The Theme Of Good Versus Evil In Beowulf

For countless years stories have involved a hero and a villain, the villain being the one who stops the piece and the hero who brings the piece back, the poem Beowulf is another story like this..Although the author is unknown it is for sure of Anglo-Saxon poetry and may have been written by a monk. The title “Beowulf” tells the reader right away what the story is going to be about, and who the hero is. The main characters of “Beowulf” are the hero Beowulf, the evil monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother She-wolf, Unferth which contrasts Beowulf, Hrothgar the King of the Danes, and Wiglaf the loyal ally. This story is about the greatest warrior in the world being called upon to save Danes and slay the monster who cannot be stopped yet, some don’t

In the beginning of it there was Herot, which was good, and Grendel the evil monster which hated it. When Grendel finally got tired of all the cheers and laughter he went up to it and killed most of the warriors in it. To prove it, “Snatched up 30 men, smashed them unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies”(2). However, Beowulf later arrived, so when Grendel attacked Herot that night, it was Beowulf and Grendel fighting it off. In the end evil lost, Grendel was killed and Beowulf was a hero. Beowulf mortally wounded Grendel cutting his arm off and letting it hang. But another evil lurked in the shadows seeking revenge. It was Grendel 's mother who was much more evil than her son, Grendel. So Beowulf, still feeling triumphant about killing Grendel, set off for Grendel 's mother. Thus the theme of good versus evil comes up again. The "good” powerful hero Beowulf was traveling down to the "evil” Grendel 's mother, who was prepared and anxious to avenge the death of the son. After the battle, it was Beowulf won again and She-wolf failed her mission. However, 50 years later and Beowulf very old his next battle will be difficult. When a mysterious stranger had taken a chastise from a evil dragon 's lair to make amends with the king of the Geats Beowulf, the evil dragon was furious. He went to Beowulf 's kingdom and breathed fire upon it. Thus, Beowulf was now ready for his last another in

Beowulf was seen as a good hero throughout the whole epic, and light was seen as a symbol of good like his armor was light and shining. Grendel was seen as an evil monster that attacked, murdered men and brought terror to Herot. Darkness was seen as a symbol of something evil lurking nearby and Grendel’s lair. Good and evil took place between Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf and Grendel 's mother, and Beowulf and the dragon at the end of the poem when he was really old. The theme of good versus evil had an overall effect on the epic poem by stating that no matter how much evil is in the this earth, it will always lose against good. This was demonstrated and portrayed when Beowulf defeated the dragon. Even though he was also killed, the loyal Wiglaf carried on the goodness and became king. In the end good won over evil just like it always