Epic Of Beowulf Essay-The Laborious Life Of The Anglo-Saxon

The Laborious Life of the Anglo-Saxon

Since the beginning of documented history, the quality, beliefs and general outlook on life has constantly been evolving. Although history shows us a general positive change, there have been several stages of human development that show a challenging aspect of life. Among the various pieces of literature that help us understand the lifestyle of the Anglo-Saxon period, Beowulf demonstrates the most evidence of a clear social order, a dangerous and temporary outlook on life and the overall belief of courage, loyalty and strength to be within each warrior. The social order of the Anglo-Saxons period is clearly expressed in the writings of Beowulf. The structure includes a clear ruler or king, warriors below that ruler and the general population below the warriors. The poem expresses this order with the statement that “Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall” (15). The poem also demonstrates that Hrothgar has followers below him when the author wrote “Beowulf, Higlac’s / Follower” (91-92). When the danish watchman first meets Beowulf and his men, he further supports a class system by proclaiming “Whose soldiers are you” (133). This illustrates that there was a clear social structure of society during the Anglo-Saxons period.

This outlook is shown with the actions of Grendel: “He slipped through the door and there in the silence / Snatched up thirty men, smashed them” (36-37). The author also expressed that “the only survivors / Were those who fled him” (57-58). Additionally, the rage of the dragon express the misery of the time period when the author wrote “Vomiting fire and smoke, the dragon / Burned down their homes” (692-693). With this evidence, it can be concluded that beowulf proves that the Anglo-Saxon outlook on life was dangerous and