgrounds,...
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...Beowulf Part 1 * Grendel is introduced -murderous;evil;fiend;demon -In pain -Compared to the Devil * Why is Grendel evil? * He is a monster * Descendant form Cain * Grendel wants to feel loved by a higher power but cannot because Cains curse is on him -Grendel kills because of his misery and misery always enjoys company THEME: Light Vs. Darkness Hrothgar= Light Grendel= Darkness(Evil) * We see that Hrothgars men are happy and loyal Part 2 * Grendel slaughters 30 men in their sleep; he is ruthless * Grendel continues to kill for the next 12 winters * Hrothgar cannot be touched by Grendel -The Kings’ thrown is divine therefore Grendel will not touch it; it’s a boundary * Hrothgar does not care about his men * Hrothgar is selfish and a coward * He will not ask for help because of his pride * Men that volunteer to fight Grendel are doing it only for the glory Part 3 * Beowulf is introduced as an epic hero * Hrothgar did not seek help because of his pride; he is too proud * Characteristics that prove Beowulf is an epic hero: -loved by the Geats -going on a quest -mightiest men -strong -bitter and fresh -risking death Part 4 * Wulfgar request that Beowulf remove all weapons before entering onto the premises; he wants to leave these men defenseless to keep Hrothgar’ safe; Anglo Saxon Code of Conduct * Beowulf is not a fool so some men drop their weapons to follow him into Herot while the...
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...Heroic literary characters are often an idealistic representation of what is valued in a civilization. These characters allow insight on the standards of the time in which the works were written. By exploring such roles, one is able to reach a deeper understanding of what heroism meant to those in the past. Beowulf, a medieval epic, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a poem emerging from the mid to late 14th century, exhibit protagonists that mirror the idealistic persona of their respective ages. Beowulf, in his namesake epic, steps up to face every challenge he is presented and performs a flawless display bravery and strength. Sir Gawain is a flawed, more human character, yet continues to strive for glory and the greater good. As a reflection of the ideal hero of their periods, Beowulf and Sir Gawain differ in their values, noble qualities, and the motivations behind their achievements. Beowulf establishes a clear-cut vision of the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideals- devotion to bloodlines, demonstrating one’s valor in battle, and accepting the spoils of war with...
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...Beowulf Reading 1 Grendel’s motivation is similar to many other monsters that are told in other fictional stories. He was an exiled monster who was misunderstood by the rest of society. Grendel could not stand Heorot Hall because of how the people would proclaim that the earth is such a great place. “It harrowed him to hear the din of the loud banquet every day in the hall, the harp being struck and the clear song of a skilled poet telling with mastery of man’s beginnings, how the Almighty had made the earth a gleaming plain girdled with waters; in His splendor He set the sun and the moon to be earth’s lamplight, lantern for men, and filled the broad lap of the world with branches and leaves; and quickened life in every other thing that moved”(pg. 9 lines 87-98). He is upset that he cannot have fun like the people in Heorot Hall, so he figures he should ruin the fun that the others are having. I feel that Beowulf has more motivation to stop Grendel than Grendel has to cause mayhem. Beowulf’s father knows King Hrothgar, so Beowulf feels it his duty to help out his dad’s friend. I also think that Beowulf wants to defeat Grendel for the glory. He wants to show everyone that he is a strong and vicious warrior, so by defeating Grendel this can happen. Beowulf is well aware that he will also probably be awarded for slaughtering Grendel and protecting the...
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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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...Beowulf and Grendel are both two healthy strong fighters. Although they are very different, both of them are considered epic heroes. But Grendel is seen as a villain to everybody in the community because of the past terror the he has caused. But humans kind of see Beowulf as a villain too because both of them are very strong and powerful men. They both have their monster like ways and kill with no remorse or motivation. Beowulf is really classified as a hero because of what he does for the community. He took broken cities from their ruler or king and captured the cities and brought in Christianity to even or balance out the pain and suffering of the families and innocent people of the community or city. Grendel on the other hand likes to evade...
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...In the anonymously written epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf’s meaningful status as a hero and his ability to display honor in what he does is due to the fact that he is heroically able to exhibit the virtues of loyalty, courage, and friendship. The exceptional loyalty and faithfulness of Beowulf is shown through his allegiance to Hrothgar, king Hygelac, Wiglaf, and to the Geats. In fact, Beowulf is heroically willing to sacrifice himself if it means that he “[proves himself] / [...] and [fulfills] his purpose” of killing Grendel and assisting Hrothgar. (636-37). Along with his loyalty, Beowulf’s bravery is a quality that underlies the entire story, as it is a guiding virtue that ends up saving Hrothgar and his people. Beowulf’s fatalistic view of life and death is what makes up his courage in the face of danger, and it is a code of honor that Beowulf evidently takes very seriously....
