Beowulf's Lighthouse

Beowulf-A New Telling by Robert Nye has a theme that runs deep in the blood of fantasy works:The millenia old battle between light and darkness. Although not directly mentioned, in many books including this one, Darkness and Light are portrayed as physical, however rather explaining conflict within humans, or even conflict between humanity and the mysterious outside. Robert Nye does amazingly well portraying this through many events and physical objects.

Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye is a story of horrendous monsters of legends Beowulf has to face. But, Beowulf is not your ordinary hero, and this story isn’t your ordinary hero legend of Good Vs. Evil. In Fact, the story shoes things aren’t so black and white. You will hear again and again, about light and darkness being in the same being, a kind of a yin and yang concept. That is one of many themes throughout this story, and the longer you read the more you see the deeper, overarching theme of the entire story.

This sets the foundation for the story and creates a basis for the characters to thrive upon.Beowulf is a story that can only teach us the pure meaning of things and how they reflect on one another.

Slaying demons, fighting dragons. Just an ordinary life for a hero—a hero named Beowulf. Beowulf is known for battling massive and terrifying beasts with unwavering confidence. Many attribute his success to his courage and determination, but it also leads him to his untimely demise. Maybe his confidence is not an asset, but a tragic flaw, a vulnerability.

In the Battle of Beowulf his battles where epic. Everyone praised Beowulf’s name and the stories of his heroic battles of the monsters he battled and defeated. Battles will forever be recognized and remembered.

Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye is about a character named Beowulf who has to fight evil by using strength, but by also using cleverness. Beowulf’s name means “bee hunter” and Beowulf loved bees. In the story a hall is built it is called Hall Heorot. “By day it towered above men’s heads like a second sun, so bright were it’s walls and roofs”(p. 5). Once the hall is made, a monster comes and eats people at night.

Beowulf’s uncle is king of the Geats so Beowulf is sent to help rid the Danes of the evil Grendel. Beowulf risks his own life for the Danes, asking help from no one. He realizes the dangers but fears nothing for his own life. After Beowulf had served his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle one last time to fight a horrible dragon whom is frightening all of his people. Beowulf is old and tired but he fights the dragon in order to protect his people. Even in death he wished to secure safety for the Geats so a tall lighthouse is built in order to help the people find there way back from sea.

Beowulf and Grendel are two different stories, and characters, who look at the same situation in polarized ways. Each character has their own story that is written from different time periods: the Anglo-Saxon time period and America in the 1970’s. Both of these time periods have different attributes that make them special; the Anglo-Saxon time period consists of the literary movement of the epic poem and America in the 1970’s consists of the literary movement known as postmodernism. Beowulf is shaped by the Anglo-Saxon time period through its use of the heroic code and religious influences and Grendel is shaped by the American 1970’s time period through its use of metafiction and an unreliable narrator.

The story of Beowulf is one of a great hero. Beowulf is a very generous person who is always willing to help out when people are in need. Over the course of the story, Beowulf ends up in three major battles: the battle with Grendel, with Grendel’s mother, and with the dragon. All of these battles were different in their style and the way Beowulf approached them was different. Beowulf also had different reasons to participate in each of the battles.

Beowulf: A New Telling is a book for people that need reassurance that light will overcome darkness and that we need to accept that we have some darkness inside of us, then our weaknesses can become our strengths. Beowulf has to face many faces of evil, including Grendel, the cruel slimy creature who murders Beowulf’s friends and She, the wife of Cain and malicious monster that lives at the bottom of a pool of blood. He becomes king of Geats and is famous all throughout the land.

What are the challenges of the Anglo-Saxon life, that Beowulf faces? The strongest competitors Beowulf faced were Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.

Before the story of Beowulf was written down, the tale was spoken through the oral traditions characteristic of Anglo-Saxon Literature. This oral ritual was mindful not only of the particular event and time in which it was recited, but also of the receptive nature of its audience. Moreover, these stories contained repetitions of key elements and themes as a way to stress their significance. Ultimately, however, all the stories told through the oral tradition usually mirrored the principles and ideals of the Anglo-Saxon culture at the time they were told. This tradition remains ever-present within the modern text of the medieval poem of Beowulf. Two notable tales of character in the poem gain deeper nuance when placed in Beowulf’s

To be a hero in the Anglo-Saxon period the person must be a warrior, One that must be able to face any situation, and be very intelligent. The hero must also be courageous and willing to fight and die for their people. To become a real hero the person must go through the cycle that all heros experience during life, referred to as the “Hero’s Journey”. It is steps and stages on the hero’s life which includes, the calling to adventure , supernatural or aid by mentor, the facing of the issue or calling, and return home. To be honored for their success by their people when returned back to their home.

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”( Christopher Reeve) In 1000 A.D. a group of people were formed, these people were called the Anglo-saxons. They were also known as what people now refer to as Vikings. The Vikings were explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe. While these Anglo-saxons were raiding and trading they also had some down time, where they would sit down around a fire and tell tales of Heroic adventures. These sorts of tales were things that the Anglo-saxons would look up to, it was almost like a handbook of how they should live their lives. During these stories was created one of the earliest examples of heroism and adventure. The epic poem of Beowulf was born. While the author is to be unknown, the

Beowulf takes place in two different lands. His home is in the land of the Geats, but he sails a vast distance to help the Danes. Beowulf states, “Then they sailed, set their ship/ Out on the waves, under the cliffs./ Ready for what came they wound through the currents” (Beowulf 106-108). He left his home land and sailed to the Danes’ to help them defeat Grendel. After the defeat of Grendel, he has to face his mother, who lives in a lake. This extends the setting even farther because the battle takes place under the lake in a battle-hall. After the defeat of Grendel’s mother, he goes back to the land of the Dane’s for a short period of time, but he eventually makes the sailing voyage back home. The voyages to different places over a vast