Beowulf Narrator Analysis

The Importance of Beowulf in Modern America By Jennifer Carley Modern culture and literature include many stories of great heroes and fictional adventures. Many people grow up reading about these great adventures and looking up to the heroes of the stories. Heroes are great roll models because they are portrayed as courageous and trustworthy individuals, two very admirable qualities. Despite numerous cultural and technological advancements, life in modern America continues to bear resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon world of the hero Beowulf. The poem Beowulf, though written many centuries ago, still contains the same universal themes of any great action-adventure story in today's society. The poem is about a great hero who overcomes seemingly

the author intended for it to be clear that Beowulf is supposed to be the hero of the story.

A prolific and boastful hero prince who goes on many breathtaking and daring adventures that would, later on, come back to bite him in the end. This heroic tale was greatly known as “Beowulf”. Which was written around the 8th through the 11th century by an Anglo-Saxon poet. The intended audience for this story were the soldiers that followed Beowulf into battle, to instill confidence and bravery or the soldiers from other countries that were in conflict with or against Beowulf, to instill fear in the soldiers. The Beowulf tale was an oral tradition told by poets or bards before and after battles; while the warriors drank, ate, and sang. Beowulf is about a warrior prince coming to the aid of King Hrothgar of Denmark who is tormented by a demon

This leaves Beowulf as the monster, when we believe him to be the hero. For the rest of the poem this leaves us an opening to judge him on character. Because of this fault, one can believe that he is a faulty king and ruler, even though he does what a king is suppose to do; he gives gifts to his Geats.

Because it was passed down for many years, Beowulf contains a unique mixture of pagan culture and Christian beliefs. The protagonist, Beowulf, is a mighty warrior who often cries out in petition to the Christian God. In contrast Hrothgar, the King of Herot, is a pagan leader who makes sacrifices to “old stone gods” in times of strife (Beowulf 90). The author may have done this in order to provide the audience with a foundation for the story. Readers of the time were familiar with the Bible and all of its stories. Even today audiences have a firm grasp and knowledge on the events of the Bible. Through allusions to the story of Cain and Abel, and to God’s power and protection, the story applies a stronger and more effective skin to commonly known material.

Beowulf is a hero, and we all know a hero when we see one. There are many traits and characteristics that make someone a hero. These traits and characteristics are more expressed in ancient epics and poems. Beowulf is one of the most famous ancient Anglo-Saxon poems still taught to this day in schools and colleges all over the world. The story starts off of how a man by the name of Beowulf receives news that a neighboring land is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. Beowulf shows several characteristics of here such as, bravery, loyalty, generosity, friendship, and showing a high level of intellect. Beowulf first shows his heroic character through his bravery while journeying on his epic quest. There are several cases where he is not afraid, and instead of being frightened, he shows great bravery. An example of from the poem is, “Instead, they inspected omens and spurred his ambitions to go, whilst he moved about like the leader he was, enlisting men, the best he could find; with fourteen others the warrior boarded the boast as captain” (Beowulf 205-210). This quote gives proof of his bravery because he was the head of the group leading his men. Beowulf proves that even he himself must be brave in order to lead the bravest of men into battle.

Through analysis of the text Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, it is questionable of whether or not Beowulf is good or evil. Based on his actions, intentions and motivations behind his actions, and the way culture shapes him, it is clear that he is, in fact, an evil character. Beowulf is a dishonorable character who is self-absorbed and only saves the people of Herot for fame and wealth.

Nobody likes a liar and the Hollywood version of Beowulf makes him dishonest. In the poem, Beowulf is challenged by Unferth because the thinks Beowulf is over exaggerating himself about his accomplishment. Beowulf does tell them about how he defeated the monsters going detail to detail. But while he was bragging about it, he remembers a

In the beginning of the book Beowulf is described as the greatest hero of the world. Beowulf comes to hear about the destruction Grendel has caused and travels to the land of the Danes to try and help Hrothgar defeat Grendel. He brought to sea with him 14 brave warriors and voyaged to Hrothgar’s kingdom. As they exit the boat the mounted guard asks what Beowulf and his warriors are doing, Beowulf responds in a long message about what they are doing there and who they are going to save. The mounted guard responds “I believe your words, I trust in your friendship. Go forward, weapons and armor and all, on into Denmark. I’ll guide you myself and my men will guard your ship, keep it safe here on our shores” (Raffel 15). Beowulf gives off the feeling to people that do not even know him that he is a great hero and that he can be trusted.

