An Analysis of British Literature
Death is inevitable and what happens after death will always be a mystery to the living. For this reason, the afterlife has always been a topic which artists have chosen to explore in their works. Throughout the chronology of British literature, artists have used society's views as a basis to examine the afterlife, and look at it in new ways. The afterlife has been a theme in
British Literature from the Anglo-Saxon period of Beowulf to the twentieth century writings of Dylan Thomas. The mysteriousness of the afterlife makes it a topic which artists will always be eager to analyze.
During the Anglo-Saxon Period which lasted from 449 AD to 1066 AD, the popular belief of the times was that a person's life was predetermined by Wyrd, the Old English word for fate, and there was nothing which the individual could do to change his destiny. The most famous writing from this epoch is the epic poem Beowulf. Beowulf, the main character, had no fear of the evil monster
Grendel because he believed "Grendel and I are called/ Together," by fate. He also displayed his faith in the beliefs of society when he told Hrogthgar "Fate will unwind as it must." When Grendel died, the soldiers "had no semse of sorrow, felt no regret for his sufferings," because they believed Grendel was destined to die, and there was no way to defy destiny. They also did not pity
Grendel because they considered him to be entirely evil because it was his fate.
The Anglo-Saxon's strong belief in fate led to them not fearing death as much as during other times periods in British Literature. Beowulf's strong belief in fate was a reflection in the society's pagan belief in fate. Due to the fact that the society at the time of Beowulf was pagan, they did not believe in the afterlife. The Christian revision to Beowulf illustrated a different outlook on death and the afterlife. When monks were copying the story, they realized it dealt with pagan ideals, and they incorporated Christian ideals into the text.
The monks included the concept God was the ultimate one who controls fate. This was shown when Beowulf told Hrogthgar "God must decide/ Who will be given to death's cold grip." The monks also inserted the idea that there is an afterlife.
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... in the afterlife.
Throughout the chronology of British literature, artists have presented many different perspectives on the afterlife. There are views which I agree with, and there are views which I don't agree with. One of the ones which I support is John Donne's idea of death not being a terrible thing because it leads to the afterlife which is a better place. I support this idea because I have been raised in a rather religious family, and it has been instilled in me that death is not bad, and there is an afterlife to go to. I also agree with the ideas in "Ulysses" and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" that one should struggle to make the most out of his life and to make it meaningful.
This idea is very appealing to me because I believe a person should always attempt to make the most out of what he/she is given, and it is important to never give up. While I don't agree with the poems which state that there isn't an afterlife, analyzing and thinking about them has been valuable for me because it has forced me to consider my views, and to build up a stronger support of my views to counter the ideas presented in these poems.
...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.
is a human attribute that will apply to any time period anywhere. In the incident with Unferth, for example: "angry that anyone in Denmark or anywhere on earth had ever acquired glory and fame greater than his own"(236-238) tries to belittle Beowulf’s claims to bravery, and, by doing so, adds realistic qualities to his character. Belief Divine or supernatural notions are also tendencies of human nature. The poem reflects this ageless concern through references to "that Shepherd of Evil" (432) and "[sacrifices] to the old stone gods" (90). These are both conflicting allusions to the two prominent religions of the time. One pertains to Christian ideology; i.e. "The Almighty God" (493), and "the Almighty making the earth" (8), and the other relates to Anglo Saxon religious beliefs; i.e., "the omens were good" (118) and "fate will unwind as it must," (189). The poem alludes to Christianity, a monotheistic religion that rejects ideas of fate.
Fate is an old, debated concept. Do one's actions truly play a role in determining one's life? Is fate free to some or is it binding to others, in that no individual can make completely individual decisions, and therefore, no one is truly free. Nowadays, fate is a subject often rejected in society, as it is seen as too big, too idealistic, and too hard to wrap a person's head around. However, at the time of Antigone, the concept was a terrifying reality for most people.
The belief in fate for the Anglo-Saxon’s is everything to them. For example, when Beowulf is about to fight Grendel: “fate intended him to gnaw the bones of his last human supper”(295). So Grendel’s fate has already been determined that he was going to lose and die to Beowulf. Also, this is a biblical allusion referring to Jesus’s last supper indicating that Grendel will perish because it was already decided for him that fate was not on Grendel’s side anymore but on Beowulf’s. For the Anglo-Saxons their belief in fate was one of the most important traits of their culture. When Beowulf is fighting the dragon he can tell that fate has switched its loyalty. For example, in the epic poem Beowulf’s shield fails him from the start which is indicating slightly that fate is no longer on his side; best said by Renee Yewdaev: “A great warrior can fight his best but if fate is not on his side that day, then he will lose.” (Beowulf). With this being said no matter how good of a fighter you are will not matter if fate is not on your side. As seen in the epic poem, when Beowulf’s shield fails completely allowing the dragon to strike and inflict Beowulf with poison; thus ending his life. However, looking back before Beowulf was slain he would fight as if it were his last. As Anglo-Saxon view fate the same way as specified by Rene Yewdaev:”After all, if a man has not already been predetermined to die, the his
Race, in the common understanding, draws upon differences not only of skin color and physical attributes but also of language, nationality, and religion. Race categories are often used as ethnic intensifiers, with the aim of justifying the exploitation of one group by another. Race is an idea that has become so fixed in American society that there is no room for open-mindedness when challenging the idea of racial categories. Over the years there has been a drastic change with the way the term "race" is used by scientists. Essentially, there is a major difference between the biological and sociological views of race.
