Is It Fate? By England 's Primary Religion

The Seafarer, The Wanderer, and The Wife’s Lament all contains faith verses fate. The three poems are very similar and very different. The three poems ranging from a lonely man, to a lost soldier, to a wife’s bedrail. The medieval poems show hurt, confusion, and loneliness.

With all the books read in class this year, there has been some type of influence on the way each story was written. From Beowulf to Paradise Lost, there have been many, mostly religious, persuasions in the style and approach to writing of the novel. These influences, whether they're religious or cultural or psychological, have a deep impact on the story and are reflective of a literary time period. The differences in each story show the changes in the culture, religion, or the way people thought. The purpose of the sequential order of the stories is to show how man has changed his ways, how he has failed and how he has redeemed himself.

The symbolism in the “Rhyme of the ancient mariner” is said to be an impossible representation of the Christian story of reconciliation from sin, redemption and forgiveness for that sin, but the symbolism in this poem clearly contradicts those views. The poem is one of a great sin committed against nature and the supernatural - being God - and how the wrong doer was redeemed from that sin and his journey into realigning what he had done. The Mariner was punished for his sin by the supernatural and forces of nature while he was glorified by his crew mates for his skill that was shown in killing the albatross with a crossbow. This is often true in Biblical stories and modern day where one is glorified for earthly talents and is given fame, but what they are famous for contradicts God and his law. Other aspects of Christianity are embedded in this poem as well that are easily overlooked like when the Mariner prays to some force he does not know. He is guilty for his transgression and knows what he has done is wrong although the sin was committed with ill will not intended. Lastly this poem displays a value important to Christianity, but also to all other ideologies and the is the topic of justice for crimes committed and the Christian aspect of thats once justice is served salvation is needed and redemption takes place. All of these values presented by symbolism throughout this poem all point toward the idea that the story of the Mariner was meant to serve as an example of the

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.

Anglo-Saxons valued religion very highly. There is much controversy over Beowulf in dealing with pagan and Christian beliefs because historians believe both were integrated although Christianity seems to be more prevalent. Religion was the center of people’s life at this time and is demonstrated in Beowulf when Beowulf calling for God exclaims … “the almighty the maker of the earth”. Up until the 6th century it is back and forth between Christianity and Paganism. The greatest sources of information on the pagan period of religion are from the 7th to 8th century testimonies, such as Beowulf (Orchard 25). Paganism dealt with the worshiping of many gods. The celebration of glory has such emphasis in Beowulf because human praise is the highest goal of the pagan characters. . Anglo Saxon warriors wore helmets for battle with a pagan god on them named Freyr. Those who grew

The contemplative question of “What would Jesus do?” has become a popular pragmatism in society today. There is an unwritten rule or sense of morality by which a properly functioning civilization may live. However, what method did early Anglo-Saxons use to remind themselves of what would be the proper thing to do in a situation? Even though they were a violent and warmongering culture as a whole, geared toward waging and winning war, they did have a moral code to honor. Anglo-Saxons prized the values, which they would have been learned by rote since childhood, including: courage and selflessness, honor, discipline and duty, hospitality, self-reliance, and perseverance. These principles of character are some of the main mores clearly

The Mariner’s lifelong penance is to relay his story and message throughout the lands to the various individuals he holds a calling towards. The Mariner can only relieve his frequents bouts of extreme agony and guilt from his past by narrating his story and lesson to others, bidding them not to make the same mistake he did. Initially, the listener is reluctant to hear the Mariner’s tale, eager to get to the wedding that is about to begin. However, the listener is somehow drawn to the Mariner and yields to his tale. He becomes enchanted, and by the tale’s end, the listener is left, shocked, speechless, and in awe. He gains a new perspective of the world, and the poem ends with the words, “He [the listener] went like one that hath been stunned / And is of sense forlorn; / A sadder and a wiser man, / He rose the morrow morn.”

