Role Of Value System In Beowulf

Honor, something powerful enough to sculpt the world’s oldest and most powerful empires. Throughout history great empires such as China, Japan, and the Anglo-Saxons have fought and died in the hunt for honor and fame; bringing life to many great and powerful heroes. Beowulf, one such hero, who fought many great battle in the name of honor and fame; putting his all into each battle he encountered. In the epic Beowulf, Beowulf decides to help Hrothgar with the dreaded monster Grendel and then battling him bare handed. Throughout the epic of Beowulf, Beowulf is mainly concerned about honor and fame, in his hunt for honor he agrees to help Hrothgar and fight the monster, Grendel, bare handed; but why?

Beowulf represents all of those values. The story starts with King Hrothgar of the Danes celebrating his region by building a bar called Heorot. He holds a feast there; the loud music and laughter makes Grendel attack the hall at night. The bloodshed and loss of warriors lasts twelve years. Word spreads of Grendel’s attack to the Geats. Beowulf decides to help them. Beowulf and his men arrive to help the Danes. They wait for Grendel to attack Heorot, when he does, Beowulf tears Grendel’s arm from the socket. Grendel runs to his lair where he dies. Grendel’s arm is nailed to the wall in Heorot. Grendel’s mother comes to the hall for revenge of her son. Beowulf goes to defeat her at her lair at the bottom of the lake where Grendel’s mother is waiting to attack. They battle but Beowulf’s sword cannot hurt her; he finds another sword near by which slices her head off. He then goes to find the dead Grendel to cut off his head as a trophy. Everyone is waiting at the surface of the lake and because it is taking such a long time that they have gave up hope. Beowulf comes up victorious and with treasures; they all celebrate. Beowulf returns to his home, fifteen years later a fire-breathing dragon is terrorizing the Geats. Beowulf being the hero that he is goes to fight the dragon. The arm that he brings runs in fear except Wiglaf. They battle the dragon; the dragon was beheaded. During the battle, Beowulf had been bitten and later dies from the poisonous venom

The storyline of Beowulf illustrates the epic battle between good and evil, and demonstrates to the readers that external war is not the only conflict hero’s face. Beowulf struggles a lot with his pride. Beowulf’s biggest internal battle was experienced when he was preparing to fight the dragon. He decided to go into battle, ignoring the fact that he had aged, but his pride, and warrior code wouldn’t let him run. What makes matters worse, he decided to go into the battle alone. His hero pride overcame the actions a normal king would’ve taken. The hero ideology at the time was strictly against a warrior running from a battle, and if Beowulf had done so, he would’ve been persecuted by society, as well as his own conscience.

The historical document of Beowulf, which also shows the importance of literature, reveals the important cultural values of the warrior society. The epic poem, set in Sweden during the 6th Century, tells the story of a warrior named Beowulf. Scops, or storytellers, keepers of an oral tradition, told stories of heroes and culture from their times. They performed and told the tale of a great thane, finally writing it down sometime around the 8th Century; the only surviving epic poem from this time. As a great piece of literature, this poem follows the life of Beowulf from that of a young and loyal thane who becomes a great respected king and dies proudly, as a warrior. The warrior culture at this time reflects the values of the society of

The Anglo-Saxons held several different values than what we do today. Some people say they would have fit in better back in those days. However if you look at some of the things the American culture values today, you will see some similar values. Comparing Beowulf to our modern day values several things can be compared and contrasted.

Each individual culture has many cultural truths that a group of people follow and believe in. Cultural truths are principles, values, or standards important to a group of people, which display moral behaviors that are respected and immoral actions that are scorned at. Also, cultural truths are norms in a society that you are born into and are expected to do daily because they shape the lifestyle of a group. For example, during the Anglo-Saxon period, there were a number of cultural truths that were applied to everyday actions and attitudes. An epic poem, composed based on the Anglo-Saxon period called Beowulf, written by an unknown author translated by Seamus Heaney, depicts many of the cultural values of the time period. In the poem, is it revealed that all the cultural values in the Anglo-Saxon culture are developed from the idea of a warrior culture. The epic poem is about a hero named Beowulf from the Geats tribe who goes off and helps Hrothgar and the Danes defeat a monster, Grendel, who attacks their mead hall. Before Beowulf meets his fate he fights three monsters, which includes Grendel, to protect the lives of people in two different tribes. Within the epic poem Beowulf, there are several of cultural values presented and focused on such as, courage in battle, fidelity to one’s word, and loyalty to kinsmen, which are all demonstrated by Beowulf.

