Canterbury Tales, And A Valediction Forbidding Mourning By John Donne

Beowulf is an epic poem about the heroic journey of a great warrior named Beowulf, the king of the Geats. His desire was to reveal to others how strong and brave he was compared to any other monster. “There was no one else like him alive in his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high born and powerful”. He signifies the true heroic character because he is willing to risk his life for his ideals. Beowulf defeats three horrific monsters, two of whom are descendants of Cain.

The story is exciting and inspiring because he came to the land to prove that he is Beowulf a man who had strong personality and power. His effort and sacrifices is worth it for the people who trust him. He fought Grendel, he led his warriors to fight the demons. Of course, he can’t make it only by his own but also by the help of his people. Even his warriors died he felt sad but he continue to fight with Grendel’s mother. “It is better

Beowulf is a story about a man who volunteers to help out the Danes. Beowulf, the prince of the Geats, travels to the land of the Danes to defeat the terrible monster, Grendel, who has been haunting their land for fourteen winters. Beowulf says, “That I, alone and with the help of my

A prolific and boastful hero prince who goes on many breathtaking and daring adventures that would, later on, come back to bite him in the end. This heroic tale was greatly known as “Beowulf”. Which was written around the 8th through the 11th century by an Anglo-Saxon poet. The intended audience for this story were the soldiers that followed Beowulf into battle, to instill confidence and bravery or the soldiers from other countries that were in conflict with or against Beowulf, to instill fear in the soldiers. The Beowulf tale was an oral tradition told by poets or bards before and after battles; while the warriors drank, ate, and sang. Beowulf is about a warrior prince coming to the aid of King Hrothgar of Denmark who is tormented by a demon

Beowulf sees the need of taking risks when he must help his friend across the sea in bringing peace to his land. Hrothgar’s kingdom, Denmark, is being terrorized by the vicious, bloody thirsty demons, Grendel and his mother. Sailing across the sea, putting his own life at risk for others is an immense risk that can certainly lead to Beowulf’s demise. The Geats, who idolize Beowulf, see this risk but can comprehend that Beowulf must go as it is the only way to save the Danes “Would sail across the sea to

“Then when darkness had dropped, Grendel went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors would do in that hall when their drinking was done. He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting nothing , their dreams undisturbed. The monsters thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: He slipped through the door and there in silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them, unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, blood dripping behind him, back to his lair, delighted with his nights slaughter (Narrator pg. 42 lines 30-40)”. Beowulf is a folk epic translated by Burton Raffel. Its a story about a hero with the strengths of a bear and a wolf called to a desperate town to defeat vicious monsters who have been tormenting them for the past

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that tells a story of a Geat hero named Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, and agrees to help his people defeat the monstrous Grendel. After successfully ridding the land of the beast, Beowulf eventually becomes the king of the Geats for quite some time until his own demise at the hands of another beast. The story was influenced by both pagan and Christian mythologies as it was written during a

Beowulf is a story that has been told over thousands of years. Beowulf is the story of one of the greatest warriors known to man. Even the man who claims to be the best of them all has a weakness and has faced temptations. Beowulf's inability to control his lust for women, power, and pride is what continues the deconstruction of the kingdom. The curse continues to rampage through the village of the Danes due to man’s weakness.

Beowulf was the first example of an epic hero. Beowulf was a poem that “some scholars have suggested was made at the end of the 10th century” (Harrison, Beowulf). The question of why Beowulf does things he does always comes into play. The story of Beowulf starts off when he is in Geatland and hears that the Danes are being attacked by a monster. Beowulf sails to Denmark to help them. It should be noted that the Geats and Danes are not friendly towards each other. Beowulf defeats both monsters that attack Heorot Hall and returns to Geatland to become king. After an honorable fifty year reign a dragon starts attacking Geatland. He kills the dragon, but is mortally

As him and his men see the shining reflection of the Danes’ spears, Beowulf feels and interprets the uncertainty they feel, for he is this mysterious man showing up to this island filled with turmoil. As the Geats are reluctantly let in, Beowulf introduces himself and gives detailed backgrounds of his many battles, flaunting his accomplishments and emphasizing his triumphs. In the midst of his storytelling he says, “‘I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. / As I sat in the boat with my band of men, / I meant to perform to the uttermost / what your people wanted or perish in the attempt / in the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfil that purpose, / prove myself with a proud deed / or meet my death here in the mead-hall’” (43).

The Canterbury Tales is strongly considered one of the greatest works in medieval literature. An admirer of Chaucer, and the author of Chaucer and the Fifteenth Century, H.S. Bennett describes Chaucer’s unique style as, “No detail was too small for him to observe, and from it he could frequently draw, or suggest, conclusions which would have escaped many.” While The Canterbury Tales was originally intended to be an epic poem consisting of over 120 short stories, Chaucer’s death came much sooner and he was only able to finish 24. Even with a small fraction of his original goal completed, Chaucer’s unique sense of language and ability to identify and establish common stereotypes was second to none. The three characters I choose, The Knight, The Pardoner and The Parson all exemplify Bennett’s quote and demonstrate Chaucer’s incredible ability to express every detail, while adding humor and irony.

The poem of Beowulf follows the Geat warrior Beowulf as he saves the Danish nation and eventually leads his own. Written after 597 AD, the story was told during a period when Catholics sent missionaries to the Vikings, offering a unique view of the warrior culture, where fame was the ultimate goal of one’s life. The growing Christian movement brought about Beowulf, a Christian view of a pagan past, and while it seems as though the poem glorified Beowulf’s achievements, the poet included some passages that conflict with the warrior culture at the time, indicating a cultural shift. The poet praised Beowulf’s ability as a thane but criticized Beowulf’s inability to give up his quest for glory, causing the reader to question whether fame and glory truly fulfils one’s life.

The main character Beowulf faces many challenges in this story. The kingdom of Dane have a big problem and that is a monster named Grendel who always attack them during their celebration called Heorot because Grendel do not like noise. Beowulf from Geatland decided to face Grendel to save the kingdom of Dane. I notice that he only wants to gain honor because of his pride and willingness to help them. Beowulf won to the demonic Grendel all the Danes respect and honor him like he wanted to happen.

“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” by John Donne explores love through the ideas of assurance and separation. Donne uses vivid imagery to impart his moral themes on his audience. A truer, more refined love, Donne explains comes from a connection at the mind, the joining of two souls as one. Physical presence is irrelevant if a true marriage of the minds has occurred, joining a pair of lovers’ souls eternally.

Love is one of the most powerful feelings a person can experience. People express love to one another in many different ways. Not all love has to be portrayed through sexual incourse, no. Love does not have to be shown physically, and this can be proved in the poem A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning. The poem was written by a poet with the name of John Donne. Donne was one of the greatest English writers of all time and most of his poems were about romance and love. Donne had a woman of his own, in which his love for her was remarkable. In the poem, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Donne portrays substantial messages throughout; furthermore, Donne informs in this poem, written to his wife, that good people eventually have to die, the love for his wife is done through the mind not the body, and that their love is nobody’s business but their own.