A significant theme in Samuel Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," is Christianity, which is portrayed through the Mariner’s epic journey. This text is set between the physical world and the metaphysical (spiritual world), similar to religious teachings found in the Bible. With the use of vivid descriptions and strong language in this ballad, moral lessons appear that connect both man and God in order to discover an innate bond and understanding. Though this tale is overwhelmingly bizarre and dark, the moral lessons taught are in line with central aspects of both the romantic period and the Christian religion. In Coleridge's ballad, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," many Christian ideals are represented throughout the treacherous

In the early middle ages, the Christian faith played a rather minor role for members of Germanic and other tribes. The reason for this is due to the fact that when these men and women were conquered, the mentality was convert or be killed. If the chieftain switched from paganism to Christianity, his entire community would likely change as well. Pagans also are brought up, “They prayed aloud, promising sometimes on the altars of their idols unholy sacrifices if the Slayer of souls would send relief to the suffering people.” However, converting officially to please the conquers, did not mean they were active in the faith. This is shown in Beowulf. Religion plays a minor part and is only brought up to justify a wrong action such as saying it is God’s will. There is however, a brief look into the idea of life after death and salvation when Beowulf is about to die. It states, “He well knew that he had come to the end of his allotted days, his earthly happiness; all the number of his days had disappeared: death was very

“The Seafarer”, an elegiac poem written during the Anglo-Saxon time period, describes a man’s travels through the sea. Throughout the first half of the poem, the narrator maintains a voice of sorrow and anger at the sea and the plight that it has forced upon him. He describes his hunger, his fear, his sorrow, and many other situations dealt upon him during his time at the sea. With the second half of the poem arrives a shift in the tone of the narrator as he claims a sense of excitement and hope over the riches of heaven. He explains the limitations of earthly goods and wealth and the eternity that a man will have in heaven depending on his character while he lived on Earth, expressing the importance of godly values within one’s character.

Throughout centuries human beings have evolved, but various traits of human nature remain the same. An epic poem named “The Canterbury Tales” written by Geoffrey Chaucer provides examples that demonstrate traits of human nature that are still relevant in our world today even if this piece of literature was written hundreds of years ago.The Canterbury Tales is framed by having multiple people from different social lives and statuses share stories which demonstrates how these pilgrims think and act, in other words their human nature, on their way to the martyr St. Thomas in a pilgrimage. These characters portray different traits of human nature such as having religious aspirations, falling in love, and thinking in an evil way in their stories which are all still lively relevant in today's society.

In the medieval period, the Old English elegies use unnamed speakers that offer similar descriptions of devastated landscapes and immense personal hardships. However, where the unknown authors’ of the Old English elegies often present smilier descriptions and themes across their respective works, they do not present similar opinions on larger concerns like religion and the role of community. This is a concept that is interwoven into the framework of the Old English elegies “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer”. By comparing and contrasting these two works, this paper will argue that the unnamed narrators’ vivid descriptions of landscapes, circumstances surrounding their exile, and climactic perspectives on the earthly community function solely

Like the wedding guest, the mariner is presented with the “sad wisdom” or the truth of God, which he does not want to acknowledge (Buchan 103). In contrast, Coleridge presents the character of a hermit who accepts the truth of God and wanders around telling his tale “voluntarily, finding his peace in it”, as he has never done anything to be punished for (Purser 255). To the wedding guest, the mariner gives the advice of “He prayeth best who loveth best/ All things both great and small” (Coleridge 612-13). Coleridge presents this advice in a way satirically to poke fun at this advice, as it is presented in a very hypocritical way and comes from the gullible mariner. This advice is presented as nothing more than a stereotypical message preached

Four varying viewpoints exist concerning what or who the mariner represents, the first being the superficial idea that he is simply the wise old man who imparts wisdom to the younger generations (Williams 1116). Going beyond the literal connotation, the most common and supported argument it that the mariner represents the Christian sinner. The diction chosen by Coleridge often alludes to Christianity, examples include “Christian soul”, ”God’s name”, “[i]nstead of the cross…about my neck was hung”, and “Dear Lord in Heaven” (Coleridge 1616-1632). Howard Creed believes that the mariner is symbolically a poet, due to the fact that he learns “the great truth about the world they live in” and then attempts to communicate it to others through the art of a story (221). The final possibility is that the mariner represents a mother. Repeated connection to conventionally female things like the sea, motherhood, spontaneity/irrationality, and nature begins to support this conclusion. The role of instructing the young, in this case the wedding guest whom “listens like a three years’ child” is also traditionally female, further developing the argument (Coleridge 1616). Overall, the poem is an exemplar at employing Coleridge’s idea of symbol to use the ordinary to show the transcendent, especially Christianity, yielding that the second option is the preeminent choice.

The Anglo-Saxon heroes actively choose to suffer and face their wierd. However, their keeping of the allegiance enables them