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Theme Of Good And Evil In Beowulf

Decent Essays

While the epic poem Beowulf has no specified author or exact translations, the legendary story echoes through time as the fame of this hero continues to expand. Beowulf, the King of the Geats, is the protagonist in this epic; many describe him as the greatest man to have ever lived. Beowulf fits the architype for hero extremely well, possessing all the essential traits; he creates an aura as the ultimate source of good in this entire story. Of course, Beowulf is not alone, there are several other characters in this story that radiate this sense of good, and some may help Beowulf along the way. Any good story finds the balance between good and evil to make conflict. In order to attain this conflict the author of Beowulf added countless acts …show more content…

This is completely contrasted by the description of the antagonist’s lair. The two central antagonists so far in this epic poem have been Grendel, and Grendel’s mother; they both live, as the author describes it, the most terrifying place imaginable. The word choice and imagery used in this case so vastly differs from the description of Heorot that a clear balance appears. The description of this lair hits the page on line 1361 and extends to 1380, “A frost-stiffened wood waits and keeps watch above a mere; the overhanging bank is a maze of tree-roots mirrored in its surface. At night, the water burns. And the mere bottom has never been sounded by the sons of men. On its bank, the hart in flight from pursuing hounds will turn to face them and die in the wood rather than dive beneath its surface. That is no good place.” The author clearly exemplifies the domain of a monstrosity, and by mentioning such a place, levels the scales of good and evil. The purpose of a setting is to hold the characters, and the balance of the setting extends to influence the characters that emerge from there. Most heroes and villains feel the influence of where they call home, therefore, the setting acts as a key player in dictating the movements of the characters. In the case of Beowulf, the hero would be Beowulf, who spends most of his screen time at Heorot, and Heorot acts as the perfect setting for

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