Comparing Beowulf And The Seafarer

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.

When reading or watching the epic tale of Beowulf, there are, as with most tales, multiple accounts to consider. Many of the accounts are told in almost extremely different ways. For example, someone reading the original translated text of Beowulf would find many blatantly obvious differences between it and the 2007 animated movie Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis.

When a book gets made into a movie there are many similarities and differences. A difference between the Reading and the motion picture is that the reading explains the real story of Beowulf more detailed.

The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The hero, Beowulf, is a seemingly invincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of an Anglo Saxon hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters many monsters and horrible beasts, but he never fears the threat of death. His leadership skills are outstanding and he is even able to boast about all his achievements. Beowulf is the ultimate epic hero who risks his life countless times for glory which to him meant eternal life.

There are many factors to consider in comparing the two poems of the Old English society – Beowulf and The Wanderer. While they have many similarities; they have, within their structure and plot, many differences we can easily find or eventually make out.

The Anglo-Saxons were a people who lived in England during the fifth century. They strongly believed in fate and valued traits such as courage, generosity, faithfulness and, most importantly, strength. This is shown through the many epic poems that were composed and performed by the Anglo-Saxons during this time period. One of the most well known epics Beowulf, celebrates the deeds of the legendary and heroic Geat warrior named Beowulf. In Beowulf, physical strength is the defining factor of a warrior’s worth.

Marisa Almaguer Mrs. Main English 170, Per. 4 16 March 2017 Epic Comparison Studying epic poems are vital to a student’s education. Heroic tales are filled with value and cultural insight.

There has been a lot of influence in each story that we read this semester. From Beowulf to The Wanderer, there has been a lot of religious opinion in the story’s and poems we read this semester. These opinions whether religious or cultural, have a huge impact on the story’s plot and reflect the time period and the literary techniques they used at that time. Every story has a different point of view and shows the changes in culture, religion, and the way people thought.

      The characters in the Old English poem Beowulf certainly delighted in the seas. This essay seeks to compare their attitude toward the sea with that expressed in another Old English poem, The Seafarer.

When looking at Anglo Saxon literature and culture, it appears that being a warrior was symbolically an essence of being a hero. Courageous, clever, and strong, an Anglo Saxon hero is ready to face all odds and is always willing to fight and sacrifice their lives for their people, and to somehow create a legacy of who they were. An Anglo Saxon hero was he who besides being physically strong, and of course fearless, must also possess the important quality of humility. Being able to humble himself down to his people and accept that his heroic acts were based off of living the life he did, just like the rest of them. The poem The Dream of the Rood, which was written

Its overall longevity has occurred if not for its standing as one of the oldest pieces of literature to come from the English language--but also its standing as a first look at the heroic code that, in short, birthed any ideas that we may uphold as “heroic.” Being created in the tradition of Germanic oral poetry, Beowulf’s poem details what it means to“truly” be a hero: loyalty, generosity, and overall polite behavior to women. This heroism was derived from the idea that the mutual trust and respect created in a relationship between warrior and lord was one of the strongest relationships that humans could establish between themselves (Simpson and David 38). By having this bond as the basis of society’s moral code, Beowulf’s poet is able to establish the idea of heroism as one that reinforces solidarity and “goodness” amongst

The Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Periods shape the view of a gallant from day one till now. From the tales of Beowulf, Le Morte d’ Arthur, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, an epic hero’s persona becomes the ideal image of an admirable character. Regardless of all the faults encountered, with certain characteristics such as honor, courage, loyalty, and honesty, an epic hero can mean so much to an individual. Just as the old ages, not every individual can have the full combination of a hero. As years past and time changes, these virtues still remain the same. Till this day, anyone with courage, loyalty, and honesty, deserves to be honored. Those individuals are the ones that young children look up to the most; those are the true heroes of

Throughout the years, the world has changed and developed. Issues, beliefs, and morals are always changing although they can be alike in some manner. Literature is affected by this. Literature is greatly influenced by various aspects of the world and what occurred during the time it is written. Because of this impact, the time period is often reflected through the writing composed. Within the epics “The Seafarer” and Beowulf, the time period was reflected through the social ideals, styles of writing, and stories.

Throughout the passage of time cultures have upheld codes of ethical behaviors and values, with individuals who carried those traits being hailed as heros. Among many Germanic tribes and indigenous Britons certain values were extolled. These modes of noble behavior and morality have been carried on through the ages and continue to be honored and respected even today. In these three classic Anglo-Saxon tales; “The Seafarer”, Beowulf and “The Wanderer”, Anglo-Saxons of this time displayed their beliefs and values. The society of the Anglo-Saxons was mentally and emotionally focused on the forwarding of these noble traits and values. The most near to their hearts however were the exemplary qualities of loyalty, valor, and unselfishness.

In Anglo-Saxon culture, it is very important to be remembered. The only way to be remembered was to perform a heroic deed that was later recited as a poem to a large group of people on multiple occasions. They turned these stories into poems so it was easier for the storyteller to remember it and Bards would recite these to people for centuries so it was very important for people to become a hero or cause a major change to be part of these stories and remembered forever.The definition of a hero now versus the definition of a hero in the Anglo-Saxon time period isn't much different but the definition of what is a “heroic” deed is much different. In modern day culture, a good example of a heroic deed would be a firefighter, someone risking their lives to save others. In Anglo-Saxon culture, a good example of a heroic deed would be to kill someone who is harmful, someone risking their lives to save others. Notice how each person the firefighter or the warrior they both risked their lives to save others but in modern-day someone killing someone for others isn't really a hero. Because of an existing judicial system, heroes only save people instead of sacrificing and killing others. Heros during Anglo-Saxon were the judicial system and were responsible for punishment which meant sacrificing terrible people to save others.