Beowulf and the Anglo Saxon Period During the English Period the epic Beowulf was written around 400 A.D, but not composed until about 1,000 A.D. The setting takes place during the Anglo Saxon time period. Beowulf perceives to be a super-human that out smarts and defeats many forms of evil during his life time. Beowulf reflects and is a perfect representation of Anglo Saxon history. The author portrays and gives Beowulf the characteristics of honor, valor, fate, fame, and loyalty through is heroic life. The Anglo Saxon hero Beowulf shows honor from being a scop, king of the Geats, and glorified. As a scop, one should define values of society by valorizing praiseworthy deeds. Also, one should vilify unacceptable actions. Beowulf as an honorable …show more content…
Beowulf battles the featherless and angry Grendel at the age of twenty-five. He wins this battle and defeats Grendel. About five years later, at the age of now thirty, Grendel’s mother is seeking revenge on Beowulf, for the killing of her son. Once again Beowulf is face to face with danger, yet he shows valor. He puts up a good fight, a brave face and prevails victorious against Grendel’s mother. In his lateral part of his life, Beowulf will go on to fight a fire-breathing dragon without the help from his men. Beowulf is around the age of seventy-five when this battle takes place. At the beginning of his battle with the dragon, he thought to himself: “No man but me could hope to defeat this monster. No one could try” (Beowulf II. 24-25). In each of these three battles Beowulf shows valor. He has great courage in the face of danger. Beowulf is most proud of his fearlessness he once had. Beowulf “rose still brave, still strong” (Beowulf I. 28). Great courage is a trait one must acquire to fight a fire breathing dragon alone, after all your men fled for their lives in fear. Though Beowulf did defeat the dragon with the help of a loyal family member, he dies shortly after the battle. Beowulf dies from a bite on the neck from the dragon that proves to be …show more content…
People of the early English period believed in fate. The Saxon’s referred to the word fate as “Wyrd”. The Saxon’s strongly believed they had no control over their personal destiny. In Beowulf, Beowulf has no control over his outcome of his battles. He prevailed to be a courageous warrior. Beowulf is a part of the Earl class, he is a wealthy aristocrat. Having fame and wealth provides Beowulf and other Anglo Saxon’s with immortality. Throughout his battles Beowulf’s loyalty to his people, the Danes is never forgotten or questioned. When his men left him alone and unaided he still fought to protect the Danes. As the unknown author
Beowulf is among the earliest surviving works of literature. It was written in Old English and dates back sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem is set in Scandinavia, and tells the story of the heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf was the perfect hero. He fought for his people and defeated evil with his ability to bring on justice. Three of Beowulf’s traits that serve as evidence of this were his remarkable physical strength, his ability to put the well-being of others before his own well-being, and his courage.
Beowulf is an epic poem that was written in the late tenth-century, at the kingdom of the West Saxons. The two main characters are Beowulf, a young man; and Grendel, a furious dragon. Beowulf's world is a very violent society with wars as a dominant part of daily life. Dragons and monsters are a constant threat to the Danes and the Geats. Warriors are a necessity to this war-like society. Beowulf is a hero as well as a great, and honorable, warrior.
The character of Beowulf stands as a hero to the ancient Danes because of his actions. He is constantly being cited as a "war-chief" and a "gold-giver" (61). Beowulf has achieved fame through what he has done with his own hands. His identity as a leader is based upon the Danish society’s emphasis on personal action, as opposed to the delegation of responsibility through conscious thought. It is this very sense which spurs Beowulf to fight the dragon: "In my youth I engaged in many wars. Old guardian of the people, I shall still seek battle, perform a deed of fame, if the evil-doer will come to me..." (59). Beowulf derives his power from a strong link to the past. Without his history of glorious deeds, he would see himself bereft of the very power which qualifies him to be a good King. Beowulf’s bravery never comes in to question, he does meet every challenge head-on, with deadly attention. The society which labels Beowulf as a legendary hero, recognizes his actions and his bravery as a integral part of his definition as a hero. Without the society to support th...
