Bridgett Morgan
Miss McDivitt
English 11
20 March 2016
Beowulf: Paganistic or Christian
People have argued whether Beowulf is a Christian poem or not. No one has ever completely figured it out because it mentions many paganistic beliefs and an equal amount of Christian beliefs.Although, in Beowulf there are more allusions to the Bible and the beliefs of Christianity than there are references to the Paganistic beliefs. This leads people to believe it is a Christian poem
Hrothgar intentionally gives all the glory to God for the victories Beowulf receives. Grendel has attacked the Danes for twelve years; yet no one can defeat him until Beowulf come along and does it with his bare hands. What an amazing battle is was, rather than first praising
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Hrothgar does not praise Beowulf right away he is more concerned with thanking God for sending them a deliverer to kill Grendel. He says God worked a miracle through Beowulf so that the Danes kingdom could be safe and peaceful once again. Additionally after Beowulf’s second fight, Hrothgar warns him not to become prideful, but to seek a better reward portraying another Christian belief. He tells Beowulf, “Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low….’ (121) Hrothgar warns Beowulf that he will not always be strong and winning battles. He warns him to not become prideful in what he has accomplished, but rather seek things that are eternal, not just a temporary name. This is in direct relation to the Bible. It tells Christians in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” This tells Beowulf he should not worry …show more content…
In Beowulf it references the Bible while talking about Grendel. It relates him to being in the lineage of Cain which alludes to a Biblical character. It tells the reader, “...he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts.” (9) This is a reference to a Christian belief that Cain was punished for murdering his brother Abel. It says in Genesis 4:14,”Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Cain’s punishment was to wander and be the anathema of mankind. He was wicked and cruel, just like Grendel is while killed the Danes. Also contained in Beowulf, there is a contrast between the monsters who Beowulf fought and the devil of the Bible, ”All were endangered; young and old were hunted down by that dark death-shadow who lurked and swooped in the long nights on the misty moors; nobody knows where these reavers from hell roam on their errands,” (13). Grendel always came at night and only came to kill men and destroy the safety the Hall was supposed to provide. This is a complete direct allusions to what the Bible says about Satan in John 10:10,” The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” It also
The theology which appears in the Christian allusions in Beowulf is very vague and indefinete: there is no mention of Christ, the saints, miracles, Mary His Mother, specific doctrines of the church, martyrs of the church, the New Tes...
Next, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel with his bare hands. He could have easily obtained some kind of weapon to fight with. Beowulf was the first warrior ever to have enough sheer bravery to go up against such a monster with neither help nor weapon or shield to aid him. he was a warrior that believed somewhat in fate and in God. Believing that God made the decisions and was in control, Beowulf trusted that his life was in good hands. Defeating Grendel with his bare hands, Beowulf not only proved his bravery but also his loyalty.
8. Based on Beowulfs opening address to Hrothgar my first impression is that he is very confident and perhaps even self obsessed. He brags about his success and his strength. He says “of my youth have been filled with glory” and also states “my people have said, the wisest, most knowing, and best of them, that was duty was to the Danes’ Great king. They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth.” And also to continues to list all of his world changing achievements that he accomplished all on his own. To me personally, he comes off as self conceded and feels as if he is untouchable.
...hem greatly. The Beowulf poet makes sure to include small but meaningful references to the paganistic background of the epic poem. There are too many pagan symbols scattered throughout the work to be ignored, and too many rules of the Christian religion are broken by the characters of the poem for an argument to be made against the paganism of Beowulf. Also, we must not forget that ideas such as fate and revenge, which are shunned in Christianity, are two of the main themes in this story. Consequently, even though the Beowulf poet may have been Christian, as for the poem itself, all signs point towards paganism.
Not only did Beowulf defeat Grendel, but he did it without any weapons. Gods power was instilled in Beowulf, to defeat evil with his bare hands. Beowulf showed a great amount of faith in God no matter what problems or evil he faced, and God rewarded him with victory, great legacy, and
It is common opinion that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. This was probably true because at the time when it was written, most of the few people who knew how to read and write were in the clergy. There are various references within the poem to elements of the Christian religion. However, the story is about Pagan people and certain aspects of their culture are even glorified. The ambiguity of Beowulf’s religious content has caused confusion as to what significance religion had in inspiring the author and in what manner the author meant to inspire or influence his audience. I do not think that Beowulf is a Christian allegory because Beowulf had very little in common with the Biblical figure of Jesus Christ. I think that religion was not the primary thematic concern of the writer. Although there are discrepancies between the two styles of thinking, Beowulf seems to praise values which were considered moral and good among all humanity, both Christian and Pagan.
