Theme Of Paganism In Beowulf

Beowulf was written in England, a classic poem that tells of the exploits of a hero that battles with a monster by the name of Grendel. This is one of the longest surviving Anglo-Saxon poems. This poem was telling of the time of societies progression of converting from the Paganism religion to the Christianity religion. The Christian influences in the poem were combined with the early folk tales and heroic legends of the Germanic tribes. You can see that Beowulf believes in GOD, however, the mention of pagan practices are throughout the poem. This may have a tendency to overshadow the elements of Christianity. As a matter of fact Christianity and Paganism are so closely intertwined with each other in the poem. The reason for that is, Beowulf

Beowulf is shown as a superhero, who takes it upon himself to save the Great Danes from the monster Grendel. In his battle with Grendel, Beowulf chooses not to use weapons against the monster, he wants to fight him in a fair fight. So Beowulf relies on his super strength to win the fight. During the fight, his strength takes over and he wrestles with Grendel until he is able to rip Grendel’s arm out of socket. Now let’s start with how Christianity was introduced. Christianity was introduced by the character Beowulf always trusting in God as his protector and how God uses him as an epic hero type to slay the monsters, Grendel and others, as well that are hurting King Hrothgar and his people. Beowulf’s courage and faith are shown throughout the story, “None of the wise one regretting his ongoing as much he was loved by the Geats and they urged on to adventure” (114-119). Beowulf fought Grendel and his mother and risked his life for his fellow warriors. The character Beowulf is shown as a similar hero from the biblical times named David. Beowulf can be seen as this Christian story of salvation. The author shows that there is evil within the story like the monsters, Grendel, his mother and the Dragon the who took Beowulf’s life. The author introduces Grendel at the beginning of the story, it is said that the monster Grendel is to bare the mark of Cain.

Also, the character of the monster Grendel is a man liked creature who, seeks a full meal by devouring human beings. During Grendel’s attack the following night we are informed that Grendel is becoming more murderous in the night and becoming more evil. Grendel is a representation and a symbol of evil for Christians who worship the Lord, but at the same time it also Grendel also symbolizes the unfairness and the closed minded way of people thinking. Now the way the character Beowulf is played on showing Christianity in the poem is by, Beowulf thanking God when he kills Grendel and his mother. A quote that shows what Grendel looks like “bore hardly that he heard each day loud mirth in the hall” (88-9). This mirth is then described as 'sound of the harp ' and ' song of the scoop”. Another time before Beowulf goes to fight Grendel, Hrothgar goes to Beowulf and says, “Surely the Lord Almighty could stop his madness, smother control the outcome”. When Beowulf is getting ready to fight Grendel, he says, “I fancy my fighting strength, my performance in combat, at least as great as Grendel does his therefore I shall not cut short his life with a slashing of a sword-too simple a business (675-680). This is showing that Beowulf is going to fight the monster Grendel on equal terms and not dishonor himself by taking the easy way out, just like Jesus knew that he was going to be betrayed by