Theme Of Hypocrisy In Beowulf

Beowulf: A New Telling by Robert Nye is a story of horrendous monsters of legends Beowulf has to face. But, Beowulf is not your ordinary hero, and this story isn’t your ordinary hero legend of Good Vs. Evil. In Fact, the story shoes things aren’t so black and white. You will hear again and again, about light and darkness being in the same being, a kind of a yin and yang concept. That is one of many themes throughout this story, and the longer you read the more you see the deeper, overarching theme of the entire story.

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?

Go through all of the book. There are so many things happening on the topic of

The poet mentions that Grendel is the descendant “Of Cain, murderous creatures banished/ By God punished forever . . . Shut away from me; they split / Into thousand forms of evil” (Beowulf 21-26). This quote is significant because it proves that the monster belongs to the generation of a human being, Cain. However, the Cain’s actions result into the creation of the horrible race of evil monsters. The poet compares Grendel with humans when the fiend’s isolation is related to the Cain’s wrongdoings. Towards the end of the epic, Beowulf’s warriors who abandons him at the time of the battle with the dragon, are also isolated because they conduct a crime by doing so. This shows that the Anglo-Saxon society considers the action of an individual to decide their worth in the society. Because Cain murders Abel, and because the warriors leave Beowulf, their descendants automatically become an outcast in the society. This comparison can be further supported by Wiglaf’s statement to the coward warriors, “none of your race/ Will have anything left but their lives” (Beowulf 859-860). This quote proves that Grendel is similar to human beings because is evil actions render him an outcast just like the actions of the coward warriors recluse them from the society. In conclusion, the poet shows that Grendel and humans have same attributes because evil connects them and isolates them from the

In the epic poem Beowulf, there are many battle between righteous characters and immoral characters. The righteous always conquer the immoral, just as depicted in the Christian Bible. For example, Beowulf battles both Grendel and Grendel's Mother, descendants of Cain from the BIble whom killed over jealousy. Beowulf is perceived as righteous while Grendel and his mother are perceived immoral. With greater analysis it is clear that three characters, Beowulf, Grendel and Grendel's Mother are immoral. In fact, all three of these characters embody one of the Seven Deadly Sins, which is also a Christian belief. Grendel embodies envy. Grendel’s Mother embodies wrath and the epic hero Beowulf embodies greed as well as pride. While immoral characters, Grendel’s Mother and Beowulf deserve the sympathy of others, Grendel does not.

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf touches on the vice of pride, and is instilled in the main character, Beowulf, the great and mighty warrior. His boasting and arrogance when first dropping anchor at Heorot transitions throughout the poem, and, in contrast with his ideal kingsmanship, motivates him to accomplish and overcome the many challenges he faces as an epic hero. The contrast of his absent humility in the rise and fall of the story help promote the progression of the story, through its different purposes. Beowulf, when first landing upon Hrothgar’s kingdom, boasts, which does not go unchallenged, so that he might gain the trust of the Danes, but when knowingly facing his last battle, uses bragging to comfort and brace himself for his ultimate demise.

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

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.

The concept of mixed messages is frustrating, as it can lead to inconsistencies, misunderstandings, and mistakes. However, they find their way into numerous cases anyway. In texting, Facebook status updates, meetings, and many other modern contexts, mixed messages are prevalent; however, we have the opportunity for clarification from others as to what is intended to be portrayed. We are not so lucky to have that luxury regarding classical literature. Many mixed messages are present in literature, forcing us to interpret the text to the best of our abilities, since we cannot ask the author or poet directly. This problem occurs in Beowulf, as the source of Beowulf’s strength is unclear to the audience. Beowulf defeats monsters and saves the day, yet it is unclear whether he is victorious due to his own strength and skill, or because of the intervention of God. However, we can use this unclear distinction to focus on the culture of the people during this time, whether these mixed messages are intentional, and what they can reveal. When Grendel’s mother attacks the mead hall in the night, Beowulf miraculously defends himself and survives. “The monster wretched and wrestled with him but Beowulf was mindful of his mighty strength, the wondrous gifts God had showered on him: He relied for help on the Lord of All, and His care and favour” (1269-1274). This contrast in strength or divine intervention reveals the importance of strength and skill in the society and the integration of

Beowulf: A New Telling is a book for people that need reassurance that light will overcome darkness and that we need to accept that we have some darkness inside of us, then our weaknesses can become our strengths. Beowulf has to face many faces of evil, including Grendel, the cruel slimy creature who murders Beowulf’s friends and She, the wife of Cain and malicious monster that lives at the bottom of a pool of blood. He becomes king of Geats and is famous all throughout the land.

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.

In Beowulf the classic epic, Beowulf, the hero of the epic, and other major characters reflect heroic ideals and beliefs of courage, generosity, unquestioning loyalty and devotion. Courage is most evident throughout Beowulf Beowulf does not back down from any challenge that stands in his way whether it be Grendel, Grendel’s mother, or the dragon. His bravery is most evident in his preparation for his fight with Grendel, Beowulf, “took off his shirt of armour, the helmet from his head, handed his embellished sword, best of irons to an attendant,…” He chose to bravely fight his foe, man to beast without weaponery for he knew it would be “cowardly” to defeat Grendel with a sword and armor when Grendel himself had none. Even in his

In Beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the story’s most universal theme. The storyteller is very clear who is good and who is evil, Beowulf represents the good and the ability to act selflessly when help is needed from others. Good is also shown throughout the epic as having the ability to abolish villainy. Evil is presented by Grendel, his mother, and a dragon, whose purpose in life is to make the lives of humanity a little more miserable.

The narrator of “Beowulf” introduces us to the monster that is Grendel in the very first lines of the poem. The speaker describes “a fiend from hell” and speaks of “a cursed creature” whom God has condemned as he is “the kin of Cain”. Grendel’s description immediately aligns him with sin and the darkness of human nature found in the old biblical tale. As the poem goes on Grendel attacks Hrothgar’s hall because of the singing of praise to God. Grendel cannot bear to hear the praise as he is said to “live in the land of monsters since the Creator cast them out” (pg. 39).

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