The story of Judith follows a woman who protects her people from the hands of wicked Holofernes. The poem recounts the rampage of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, where his army punishes the people that refused to join him in the war against Media. Holofernes is Nebuchadnezzar’s general, who leads his army to plunder and destroy the many cities that resist him. He lays siege to the town of Bethulia, where Judith, a beautiful and clever woman, promises to liberate her people if they would be patient. With God’s help, Judith infiltrates the enemy camp and takes the head of Holofernes. Judith encourages her people to fight as she did, for God will be with them. The author of this translation takes the story of Judith and incorporates it to …show more content…
The only differences one can see is that Judith is a woman, and God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. The heroic code is implemented in this way, with Judith as the “knight” or “thane” of her people and God as the King. The story of Beowulf is described as “the poet’s lament for heroes… who went into the darkness without the light of the poet’s own Christian faith.” (p. 39) This, however, is heavily contrasted with the story of Judith. Instead of going alone, Judith takes with her into the darkness the light of God, providing protection and …show more content…
At the end of the story, the poet describes the rewards given to Judith for her courage: “the sword of Holofernes and his gory helmet,/ and likewise his ample mail-coat/… and everything that the arrogant/ lord of warriors owned by way of treasures or personal heirlooms,/ rings and bright riches.” (336-340) Not only did she get an earthly reward, but also a heavenly reward as well. “…Also as her reward in heaven,/ the reward of victory in heaven’s glory, because she possessed true faith/ in the Almighty… For that be glory/ to the beloved Lord for ever and ever.”
When deciphering between what it considered to be heroic or monstrous, it is important to keep in mind the angle in which a story is being told. While reading Beowulf, the protagonist of the epic poem could be considered either heroic or monstrous through the eyes of different characters. Beowulf can be classified as a hero according to The Hero’s Journey through the eyes of Hrothgar and Hygelac. On the other hand, Beowulf could be viewed as being monstrous according to Monster Theory through the eyes of Unferth and Grendel’s Mother.
leaders doomed to die/ with shining swords.” (185-189, 194-195) Judith stays back in town then,
Another difference could be how the story of Beowulf seems like it's more of a sad story
The loud thunder clashes causing the bottles of wine on the shelf to shake drastically clattering them against one another. The bartender wipes the counter smiling and makes a comment about the weather to three strangers as they sit attentively at the bar. “Do you all need another drink?” asked the bartender.
Beowulf represents what a modern hero truly is rather than Dante the pilgrim, because he displays qualities of courage, pride, and humility. In order to be considered a modern hero the individual must demonstrate these particular qualities, and courage, pride, and humility should be reflected in the actions they make.
The general definition of a hero is, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Although, the interpretation of a hero is always dependant on the society in which the hero resides. The “hero”, Beowulf, is not depicted the same way as he is in the self-titled poem “Beowulf” as he is in Grendel. The poem “Beowulf” is said to emerge from the Anglo-Saxon period or the 5th-6th century. It was later translated by Burton Raffel. The “hero” of the poem, Beowulf, is a glorified Geatish warrior whose hunger for fame and wealth drives him to the land of the Danes to rid of the evil monster, Grendel. He is depicted as a strong, brave, and courageous man and admired by the Danes. On the other hand,
...s a lesson to be learned from the poem and the characters at the end: love is between a man and a woman; anything else and be damned by God. As the Pope was not swayed by Damian’s book, neither would most of those who read or heard this tale. Helen’s argument, although compelling and logical, supported by Reason, is in place to persuade and convince the Ganymedes of the medieval world to marry a woman they do not love, or fear God’s wrath.
In the stories of Beowulf and A Knight's Tale, there are many different themes. One of the major themes is the religion that runs through both of them, yet both stories have a very different view of religion. In Beowulf, it seems as if God has chosen where our life will end and where it will begin, everything happens by the will of God in a fair and just way. In The Knight's Tale, we see Greek gods playing with the characters and when they "play" with them, there is no real pattern to how they choose things. Each vies is different and this affects the stories in different ways.
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.
Beowulf is a very brave hero, he has fought and killed many creatures before, but this battle was different. He knew this battle was of great importance to everyone, and that made him that much more nervous. This creature was fierce and had been tormenting their village for as long as they could remember, so her death would be a huge victory for Beowulf and it would be an even bigger relief for the villagers. All of the people in the village were cheering for Beowulf as he walked away headed off to the greatest battle of his life.
The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic chronicling the illustrious deeds of the great Geatish warrior Beowulf, who voyages across the seas to rid the Danes of an evil monster, Grendel, who has been wreaking havoc and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land of a fiendish monster and halting its scourge of evil while the monster is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves to die because of its evil actions. In the epic poem, Beowulf the authors portrays Grendel as a cold-hearted beast who thrives on the pain of others. Many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel set out to change the reader’s perception of Grendel and his role in Beowulf by narrating the story through Grendel’s point of view. John Gardner transforms the perceived terrible evil fiend who is Grendel into a lonely but intelligent outcast who bears a striking resemblance to his human adversaries. In Grendel, John Gardner portrays Grendel as an intelligent being capable of rational thought as well as displaying outbursts of emotion. He portrays Grendel as a hurt individual and as a victim of oppression ostracized from civilization. The author of Beowulf portrays Grendel as the typical monster archetype as compared to John Gardner’s representation of Grendel as an outcast archetype.
Although readers dive into this poem in the middle of the story, the author still manages to establishes Judith’s character in clear manner through their choice of words. In using words such as “radiant lady” (Judith 14), “bright maiden” (Judith 44), and “brilliant maid” (Judith 124), the author makes it clear
Comparing and contrasting the two works of literature, the epics of Beowulf and Paradise Lost both portray a heroic code, but discerning these heroic codes and which character expresses themselves becomes a comprehensive task. The epics Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney and Paradise Lost written by John Milton both conveyed that their cultures have different perspectives on what manifests right opposed to wrong. The differentiation between right and wrong in the two epics vary between the religions of the Anglo-Saxon culture in Beowulf, and the Christian ways in Paradise Lost. Adhering to a clear principled path in the Anglo-Saxon culture contrasts to Christian complexity of sin and the heroic code; Christian sin and the heroic code in some cases, become manipulated and cloudy opposed to the Anglo-Saxon culture that has a more clear set of rules to how a hero should behave. The main characters in Anglo-Saxons epics convey what best benefits his people
Any avid fantasy reader knows about J.R.R. Tolkien’s world of magic and adventure in The Lord of the Rings. Middle-earth is full of Elves, Giants, and Hobbits, but from where did the inspiration for this mythical universe come? Many of the concepts in the novel derive from Old English literature, a subject in which the author was very well versed. Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon literature, focusing on Old and Middle English (Doughan). He received his degree in English from the University of Oxford, and later taught there, as well as at the University of Leeds (Doughan). Proving his passion for Old English, Tolkien wrote several lectures and essays about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf, which he also translated into modern prose English (Doughan, Acocella).
The rest of the ride to the fortress nunnery was uneventful, but all the men were jumpy after seeing the nun and farmers. Every shadow was a creature of the Fey, every sound a monster coming for you. We halted at the outer wall, and I rode up to the castle alone, as some of my company were, shall we say, unsavory. The guard at the gate admitted me into the courtyard, and I dismounted, allowing a nun to take Grendel. A nun beckoned to me, then walked across the courtyard. I followed, sabatons clicking on the cobble. I climbed the steps to the massive monastery door, which I strained to open.