The story of Beowulf was probably composed in England sometime in the Eighth Century AD, and written down circa 1000 AD, by a literate scop (bard) or perhaps a Christian scribe who was possibly educated in a monastery. The poem was created in oral tradition and was transferred to writing over time. It had its roots in folk tales and traditional stories until some very talented poet put it in something very near to its current form. The poem was more than likely performed for audiences at court or on the road as the scop found audiences to support him. It was sung or chanted rather than recited it, and usually to the accompaniment of a harp. There was a constant struggle between good and evil in the story. Beowulf, God, and Wiglaf

Every hero makes mistakes, it is a part of being human. Beowulf lies about chaining five of the strongest beasts. However, he also lies about racing in the ocean and killing monsters left and right. Every human has exaggerated personal stories to sound more heroic. Hrothgar tells Beowulf where the she- monster lives. Hrothgar describes her lair as being mysterious. He travels for hours sinking to the bottom. When he arrives he encounters a beautiful woman, Grendel’s mother. In Beowulf, she lures him into making an agreement with her. She tells him if I keep the horn, you will be king (Beowulf). Beowulf agrees to the deal, he takes Grendel’s head and leaves. When he arrives back to land, he tells the Danes he has killed the beast that intrudes their peace. He shows them Grendel’s head to prove to them he killed the beast. They all cheered in excitement to their hero’s accomplishment. In the literature, Beowulf is honorable, and trustworthy. Heroes are supposed to keep their word. He promises them he will kill the monster and end their fear. Beowulf goes to the creature’s lair and begins fighting. “She welcomed him into her claws, / Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him” (Beowulf 53). Beowulf went to swing his sword at her but couldn’t. “Then he saw/ The mighty water witch, and swung his sword...” (Beowulf 54), but he could not harm her. Beowulf returned to the Geat’s and took over as ruler.

Beowulf is an epic poem whose earliest surviving copy was written in 1000 A.D. The story consists of three thousand one hundred and eighty two lines that follow the life of the title character. The original author of the epic poem is unknown mainly because it started as a verbal tale passed down orally through the ages. Finally someone wrote it down in a document now called the Nowell Codex. The epic tale is centered on Beowulf and his actions in an adventure to repay a debt owed by his father to Hrothgar, a Danish king. A gargantuan monster that is terrorizing Hrothgar’s mead hall is Beowulf’s target and Beowulf sails across the sea to aid his father’s

There is a hero and a villain in every story, we have: Batman and The Joker, Spider-Man and The Green Goblin, Thor and Loki, and of course Beowulf and Grendel. In the epic “Beowulf” our two main characters are Beowulf the hero of the story, and Grendel the evil demon who terrorized the world. In the epic, Beowulf and Grendel are noticeably different, but at the same time alike in many ways. The people in the story may not have notice the similarities, but they could not be hidden from the peering eye of the reader. In the story Beowulf was was brave, while Grendel was cowardly, Beowulf was helpful, while Grendel only wanted to hurt people; in comparison, they were both unnaturally strong and very arrogant.

The epic poem Beowulf, was written sometime in the eighth century by an unknown author. It was based on legend passed down over time. Prior to the time the poem was written, Anglo Saxons had converted from Germanic Paganism to Christianity. Some people argue that it was a Pagan poem rewritten by a person or persons educated in Christianity. “ has come down from heathen times and acquired its Christian character gradually and piecemeal from a succession of minstrels.” ( Hector Monro Chadwick as quoted by Brodeur 182), while others believed that Christianity and Paganism both belonged in the poem. “almost without exception so deeply ingrained in the very fabric of the poem that they cannot be explained away as the work of a reviser or

Most teachers emphasize that a well-written character in a story should be deep, believable, and human, with flaws and personality. Then, say that Beowulf, a poem about a man who is as deep as a sheet of paper, is a masterpiece. While the poem Beowulf is one of the most important and influential pieces of literature in the world, Beowulf himself is a poorly written character when compared to characters of today’s standards.