The literature of the past can reveal a lot about the lives, culture, traditions, and history of the people who wrote it. Through a story, poem, or any other form of writing, lifestyles, people, and society can be described in great detail. Beowulf is a great example of this. Beowulf is one of the most important works in Anglo Saxon literature, being one of the few surviving works in Old English. It tells the story of a warrior named Beowulf, who travels to Denmark to help the Danes defeat a monster named Grendel. He then goes on to defeat Grendel’s mother and returns home to rule over his people as a great king for many years, until he is forced to fight a dragon attacking his land, dying in the process.Throughout the poem, elements and culture
However, unlike some characters, Beowulf does not try to alter his fate to reach his desired outcome. Accepting his fate from the beginning, Beowulf states, “Fate goes ever as fate must” (Beowulf 455). By accepting his fate, he realizes that he will achieve what he ultimately wants. Indeed, he is known for his vast strength: “There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful” (Beowulf 196-98). However, he is aware of this power, and boasts about it whenever possible. Thus, he wants to be remembered as a mighty warrior and is willing to die to achieve this honor and legacy. Beowulf, like many of the early Anglo Saxons, is overly concerned with the ideas of fame and immortality. The Anglo Saxons believe that fame and immortality are conjoined, and therefore the more fame a person is granted the more immortal he or she becomes. Beowulf’s desire is that his legacy will live on, so he continuously seeks out fame, even if it puts him in danger. For example, when defeating Grendel, Beowulf uses only his bare hands. Because of his aspiration, he is fearless and, “. . . indifferent to death . . . ” (Beowulf 1442-44). He is unconcerned with death, as it will allow his legacy to be known. Even in old age Beowulf is concerned with fame: “I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning” (Beowulf 2511-14). By being an admirable king, he again secures his legacy. Beowulf states, “Men-at-arms, remain here on the barrow, safe in your armor, to see which one of us is better in the end at bearing wounds in a deadly fray. This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth. I shall win the gold by my courage” (Beowulf 2529-36). He does not want the men to help him fight, as he wants to defeat the monster on his own. He does not
This recognition that Beowulf receives proves his place as the quintessential hero in Anglo-Saxon society. The unknown author recognizes Beowulf as a warrior who “behaved with honor and took no advantage” (149). This quality is important to Beowulf’s image as a hero. The author also days that Beowulf “bore himself with valor” and names Beowulf “Heroic Beowulf” when describing the hero (135, 149). The author’s recognition of Beowulf as having these qualities and as being heroic shows that Beowulf was regarded as a hero during the authors’ own time. This is also confirmed by the several times people in the epic recognize Beowulf’s heroic qualities. Wiglaf, who was with Beowulf during the final battle, is one of the people to recognize Beowulf’s glory-seeking heroics, saying that Beowulf is “a man unequalled in the quest for glory” (179). This statement speaks much of Beowulf’s willingness to search for and his success in finding glory. Beowulf is also recognized by a thane of Hrothgar’s court during his earlier days. This thane recognizes Beowulf’s heroics and begins “rehearsing Beowulf’s triumphs and feats” by comparing him to Sigmund, an old Anglo-Saxon hero (59). The recognition Beowulf receives from the characters in the epic shows that Beowulf was impressive and heroic to Anglo-Saxons who told his
society. In Beowulf, Beowulf shows extraordinary courage and strength that gives him special status. This notion is shown, when Beowulf fights Grendel and Grendel’s mother, but it is especially noticeable when he fights the dragon. When Beowulf fought Grendel others had the courage to attempt to fight him. The same is true with Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf goes to fight the Dragon, the other warriors cower away into the woods. Beowulf shows his courage by fighting the Dragon. Even when Beowulf is fighting the Dragon and realizes that his sword can do no damage he continues to fight. After Beowulf is on the verge of death he shows a combination of courage and strength by delivering the death blow to the Dragon, and not just laying down to die. Beowulf’s strength is shown when he is able to actually do battle with the Dragon; any normal man would have fallen to the dragon immediately.