People have different physical characteristics, for example skin, hair or eye color, tall or short stature, and other ways evolution has adapted humans to be able to live and thrive in different areas of the world. For hundreds of years race has been a factor in how people have categorized each other. Race is defined as “a group of persons related by a common descent or heredity, characterized by supposedly distinctive and universal characteristics” (“Race”). Race is part of what makes us unique as individuals, however it has not been scientifically identified in the physical make up of what is known as the human genome. There is no scientific proof that gives race the ability to be a social construct, yet it has been a large part of American history and society in history and still has a presence today. Race is a reality.
Beowulf was written in the time when the society was in the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. In this epic poem, these two religions come through the actions of its characters. The acceptance of feuds and the courage of war are just a few examples of the Pagan tradition, while the Christian mortalities refrain from the two.
Bjerke, Juel M. "Week 2 Lecture Notes - Achieving Business Process Excellence and Process Re-engineering." MFGO 601 - The Globally Integrated Manufacturing Company. 2 Nov. 2011.
Many people seem to fear death, but philosophers such as Socrates and Epicurus would argue that one has no reason to fear it. Socrates sees death as a blessing to be wished for if death is either nothingness or a relocation of the soul, whereas Epicurus argues that one shouldn't worry themselves about death since, once we are gone, death is annihilation which is neither good nor bad. Epicurus believes that death itself is a total lack of perception, wherein there is no pleasure or pain. I agree with Epicurus because Socrates doesn't give a sound argument for death as a blessing, whereas Epicurus' argument is cogent. I would also argue personally that death is not something to be feared because, like Epicurus, I see no sufficient evidence showing we even exist after death.
Broadly speaking, race is seen or is assumed to be a biologically driven set of boundaries that group and categorize people according to phenotypical similarities (e.g. skin color) (Pinderhughes, 1989; Root, 1998). The categorical classification of race can be traced back to the 16th century Linnaen system of human “races” where each race was believed to be of a distinct type or subspecies that included separate gene pools (Omi & Winant, 1994; Spickard, 1992; Smedley & Smedley, 2005). Race in the U.S. initially began as a general categorizing term, interchangeable with such terms as “type” or “species”. Over time, race began to morph into a term specifically referring to groups of people living in North America (i.e. European “Whites”, Native American “Indians”, and African “Negroes”). Race represented a new way to illustrate human difference as well as a way to socially structure society (Smedley & Smedley, 2005).
In British Literature religion plays a role in a vast majority of works. Even if the role is not explosively apparent, there are a generous amount of small inspirations and distortions in the texts. Some texts are theorized to have even been altered from their original state to reflect an amount of religion in them. Other texts are formatted as a result of religious influence. Religion has an elaborate and intricate influence in a variety of ways in many works throughout the development of British Literature.
I do not agree with Peter Singer, for the most part. Some of the agreements he and Johnson
Death is a common topic of speculation and frequently anxiety. Death is terrifying to people for many reasons: they do not know what to anticipate from death, they fear the penalty of gods, they dread not achieving certain goals or things in life, etc. Epicurus argues that when we die we no longer exist. When it comes to death many different factors come to play, whether the person himself believes in life after death, if the person believes in a certain religion or whether a person is a nonbeliever. All these leads to different perceptions of death, many beliefs stem from what they are told as kids or what they learn later on in life, therefore depending on what certain people believe there are many people who fear death and there are those who do not. A global 2012 poll reports that 59 per cent of the worlds population is religious meaning that a large majority of the world have a view of what happens after death.
...eath is prescribed in the law of nature. Mankind seeks survival and thus death becomes a threat for them. This explains why humans will tend to believe there is such thing as an eternal life, that death is the ending of the worldly life and the beginning of a promising life given by God. However, if someone wants to believe of an after-life, then this state of belief will always surpass everything else along with the law of nature.
Are you afraid of death? ¨If you are don't worry, over 68% of people in the United States are. Scientist have even made it a phobia. They have called it Necrophobia. ¨ (Seth) Many people have different beliefs on how they will die. ¨About 40% of people would like it to happen peacefully when sleeping, while 30% want it to end in a tragedy.¨ (Fear of Death) Edgar Allen Poe and Geoffrey Chaucerś, two popular english literature writers, have written about fearing death with a twist to their endings. People may think they can conquer or outsmart death, but it will always win in the end.