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Beowulf as an Anglo-Saxon poem
War in the poem beowulf
Beowulf as an Anglo-Saxon poem
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Political and Social Assumptions Through the texts and readings we covered this year, we saw many connections, through Beowulf, Poetry from the Exeter Book to Macbeth. Just with these few readings we can infer a lot. We do not read Macbeth or Beowulf and see acts or paragraphs describing the ways of politics and social beliefs of these people at the time, but through the stories and the fact that they are being recorded, can tell us a lot of what was important to them. For instance, the topic of war and battle is well associated with the political side of the readings. In Beowulf, Beowulf uses his last thoughts on reviewing how well a king he was for the Geats. In his thought he says, “No neighboring people have tried to threaten the Geats, sent soldiers against us or talked terror.” “Swearing no unholy oaths, seeking no lying wars. I can leave this life happy.” As I read that on lines 745 to 752, I inferred that as, Beowulf believed that he had a respectable reign because he avoided war the best he could for 50 years. So war is a common thought even for a king minutes before his ...
Frank, Roberta. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
2000, 3/8/2005. Phillips, Brian and Douthat, Ross. SparkNote on Macbeth. 9 Mar. 2005. Review: Scotland, PA. 2002, 3/8/2005.
Beowulf is an epic poem telling the story of Beowulf, a legendary Geatish hero who later becomes king in the aforementioned epic poem. While the story in and of itself is quite interesting, for the purpose of this paper it is important to look at the character more so then his deeds, or rather why he did what he did.
Wills, Gary. "The Historical Context of Macbeth." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 30-37.
Johnson, Vernon Elso, ed. "Shakespeare's Macbeth." Social Issues in Literature: Power in William. San Francisco: Greenhaven, 2009. N. pag. Print.
The epic poem, Beowulf, a work of fiction, offers more insight into Ancient Anglo-Saxon English culture than the work of Bede, who wrote, A History of the English Church and People. The epic poem Beowulf gives an enhanced illustration and clearer understanding of the culture of the Ancient Anglo-Saxon’s. The epic poem gives the audience a picture of what the Ancient Anglo-Saxon English valued; seafaring, warriors, heroes, and paganism.
The essence of Macbeth lies not only in the fact that it is written by the universal talent William Shakespeare; the royal-conspiracy, the political unethical activity, the killin...
The literature of the past can reveal a lot about the lives, culture, traditions, and history of the people who wrote it. Through a story, poem, or any other form of writing, lifestyles, people, and society can be described in great detail. Beowulf is a great example of this. Beowulf is one of the most important works in Anglo Saxon literature, being one of the few surviving works in Old English. It tells the story of a warrior named Beowulf, who travels to Denmark to help the Danes defeat a monster named Grendel. He then goes on to defeat Grendel’s mother and returns home to rule over his people as a great king for many years, until he is forced to fight a dragon attacking his land, dying in the process.Throughout the poem, elements and culture
113 Macbeth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1990. The. Coursen, H. R. Macbeth: A Guide to the Play. London: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Works Cited:.. Shakespeare, William. The. Macbeth. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
Beowulf. Holt elements of literature. Ed G Kylene Beers and Lee Odeel. 6th ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2008. 21-48. Print.
Beowulf displays vulnerability and regret during his dying moments, allowing the reader to form connections to him. The forces between pagan and Christian elements are balanced in the conclusion, which clarifies which aspects of Christian beliefs Beowulf has adapted throughout the poem and which pagan beliefs he still holds on to, leaving the reader more satisfied. Furthermore, the ending includes some uncertainty which enables the reader to create their own hypothesis after the poem’s final pages. By using these techniques to create a meaningful ending, the Beowulf poet has produced an epic that has survived thousands of years through oral retellings and printed texts which continue to be read, studied, and translated making Beowulf accessible to an even larger
During the years 1590-1600 the English nation became intensely interested in its past. Playwrights catered to this patriotism by writing chronicles, or history plays, Sh...
Thrasher, Thomas E. Understanding Great Literature: Understanding Macbeth Lucent Books, 10911 Technology Place, San Diego, CA 92127, 2002.