Beowulf Cultural Values Essay

Beowulf as a historic piece of literature, the readers get an overview of the Anglo-Saxon society. Throughout the poem, one striking feature is the cultural values and duties of the warrior society and how they are being abided by the epic hero Beowulf. He has given a proper example of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should be.

The dedication of Beowulf towards customs and traditions is a perfect example of an ideal hero. His ability to fight and behave like his father depicts the significance of values in his life. In the first line itself it is stated:

‘So. The Spear- Danes in days done by.

And the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.

We have heard of those prince’s heroic campaign’

Shield Sheafson had the same virility and thus his son has

He states:

‘I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board: hand to hand is how it will be, a life and a death fight with the fiend.’

The sword is symbolical as it depicts the duty of a warrior that is to fight. However, when Beowulf decides to fight without weapon shows his eagerness to fight with sincerity through which he has earned more respect in the eyes of people as a fighter. At any point in time there was not a single sign of fear despite he was fighting with a monster that too without any weapon. Some critics have stated that Beowulf’s character has been exaggerated. Pritha Kundo states:

‘Beowulf’s greatness as a hero and a dutiful king may be wonderful to the extent of super- humanity: yet the basic virtues that are exaggerated and elevated in the character, were real and respectable, for the Anglo-Saxon race and it’s social- cultural ideals’ (pg.5).

However, it can be said that his character is not overblown in this term because the poem is a way to establish the importance of cultural values. Therefore, it becomes evident to praise the epic