Literary Analysis Of Beowulf, An Old English Epic

Beowulf has delighted and intrigued a wide array of people for centuries. The timeless nature is visible in modern-day extensions of this epic, through heroics and battles of good versus malevolent forces. Beowulf continues to appeal to sophisticated audiences because it tells the story of a great hero prevailing over evil, a timeless theme valued by society and portrayed by his counterparts in modern media, although these new heroes display more complex qualities.

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.

“No better king had ever lived, no prince so mild, no man so open to his people, so deserving of praise.” This is an ultimate description of the heroic events of Beowulf, an old Anglo-Saxon poem about a warrior who battles and destroys three horrifying monsters. Although written long ago, the emotions expressed within this work, emotions of bravery, valor, and ethics still speak to us centuries later. The anonymous author of the poem convinces us through the masterful use of various literary elements that emphasize its meaning and message. Conflict, imagery and setting are three literary elements that contribute to the effectiveness of the poem.

“There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.” – Ayn Rand. To fully understand the complex world and culture of the Anglo-Saxons, one must examine the only form of historical evidence available – texts. One particular great work from this time period is often underrated and overshadowed in modern society by many other ancient works such as Iliad or Oedipus Rex. The epic poem, Beowulf, was sung by multiple unknown Anglo-Saxon poets four centuries before the Norman Conquest. The theme of good versus evil was constantly reappearing throughout the storyline, the portrayal of evil and its downfall initially shaped the poem’s plot, and illustrates an alien presence; something that

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.

Beowulf holds a key to understanding how the author can invoke a response from the reader through different narrative forms and the heroic/non heroic trope. The form of the epic poem is used to present the themes of power, war death and life itself in an enhanced way that allows the writer to arouse a particular response from the

It is apparent when reading Beowulf that women were regarded as beneath men in Anglo-Saxon culture. The vast majority of the dominant characters in Beowulf are men. In fact, the only prominent female character is an antagonist who is defeated by a man. The others are mentioned briefly, and one of them even serves all the men of Heorot. Although one woman is a monster, one is a hostess/bedmate, and another a violent queen who must be put in place, all of them serve several purposes in contributing to the meaning of the work. The meekness and submissive nature provides a stark contrast to the glorious deeds of the great warriors that makes their achievements appear even greater.

In the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, it is said, "Behavior that's admired is the path to power among people" (Beowulf 5). That being stated, it is very apparent throughout the entirety of the story. The main character, Beowulf, quickly comes to a position of power once defeating multiple atrocities and executing numerous heroic deeds. The people in the city admire Beowulf and abide to his ways; but once offered kingship, he declines. Throughout the epic poem, it is obvious that Beowulf would rather be a hero than a king because of the individual representation that comes with it, the rewards, and the self-reliant aspect.

Most people would state that Beowulf is a very male centered book that has very little female influence or even need but really women play a very important and special role in Beowulf. Women not only are peacekeepers, hosts, and wives or mothers, but gift givers, power establishers, and examples on how to act and for some how not to act. There are two types of women in Beowulf and they are the women who represent how women of the time period were wanted to act and women who represent how not to act in any generation. The women who represent how to properly act in Beowulf are Wealtheow, Hygd, and Freawaru.

The epic poem Beowulf is considered the oldest long poem of Old English which survived through many years, but also one of the major works of English literature. However, the author of this great work remains unknown since it was written a long time ago, sometime between the eighth and the early eleventh century. It was first written to be told orally, and that is one of the main reasons why this poem is still known by today’s society; people in those times told the story to their tribe and it went on from generations to generations. What is interesting in this poem is that the society is idealized, which influences the people to act like those in the epic poems. Indeed, epic poems are really influential texts that reinforce certain values

When analyzing any piece of literature, it is important to reflect on the time period in which it was written in order to gain better insight into what the work says about the society from which it came. In the case of Beowulf, this epic poem was

The exact author and publication date of “Beowulf” is unknown, but the epic poem itself is a staple when discussing the literary history of the Anglo Saxon Period. An unforgettable scene in this legendary work is when Beowulf fought against the dragon that was terrorizing his kingdom. This scene epitomizes the work as a whole, because it symbolizes Beowulf’s courageous and selfless attitude. Due to the optimal traits that the main character demonstrates and the battle’s incorporation of a fictional yet intriguing creature, the scene is quite effective.

    There is considerable debate as to whether the poem Beowulf is an epic narrative poem or an heroic elegy. Which is it. This essay intends to present both sides of the story.

An epic is a long, narrative poem that encompasses a hero or a heroine who is usually involved in an amazing battle between two forces. It includes forces that are not of the human world such as demons, angels, gods, and spirits. The epic of Beowulf is about a hero with superhuman strength that defeats the demon who torments the soldiers of the kingdom. In The Rape of the Lock, the heroine Belinda has a piece of her hair cut and stolen from her and the major battle is trying to get her lock of hair

The epic tale of Beowulf was written sometime after his death. In other words, a long time ago during the Anglo-Saxon period. Today, directors in Hollywood did not keep from creating their own rendition of this epic poem As a result, plenty of modern interpretations of Beowulf, such as Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel, have been released. Naturally, the cultural values that might be reflected in modern Beowulf renditions will demonstrate a clash with those of the original fifth century Beowulf literature. One reason for this is that in the modern age we value characters with profound characteristics, characters that change due to the challenges they experience; characters that we as the audience can attach to. Flat characters like those of the original Beowulf text are difficult to empathize with since they are not realistic enough for our standards. Due to these differences in culture and values, the Beowulf and Grendel from the original Beowulf text possess definite contrasts when compared with their Beowulf and Grendel counterparts.