Themes Of Beowulf

The concept of an epic hero ordains in most capacities to be born into their position, subsequently having to prove themselves worthy of said position, eventually excelling their birth circumstances and achieving greatness. This is true of most epic heroes, being either demigods, royalty, or both. Hercules is a demigod (explaining his astounding feats of strength and will), Aeneas is a demigod and of a royal bloodline, Odysseus is essentially blessed by the gods and king of Ithica. Those characters’ qualities of birth can be definitively classified as happenstantial luck. Yet, is it luck if one’s powers are inexplicably unique and inherent, not being bestowed? The most enigmatic, yet prominent epic hero who defies the trope of born luck seems to be the Anglo-Saxon character of 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.

When he struggles and struggles finally Beowulf strength is too much and Grendel’s arm is ripped from its socket. He knows his horrible fate which is to bleed to death in the horrid fen.Although soon after the She demon, Grendel's mother comes back for revenge. Beowulf is prepared and more ready then he’ll ever be.He defeats the She demon triumphantly and comes home strong with pride. Soon Beowulf becomes homesick and returns to his homeland of the Geats, he fights strongly with his uncle until he dies, Beowulf is asked to be the king of the Geats but kindly declines. It is only when Heardred, Beowulf cousin dies that he accepts the position of king and rules wisely. Beowulf grows old and creates the golden age for the land but when the fire drake an evil monster who guards treasure burns down most of the land, Beowulf is ready for one last fight. Using the bees to sting it to death Beowulf and his companion Wiglaf face the beast and kill it. Beowulf's last battle is one to remember and shortly after Beowulf dies of old age but everyone knows that his spirit will live on and create peace for the land of the

In “The Battle with Grendel” we also see how Beowulf can be violent. For example, lines 385-397 demonstrates how powerful Beowulf is while fighting Grendel. The quote says, “Grendel/ Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws/ Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at/ His hands. The monster’s hatred rose higher,/ But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,/ And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder/ Snapped, muscle and bone split/ And broke….Grendel escaped,/ But wounded as he was could flee to his den,/His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh,/ Only to die, to wait for the end/ Of all his days” (385-397). This moment in the text shows how intense and extreme Beowulf’s actions were while fighting the monster. We, as readers, start to see how Beowulf slowly becomes who he is trying to defeat.

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 theme of Beowulf had the good vs.evil theme to the story when the monster is Grendel is the monster and his mother also a threat to herot and Beowulf is the hero to solve the problems of Grendel is making. Beowulf is the hero in the story and Grendel is the villain. Beowulf is the faced with many trials throughout the story with unferth and the Grendel.

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.

Every man must expose himself to the reality that death is unescapable. There is no amount of human strength, shiny armor nor treasured sword that can always prevent the inevitable. Any character in literature that is being portrayed immortal is fiction. Beowulf as often as not regards himself as the one who can conquer all. Beowulf like others is ignorant towards his own mortality. Even though, Beowulf is successful in his earliest battles he still remains careless to the understanding that he will die. The concept of mortality was something Beowulf was faced with time and time again. Beowulf had to discover how accepting one’s fate can later become the most rewarding.

Beowulf is an epic Anglo-Saxon poem, which tells a story of a hero who is destined to defeat several monsters in order to save a kingdom from peril. The underlying meaning is good versus evil with good always prevailing in the end. The theme of good versus evil was portrayed through the characters and events. Beowulf is the good guy fighting against evil. Beowulf is not just one person fighting against the evils of the world. In many cases, he is fighting for humanity’s sake.

Destruction is present throughout Beowulf especially in relation to society. The Monsters themselves often portray this with Grendel bringing a mighty people to their knees, yet mankind is also seen bringing around its own destruction through imagery, structure of the poem and the desolate diction used. In the poem, society and civilization rest upon kinship ties and the mead-hall. When close kinship ties are broken, it signals a fraying of the threads of civilization.

In the epic poem, Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, can be seen as one of the most prime and pure examples of an epic hero due to his almighty courage.

Having the main focus of the poem, Beowulf, being about monsters, the three major monsters depicted in the poem playing crucial roles were Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the dragon. Each monster had a big portion of the poem dedicated to them, in my opinion, Grendel's mother had the smallest portion but it was still pretty big.

Beowulf is an epic story that relates well to the time that it was introduced by having the stories of the epic battles and the defeats of the treacherous monsters that kept everyone entertained during this era. Not only does Beowulf represent the era well, but it also has very interesting characters, themes and symbols that help teach us lessons that are very much so needed in today's society.

In society, dwelling upon material goods usually connotes shallowness, and the pursuit of riches is often prefigured as an inclination towards greediness. However, in Beowulf, the collective reverence for wealth plays a defining role in the acts of heroism and manifestation of power. In fact, the poem oftentimes professes the idea of wealth and glory, most cherished, as an embodiment of strength and obedience among cultural values.

Beowulf is an epic dense with imagery derived from Anglo-Saxon Pagan culture and Christianity because it is was written in England during the 8th century, a period of Christian migration, growth, and conversion. From the sea where he loses a fight but fends off evil sea-monsters, the forests, and specific animals such as the raven, Beowulf blends nature, mysticism, and reality seamlessly. The descriptions of nature are general and vague which makes it hard to tell exact locations and lets the reader form their own, personalized visualization of the area; likewise, the role of nature in the lives of the Anglo-Saxon culture and Pagan religion remain unclear at best. Provided with many images of nature in Beowulf, this analysis will extract a deeper understanding of how the Anglo-Saxons used their Paganistic view of nature to help shape Beowulf.