Examples Of Christianity In Beowulf

Beowulf is an epic poem that offers its readers a chance to rediscover a hero in Beowulf. It prods the reader to question their stance on death, violence, fame, God, and glory. Beowulf is recognized for being an important work of literature, which represents old English and British culture. The plot of the poem touches on different aspects of Paganism and Christianity. The values of each are easily seen conflicting with one another, which come from the fact that the story was told orally by Pagans, but written down in a time of rising Christianity. There are many examples of Pagan and Christian attitudes and mores that conflict with each other in the poem as well as the overall Christian and Pagan elements. One area where this binary is apparent is in attitudes towards fame. In the time of Beowulf, fame was something that was often desired by warriors by defeated others in battle. In Paganism, fame is a common belief because to earn fame is to earn a place in this world. Beowulf earns his fame by fighting and defeating different monsters throughout the poem. It is even portrayed that fame comes before anything else when the author said: “So fame come to men who mean to win it and care about nothing else!” (lines 1534-1536). Beowulf shows

One of the striking references in this poem is regarding Cain and Abel. Cain murders his brother and is punished by God; likewise, the character of Grendel is reminiscent of Cain and mirrors his actions. The author thinks of Grendel as a monster and has this to say about their likeness, ‘He was spawned in that slime of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel's death.' The difference in the two is seen in their motive to murder, Cain murdered out of passion and Grendel does it for sport. This also allows readers to empathize with the author’s strong dislike for Cain and his