Christian symbolism in Beowulf is extremely obvious and prominent throughout the entirety of the poem. The author utilizes the Christian religion to symbolize the elements of good and evil and Heaven and Hell to help the spread of understanding of the religion throughout time.
Almost all of the characters in the movie, besides one Christian missionary, seem to have declared a faith in pagan ideology. In the movie Beowulf and Grendel there is a part of the movie where a man is talking to Beowulf about Christianity and he states, “The Celt (missionary) says that Jesus Christ never sleeps, that he walks amongst us.” and Beowulf replies “Oh, that’s all we need, a god gone mad from lack of sleep”. Switching from reader of the poem to watcher of this film, one can completely tell a difference in the manner that Beowulf addresses Christianity, and that one quote is the tone that Beowulf has towards God and the Christian religion in the entire film.
In the beginning of the novel, Beowulf takes interest in the plight of Hrothgar, King of Denmark, and wants to help him fight Grendel. Grendel is a large monster that has been harassing members in the mead-hall of the Heorot. Beowulf owes Hrothgar a favor, due to the fact that Hrothgar saved his father in years past. Hrothgar is honored to have Beowulf attempt to fight the swamp monster, and decides to hold a feast in his name. When Grendel shows up to the feast, Beowulf illustrates his bravery by fighting Grendel without any armor. When Beowulf wins the battle by ripping Grendel’s arm off, everyone in the mead-hall praises Beowulf for his acts of courage. In this scene, Beowulf proves that he is a hero by fighting off a monster that everyone else was afraid of. This made him look
Beowulf was written around 700 A.D. by an unknown author. While it is a part of English Literature, it does not take place in England. Instead, it tells the reader events that happened in Sweden and on the Danish island of Zealand. The pagan and Christian references suggest that the poem is most likely written about the time that the Anglo-Saxon society was converting from paganism to Christianity. Monasteries provided a place for learning and they also saved some of the manuscripts, such as the story Beowulf. Christianity does eventually replace pagan religion as far as Anglo-Saxons are concerned. Although the unknown author of Beowulf develops the main protagonist to represent both paganism and Christianity, the ideals conflict create a unique epic poem.
The poem Beowulf is a renowned story that displays many different surroundings and religious beliefs. Some may believe the story of Beowulf portrays pagan beliefs or customs and others believe that the poem is more in agreement with Christian ethnicity. The author of Beowulf uses both Christian and pagan elements in the poem to define the heroic warrior, Beowulf, and the evil dragons. After reading Beowulf the author clearly shows how Beowulf is a man who is filled with Christian customs and is willing to die and defend the world against evil using the help of God.
One of the first literary work studied by our class was “Beowulf,” the longest and greatest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem. The poem is packed full of Christian and Pagan elements that are constantly fighting for the dominant position. In order to understand these thematic elements portrayed throughout “Beowulf,” we must first discover
Even though many Pagan influences appear in the poem, Christian influences override them. An example would be when Beowulf saved the Danes from Grendel. He also expressed a fair attitude towards battles when he refused to use a weapon. The idea of loyalty, a hero, and a giver are all signs of Christianity. Beowulf could be seen as Christ when trying to help the people as Grendel could be compared to Satan who tries to destroy happiness and well-doing.
Beowulf has no doubt in his mind that he is more than able to kill the wretched Grendel. But because of his overconfidence and populari...
Beowulf has been estimated to have been written over twelve hundred years ago. According to The Norton Anthology Of English Literature, “It is now widely believed that Beowulf is the work of a single poet who was a Christian and that his poem reflects a well-established Christian tradition,” (37). This conclusion was likely drawn by accounting for the time at which Beowulf was written and factoring in most people in the area of where it was believed to be written had already been converted to Christianity. In a way, this provides the best explanation for why Beowulf contains a high level of Christian influences for the story to have taken place when it did. Dr. J. Michael Stitt of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says that, “Much of this epic poem is dedicated to conveying and exemplifying the heroic code which values such attributes as strength, courage and honor. Conflicting with this ideology are other factors such as Christianity, and these tensions affect the lives and decisions of the narrative's characters.” If the one of the main focuses in Beowulf is the heroic code and the heroic code convicts with the authors beliefs than why did he write it? This is not to say that authors do not write about things that they ...