Distinguishing Profound Religious Poems : British Literature

American Literature began with many English Separatist who are now known as Pilgrims that arrived to the New World in 1620. With this new arrival the era Age of Faith was started by these Europeans that came to the New World who were strongly impacted by God and the Bible. The journals, diaries and tales that the pilgrims wrote in or told about were filled with plain and simple writing. After that era came to an end the Age of Reason began where people were starting to attack Christian beliefs and the Bible. Influencers like Thomas Paine convinced people that there was corruption in the Christian Church. These influencers distributed their beliefs through pamphlets and speeches in order to convince the people that what they were spreading was

While the author of Beowulf did not initially intend for the epic to become one of the most researched and foundational works in the English language, and therefore, did not go into much detail about its setting and surrounding political structures, the unnamed writer left behind important clues regarding Scandinavian and English political, economic, geographical, and societal bodies. Although not much is known about the author, it is evident through their writing, especially in the societal structure mentioned in the epic, that they were of English descent, specifically, born in the middle of seventh and end of tenth century England, according to Seamus Heaney in the introduction to his translation of Beowulf. Societal clues are the most prominent in proving this claim, as they merge Scandinavian and Old English structures, and at its most form, Beowulf is a Scandinavian tale told through an Englishman’s persepctive.

Literature has always been a major foundation of any culture, it’s a reflection of that culture’s current ideals. Especially during the burgeoning periods of humanity, where writing or verbal speech were the only ways to communicate. As time progresses so do our ideals and concerns about society. Our focus could be on God’s power and how to appease him for humanities sinful nature, like in the age of the Puritans. They believed that God chose specific people to be truly holy by God, that’s the reason they left the church in England because they believed it to be run by unholy people.

Anglo-Saxon culture consisted of receiving fame, glory, and wealth through acts of vengeance and courage. “Beowulf” portrays these parts in great detail and shows how destabilizing it can be. Through acts of vengeance, a never ending war occurs.

Anglo-Saxons refers to settlers from the German regions that migrated to Britain during the fall of the Roman Empire. In the story Beowulf, his actions portray him, indeed be an epic hero. Both Christianity and Paganism are both portrayed throughout the epic Beowulf. Beowulf frequently speaks of God throughout the story, while there are also many Pagan elements that are evident throughout the story as well. In addition, "It 's hard to ignore the Christian and Pagan elements in Beowulf. These types of elements are what define the heroic warrior in the epic Beowulf"(Vengeance the Pagan and Christian Inspiration). Throughout the epic Beowulf, while the Anglo-Saxons followed Christianity, they had a hard time letting go of the Pagan beliefs when things got hard.

Many of the texts written throughout the Middle Ages had one similar theme: Religion. Many of the texts read in the Middle Ages segment of British Literature, have all had at least one element of religion. Stories have ranged from Beowulf to The Canterbury Tales. Sources directly from the text read and from scholarly journals, both have evidence that religion was a huge aspect in readings and life during the Middle Ages time period.

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic that was transmitted verbally for hundreds of years before it was written down. Around the time of its composition, Christianity was beginning to gain prominence in England and was quickly replacing the animistic religion of the Celts. As a result of the dueling religions of the time, the poem includes influences from both Christianity and paganism, leaving its readers to wonder which religion had the most sway over the poet. Beowulf is a fundamentally more Christian epic on account of Beowulf’s resemblances of Jesus Christ, its allusions to the Bible, and its intimation of a supreme, monotheistic religion.

Every culture has its own set of values, beliefs, and customs. These values, beliefs and customs create each unique culture, and these cultural constructions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout the lifetime of the culture. A major part of culture is literature; the literature of the time reflects upon daily life and society during the time that the story was composed. Beowulf, an epic poem, is one of the most important and only works of Anglo-Saxon literature. Much like a fable, the epic poem of Beowulf had lessons that taught the people within this society how to behave. This essay will outline how the importance of Christianity and the Germanic Heroic Code in Beowulf are revealed throughout the epic poem as important aspects of the Anglo-Saxon culture as a whole.

Since humans first emerged into the intellectual sphere of literature, extravagant tales of mystical lands, bloody wars, and gallant heroes spread far and wide. All treasured tales transpire time, From trespassing viking warlords, to poetic french vineyards, and indian tribes across the sea, each culture remains coated in these tales. In the twenty first century there is no need for memorizing stories, however in times gone by stories were circulated by tune or voice until christianity began to spread worldwide. Beowulf, written by an anonymous christian monk, possesses a timeless approach of a classic fight for love and glory; a case of do or die to audiences across the span of a lifetime with intricate tones,

During the Anglo-Saxon time period, individuals wrote poems about achievements, deaths, emotions, and adventures taken by certain individuals. There were many popular poems during this era including, “Beowulf” translated by Burton Raffer and “The Wanderer” translated by Charles W. Kennedy. Although both these poems were written during this era, “Beowulf” was an epic poem and “The Wanderer” was an elegiac poem. However, both of these pieces shared certain characteristics related to the culture and values of the Anglo-Saxon culture. Many attributes that make up this culture are related to both Pagan and Christian beliefs. This includes many ideals relating to fate and God. The culture and values of Anglo-Saxons through “Beowulf” and “The Wanderer”, suggest that along one’s quest emerges an individuals outlook on ways of life.

Literature was definitely another form of art for a large amount of people including visual artists. This form of art included many references to god, and most forms of literature related to the individual’s religious beliefs. Literature was an effective way for people to express a higher level of thinking, and clear their minds in a sense. In Document B, the first excerpt from the English play Everyman supposedly carries a message right out of the Middle Ages. This excerpt basically states that humans think sins are full of sweet/fun things in the beginning, but will eventually lead their souls to regret. It continues on to say that God will call everyman and everyman must listen and do what he says. In Document B, Shakespeare writes from the renaissance and praises man for being so amazing, so god-like, and how beautiful we are, certainly a very different perspective, and

During the 4th Century, British Christianity became more visible but it had not yet won over the hearts and minds of the population. Pagan beliefs still abounded and Christianity was a minority faith.

Throughout history, ideas of how a country should be ran has changed. As we look back on history, beginning with the Anglo-Saxon time period (410 – 1066), we can see that see that with a change in ”ideas”, comes a change in the idea’s on politics, religion and language has changed as well. A shift in politics, language and religion are the focal points around the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval societies; therefore, literature was altered based on their traditions.

Beowulf is an epic dense with imagery derived from Anglo-Saxon Pagan culture and Christianity because it is was written in England during the 8th century, a period of Christian migration, growth, and conversion. From the sea where he loses a fight but fends off evil sea-monsters, the forests, and specific animals such as the raven, Beowulf blends nature, mysticism, and reality seamlessly. The descriptions of nature are general and vague which makes it hard to tell exact locations and lets the reader form their own, personalized visualization of the area; likewise, the role of nature in the lives of the Anglo-Saxon culture and Pagan religion remain unclear at best. Provided with many images of nature in Beowulf, this analysis will extract a deeper understanding of how the Anglo-Saxons used their Paganistic view of nature to help shape Beowulf.

As a Christian monk and teacher, Bede could not have carried out this English history without emphasizing the importance of the Christian conversion that took place in England before the VIII century. It covers both the conversion of the kingdoms and the creation of the