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...“The Wulf and the Sheep” (An Analysis of the Motivation of the Epic Hero Beowulf) What drives the heroes to commit acts of upright morality rather than making decisions that would lead them down the road of infamy? If you were in the place of the hero would uphold the “right” instead of enveloping yourself in the “wrong”? Why would you ever want to be a hero? The great Anglo Saxon epic Beowulf seeks to provide us with the answers to these questions. Beowulf is clearly motivated by a lust for something, why else would he seek to help the Danes slay a monster that has no effect on his homeland? Beowulf slew the fiends out of duty, an aspiration to be the hero and he slew the dragon to ensure the security and prosperity of his people. Beowulf made great strives to achieve to accomplish his duty. He felt obligated to use his abilities to save the Danes from their plight. Why did he feel this way? He felt that way because he had been told by the wisest of his people that he was capable of saving the Danes from Grendel and therefore, should save them....
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... In the epic poem of Beowulf, there are many events where supernatural strength is used by not only Beowulf himself, but as well as Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a few other characters throughout the poem. The story starts off with the battle with Grendel, and both Beowulf and Grendel have supernatural strength, and so does Grendel’s mother. Beowulf and Grendel are both larger than life and they are both strong, and they have supernatural strength. In this poem, Beowulf does what is best for his people. He defends them and he eventually becomes king and is praised very frequently for his heroic duties. That is mainly what makes Beowulf larger than life, or what some may call famous. He takes care of his people and in exchange they take care of him. Grendel is an enormous, creature that was a decedent of Kane and he had been holding Denmark hostage for 12 years before Beowulf arrived. years. His demeanor is what really made him an outsider and people didn’t accept him. Beowulf’s first battle was with Grendel. The twelve foot beast rudely interrupted a celebration in the Hall that King Hrothgar had built for his people to come and fellowship with each other. Grendel was well known for his terrorism in many different situations. Beowulf’s warriors couldn’t harm the beast because Grendel had put a curse against all weapons to harm him. That being, Beowulf ripped off Grendel’s arm which was the only way to defeat him. King Hrothgar was pleased that Beowulf had defeated Grendel which...
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...Wallace Literature 201 Beowulf- Character Analysis For this analysis I chose to contrast Beowulf with The Odyssey’s, Odysseus. Both of the protagonists in these stories have very similar traits and cultural ideals, while maintaining subtle differences. They are both strong and intelligent. They are both boastful, but never without just reason. They are both an ideal representation of the attributes that were praised by their individual societies. However, there are many notable differences in their modus operandi. One of the most notable being their libidos, or absence of. Odysseus was a great leader whose shrewd intellect enabled the Greeks to defeat the Trojans in the war. Beowulf was known to be a great warrior and acute thinker to his fellow Geats and proved to be just as shrewd in assisting the Danes. At the very beginning of the story of Beowulf we are immediately introduced to a shared ideal amongst the Germanic and Greek culture; the importance of family lineage. Much like it is vital for the author to explain the back story of Hrothgar’s lineage and often times refer to Beowulf as “son of Ecgtheow”, it is also vital for Odysseus to give his father’s name when confessing himself to Polyphemus and the loyalty Telemachus shows to his father. One area of difference between the two would be whether are not they exhibit values of “fair-fighting”. While they were both very witty and intelligent, their tactics for using it differed slightly. Beowulf was a much more in your...
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...Beowulf Essay Before the integration of written text, stories were transmitted exclusively through word of mouth, and, consequently had a short lifespan. Beowulf is a striking departure from these faltering stories, even as such it did not reach us unaltered. Beowulf edited by M.A Roberts, as a modern text, has obtained many attributes from the people who relayed the story, possibly so much it barely conveys the original authors intent. These unoriginal attributes are present throughout Beowulf’s epic hero journey, manifesting themselves within his resurrection, restitution and hubris. In the location and time where this story emanated from, Christians were oppressing and attempting to convert pagans, who were, in the Christian mind, a great evil, sometimes even thought to be a manifestation of the devil himself. Enter Beowulf’s conquering of an apparent evil, the dragon. Beowulf willingly sacrificed his life to spare and avenge humanity from the damage afflicted by this wretched worm who was aggravated by a sinful peasant. This Relates to Jesus dying on the cross freeing all people from their sins. As Beowulf dies he instills the dragons hoard upon Wiglaf. “’Now go quickly and gaze upon the hoard beneath the white rocks, beloved Wiglaf, now that the worm lies low in sleep’”(Roberts 86). This is Beowulf’s resurrection, reaching his low point when his liegemen abandoned...
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