Bravery is like a very trusted friend, it will never let you down. That statement holds true in the great epic of "Beowulf." "Beowulf" is the story of a great hero who comes to the aid of a troubled king. Beowulf hears that king Hrothgar is having trouble and immediately comes to help with no questions asked. he defeats the monster, Grendel, with his bare hands. Beowulf then defeats Grendel's mother along with a dragon until he is fatally injured. Bravery is a very admirable characteristic that few people possess.
Throughout literary history authors have created and restored figures from all times that seem to represent what is honorable and chivalrous. The two literary legends compared in this paper are Beowulf and Parzival. These two figures in their own way find within them what is virtuous.
... between Beowulf and god. After the extermination of Grendel , Hrothgar congratulated Beowulf to have god on his side assisting him. “With God's assistance this foreign prince has performed a task that we, with our deep wisdom and cunning, attempted in vain.” (Chapter 14). Again, Beowulf illustrated an ideal hero, because god had been alongside with Beowulf throughout the poem. Aside from faith, Beowulf also allowed fate to take over the results of his battles. As Beowulf was prepared for his battle against the dragon, he explained “…let fate decide our doom as it will, our destiny---fate, and almighty God.” (Chapter 35). Since fate had resulted to permit Beowulf to wins in every battle he encountered, Beowulf was destined to become a hero. Although contradictory, faith and fate represent the most vital attribution that label Beowulf as the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero.
Beowulf was written anonymously like most poems during the Anglo-Saxon period. During this time period, “there was a rigid code of behavior that stressed bravery, loyalty and [the] willingness to avenge” (Rougeau-Vanderford “Themes in Beowulf”.) His character represents the true values of the Anglo-Saxon values, from his sacrifices, to the loyalty he shows his people. The Anglo-Saxons culture believed that “life was regarded as valuable,” (Rougeau-Vanderford “Themes in Beowulf”) making Beowulf’s sacrifice the ultimate display of
An Anglo Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, which was originally passed down through an oral tradition during the 5th century was written into literacy by an unknown Christian monk during the 10th century. This classic poem explicitly illustrates an ideal Anglo Saxon hero of possessing the characteristics that many people during that time regarded highly. Beowulf is an epitome of an Anglo Saxon ideal hero who possesses loyalty to both of his people and king, desires to gain glory and fame for his own recognition rather than riches, and believes devotedly to his destiny and faith in God.
In the article, “Bravery, Honor, and Loyalty as Morals in Beowulf,” the author, Eleanor Cory, states that Beowulf serves as a moral instruction and demonstrated important values of the Anglo-Saxon people. Cory states, “...the poem Beowulf illustrates three important morals of its time: bravery, honor, and loyalty.” Throughout the article, Cory goes into explicit detail on how two characters from Beowulf, Beowulf and Wiglaf, demonstrate these morals. Cory refers to the epic, Beowulf, as “...a work of art,” alluding to its instructive purposes. Cory’s main focus refers to the values and morals of the Anglo-Saxon era demonstrated in the life of Beowulf and Wiglaf.
Throughout the epic poem, Beowulf, morality and values shine through in a variety of circumstances. These morals just so happen to stem from the heart of the Anglo-Saxon culture. Strong in their beliefs, the Anglo-Saxons focused on loyalty, friendship, and bravery above all else. Beowulf serves as a prime example of these priorities, and holds innumerable examples depicting each of these.
Beowulf is the single greatest story of Old English literature and one of the greatest epics of all time. Ironically, no one can lay claim to being the author of this amazing example of literature. The creator of this poem was said to be alive around 600 A.D. and the story was, since then, been passed down orally from generation to generation. When the first English monks heard the story, they took it upon themselves to write it down and add a bit of their own thoughts. Thus, a great epic and the beginning to English literature was born.