Anglo Saxon Culture In Beowulf By Seamus Heaney

Beowulf, written between the 8th and 10th centuries, is an epic poem set in southern Sweden. The poem illustrates the Anglo-Saxon’s strong belief in the heroic code. The loyalty between the warrior and his king bound the culture together. The warrior was the ultimate hero who represented strength and courage. Beowulf, the hero in the poem, illustrates the Germanic principles of the heroic code. Through the battles and character interactions, Beowulf converges loyalty, strength, courage and forgiveness into the hero archetype.

more than use art to rid of unwelcome spirits. Shields, churches, even the handles of swords have been known to have pictures, or art, on them by this time. Much like Egyptians, important members of society would generally be buried with artifacts to keep them protected in the afterlife. Which is a peculiar sight to see since the Anglo-Saxons did not believe the afterlife as pagans, but as stated, they were converted into Christians when the St. Augustine came to the pagans.

Beowulf was a poem written as a foundational text in British Culture, by Seamus Heaney. Beowulf is the story of shame future told through the eyes of a guilt culture. Not only does it critique the way society runs, but reinforces how critical a society is. The Anglo- Saxon society relates to the poem to critique everything wrong in society, such as bravery, truth, loyalty, and perseverance. Beowulf as a story is still relevant in today's world because he shows that his personal code of honor or ethics is stricter than that of the people around him, when he's offered a distinction that many people want him to accept and turns it down because it belongs by right to someone else.

The Anglo-Saxon culture came from the ethos which arose from years of progress and understanding. This culture a unification of independent principalities brought together by one king known as Alfred the Great. The true sense of the culture came with the values of loyalty, kinship, and bravery, which present themselves in the epic tale of Beowulf whose violent victory propelled him from mercenary to rightful warrior and respected hero. where the birth of a hero came from the actions of a rightful warrior.

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, and the author of Beowulf is unknown. Beowulf is the The setting of Beowulf is in Sweden and Denmark(the book 1231). Beowulf is divided into three parts in which Beowulf fights a dragon, a monster named Grendel, and Grendel’s mother. The Anglo-Saxon people have many values. There are many Anglo-Saxon values throughout Beowulf such as loyalty, strength, bravery, generosity, honor, and glory.

The Anglo-Saxons’ cultures and traditions are rooted in their beliefs of the perfect hero. Their ideal hero has many key characteristics influenced by their culture including courage, strength, bravery, thick skin, loyalty, humbleness, and the ability to create strong trustworthy friendships. Beowulf is an epic poem that exhibits the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero. The Anglo-Saxon traditions illustrated in Beowulf accurately represent the Anglo-Saxon traditions of the time period. This is accomplished through the distinct correlation of heroic characteristics between Beowulf and the culture’s traditional depiction of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Set in an era long before the customs of contemporary western civilization, Heaney’s translation of Beowulf follows the courageous hero through an epic journey that solidifies his figurative immortality. Much like the Greek’s great Odysseus or the Roman’s devout Aeneus, Beowulf serves as an impressive and almost godlike warrior for the Anglo-Saxons, providing insight into the constituents of greatness for that society. Confident in his abilities and committed to his task, Beowulf voluntarily embarks on a mission to defeat Grendel, the treacherous enemy of the Danish kingdom. Beowulf solidifies his classification as an epic hero as he satisfies his quest for glory, saves a kingdom from destruction, and reveals the values of an era.

Beowulf is an epic poem that has been handed down orally for centuries, but was finally written down in the eighth century. It is the story of an epic hero, named Beowulf, who travels with his men, the Geats, to conquer the many beasts who terrorize the lands of the Danes. The scops describe Beowulf as “greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”(110-111). This example shows one of many qualities that make Beowulf the epic hero that he is. He uses his strength to demonstrate both the dedication and bravery needed to bring peace and justice to the people who have been terrorized for such a long time. Cultural elements exemplified in Beowulf occur in the aspects of the mead hall, the warriors, and their belief system.

Before each and every battle that Beowulf takes on, there is always a specific section that speaks about fate and what is to come with death. Gruesome descriptions of battle and fate ending in death is brought about extremely casually and often. When Beowulf first meets King Hrothgar to help him protect his kingdom from Grendel, he immediately tells the king, “Whichever one death fells / must deem it a just judgement by God” (Heaney ll. 440-441). Since this epic poem was composed within an era of blooming Christianity, it is shown that Beowulf is fully leaving his life within the hands of God. Beowulf believes that only God has the power to take a life when he believes it is their time; persuading the audience that it is right to fall into the same belief, causing more of a major impact on the world today. Once God

Every culture has its own set of beliefs values and customs. Cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout a lifetime. A culture is the sum of a group’s way of life and this is no different with the ancient Anglo Saxon culture. Cultures usually have distinct figures that reflect their culture as a whole. The importance of religion, values, and heroes are reflected a great deal in the epic poem of Beowulf accurately showing the Anglo Saxon culture as a whole.

Anglo Saxon values are portrayed throughout Beouwulf and allows reeaders to understand the concept of a hero. The warrior Beowulf is introduced as “Higlacs / follower and the strongest of the Geats” (ll. 109-110). To quench his thirst for fame and an epic quest, he sets sail to honor a favor. Because of Beowulf’s great strength and noble birth, he is able to complete his quest which in turn makes him and epic hero.

“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.

Although viewed as ruthless savages, the Anglo-Saxon culture was not founded on the sole idea of barbaric brutality. The Anglo-Saxon beliefs were established by loyalty, generosity, and valor. As a result, the people of the Anglo-Saxon culture lived life by these ideals which created a great thirst for fame in being the best version of themselves. If one was decent at fighting, they would train to be the best fighter they could be, or if someone was intelligent they would devise complex riddles to boast of their intelligence. In order to fulfill their beliefs, there were many aspects of the Anglo-Saxon culture that were not only prevalent in their day to day life, they were expressed through their literature as well. In Beowulf, the

Many people believe that initially, Beowulf was a Pagan artifact. In fact, such belief has developed further to support that an anonymous Christian rewrote the piece with the intention to apply Christian characters in the first script. Academics, however, differ on whether the central thematic argument was Christian or Pagan. The author remarkably puts actions into the context of the Bible owing to the impulse at the era of converting everyone to Christianity. By, interlocking the old Pagan elements of folklore and Christian belief, Beowulf grows into a standard of fiction, which is difficult to outshine. The epic of Beowulf has no recognized author ever since its original tradition. However, it does represent the culture of the Anglo-Saxon from which it originated. Besides, it serves its goal of moral teaching as a work of art and the meaning hero-life (Disraeli). The poem’s hero, known as Beowulf, seems to display great bravery in all the things he takes part in during his time. Indeed, Beowulf represents one of the greatest epic heroes in history; he symbolizes bravery and honor, loyalty to his people, and the reputation he holds, as he represents the Anglo-Saxon culture.

The epic poem Beowulf, is an Angelo Saxon tale that represents heroism and strength. This poem was written be an unknown poet between around 1000 A.D and showcases the heroic character named Beowulf who comes to save the land of Danes from the beast Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel and then faces his mother the evil monster who is killed as well and is viewed by all the people of Dane as a hero who can never be beaten. An evil Dragon comes and Beowulf is able to kill the Dragon but sacrifices his own life as he is killed by the Dragon’s poison. Beowulf is about more than heroism this epic poem shows true English narration, represents Angelo-Saxon religion, and depicts women’s roles in Anglo-Saxon society