Some of the most common values during the Anglo-Saxon period include courage, loyalty and generosity. The Anglo-Saxon era was almost always in the state of war which is why it is a time when fighting is valued more than working things out. This meant that heroes of this period fought for fame, glory, and pride. Heroes were expected to boast. Beowulf, the best symbol for Anglo-Saxon heroes, proves this by volunteering to fight the monster just because he was bored and wanted to do something he can brag about. In the story, Beowulf boasts of his bravery by talking about his past battles and victories. Beowulf basically acts more for his own glory than for the general well-being to his people. While in our modern period,

Warriors are considered among the bravest of men. In the Anglo-Saxon community, the warriors were of the most respected class, and made up the foundation for their way of living. Anglo-Saxon warriors would not stop fighting until either they were victorious or they were dead. Written during this Anglo-Saxon period, the epic Beowulf contains many pagan ideals, in addition to several references to Christian philosophy. Beowulf is a tale of dual ordeals; an external fight against treacherous enemies, and an internal struggle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, and betrayal. The story intertwines them with both pagan and Christian beliefs.

What values does the poem Beowulf promote? In the poem Beowulf we can find that there are a lot of values mentioned. Beowulf is a man who leads a group of geats to fight and defend the Dane people and the king. Beowulf was a man seeking adventure and glory; he was famous known as the strongest man alive.

Originating in the Anglo-Saxon period, the epic poem Beowulf portrays a legendary hero. Beowulf established the earlier form of heroism, and was then later introduced in to the English culture. Praised and admired by many people, Beowulf possesses several distinct traits that allow him to be defined perfectly as an ideal Anglo-Saxon hero; his eagerness to seek glory and fame, rather than richness and treasures, his loyalty and graceful attitude not only to his rulers but also to his followers, and his contradictory beliefs of faith and fate

Written by a christian poet, the epic of Beowulf clearly outlines that failure to avenge an assault is considered shameful. However, Christian values say to just “turn the other cheek”. It is interesting how this epic poem can have both values at once, because of their clearly cut out contradictions. Throughout the epic of Beowulf, Christian philosophy is represented in many ways, like how God protects them from being killed, how God provides them with everything they need in life. However, there is also a strong, contradicting sense of pageanism and heroic code displayed by Beowulf which is mostly conflicting with christianity.

Publius Syrus states that a “good reputation is more valuable than money.” An individual’s reputation is everything in life: it defines character and others’ perceptions. A significant aspect of Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon literature, in general, is the importance of a positive image. The people of the Anglo-Saxon society based their opinions of a person off of what they heard from other people. The text ultimately demonstrates that Beowulf’s awareness of his reputation plays a positive role in his demeanor throughout the story because he strives to recommence the legacy of his ancestors, and he wants to perceive himself as a heroic figure for all people.

The movie Beowulf was focus on three main values, the value of LOVE, BRAVERY, and LOYALTY.

Culture and Values: An Analyzation of the Beowulf Epic and the Beowulf and Grendel Film

Within the Anglo-Saxon culture, becoming a well-known warrior and successful in war was a major factor in being recognized as the best of the best. Beowulf follows the story of a young warrior, Beowulf, fighting his way up the ladder of success who represents a typical hero from the Anglo-Saxon time period. Throughout the poem, he is met with vicious creatures from the supernatural world which tend to create violent obstacles that he must overcome to create a certain image of a superb thane. By developing the character of Beowulf through his direct and indirect involvements with monsters, the poet reveals his desire for reputation which can lead to pride and his death.