Cultural Elements in Beowulf
The epic poem Beowulf was handed down orally for centuries, until it was finally written in the eighth century. Beowulf- who is a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar- the king of the Danes, whose mead hall is being attacked by a monster named Grendel. In Beowulf, The Anglo-Saxon culture is often shown. The Anglo-Saxons believed that to be a hero was to be a warrior. A hero had to be strong, intelligent, and brave. Warriors had to be willing to face any odds, sometimes this meant fighting to the death for their glory and people. In literature Beowulf is, perhaps, the perfect example of an Anglo-Saxon hero. An example where the Anglo-Saxon culture is shown when Beowulf states, “For every one of
Anglo Saxon values are portrayed throughout Beouwulf and allows reeaders to understand the concept of a hero. The warrior Beowulf is introduced as “Higlacs / follower and the strongest of the Geats” (ll. 109-110). To quench his thirst for fame and an epic quest, he sets sail to honor a favor. Because of Beowulf’s great strength and noble birth, he is able to complete his quest which in turn makes him and epic hero.
Beowulf is well-known Anglo-Saxon epic poem (Wiener 1). The author of Beowulf is unknown. The setting of Beowulf is in Sweden and Denmark(Beowulf 1231). The epic, Beowulf, contains three parts in which Beowulf fights a dragon, a monster named Grendel, and Grendel’s mother (Yang 1). The Anglo-Saxon people have many values. There are many Anglo-Saxon values throughout Beowulf such as loyalty, strength, bravery, generosity, honor, and glory.
The epic poem Beowulf is the story of a great, ideal hero of Anglo-Saxon, pre-Christian culture transposed into Christian times. It stands on a crossroads of literature: on one hand, it is not written in conventional, standard English and unlike Chaucer it requires a modern translation for a contemporary reader to comprehend it. On the other hand, its essential themes reoccur time and time again in English literature. Its pagan roots are manifested in the manner in which it celebrates bloody conflict as a proving-ground of heroism. However, the Christianity that was beginning to affect Anglo-Saxon worldviews is also manifest in the idealized, Christ-like portrayal of Beowulf ("Context," Spark Notes, 2012).
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
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
Heroes appear in all cultures. Past and modern, they exist and have purpose. Heroes are seen as leaders. They are meant to be imitated and looked up to, and because of this, they always demonstrate the values of the culture who creates them. A cultures past experience affects its values therefore changing how it’s heroes will compose themselves and respond to different things.
Raven Shephard World Literature Response 3 Question: Based on the above claims, do you believe that the author of Beowulf is critiquing Anglo-Saxon society? Answer: I believe that the author was critiquing the Anglo-Saxon society.
Anglo-Saxon Values Essay Riddle and Epic story telling were introduced to the medieval culture by the Anglo-Saxon tribes. Generally the stories were passed down by word of mouth and were rarely written down. One of their famous tales was the story of Beowulf. The story consists of an epic hero who is asked by the Danes to defeat Grendel, a sin-stained demon who is terrorizing the town of Herot.
Beowulf the movie and poem A hero is an individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. In the poem of Beowulf it was told by the Anglo-Saxons, they gave us many visual and detailed descriptions of what they believe in and how their style of living was then. They rejoiced with each other telling stories and playing musical instruments by the fire or acted in ways that showed everyone around them who they were. Although the Beowulf movie and poem share many similarities, the different portrayals of the roles women play and how they were compared to men, the behavior of a hero, and Beliefs in the Anglo Saxons reveal the values of the societies in which they are told.
Throughout history, with every hero that we learn or hear about, especially in the epics written in ancient greek and roman times, each one has a specific drive behind his or her actions. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the Anglo Saxon code is extremely prominent seen through the all of the actions of the main character Beowulf. This tale is an ancient story that has been told for generations, centuries even, mainly among areas located in Europe, such as Sweden and Denmark. The Anglo Saxon code greatly influences Beowulf's actions in the epic poem. During the epic, we see Beowulf, the epic hero, battle against three monsters: Grendel, Grendel's mother and a dragon.
It was an epic story hero full of brave heroes and Anglo- Saxons had brave heroes. The story had courage, strength, and loyalty warriors in here and this was an Anglo- Saxon honor base. A warrior had to face all obstacles and fight for glory. “I have never seen a mightier warrior on earth than is one of you, a man in battle-dress" (Beowulf, 7).
Beowulf is not just a poem, but an ancient masterpiece that gives the reader an insight into the foreign Anglo-Saxon culture of the Fifth Century. Beowulf tells the story of a warrior, of the same name, that proves his valiancy and heroicness through his actions in particular situations. Several other characters of greatness prove characteristics that were pillars of the culture at that time. These events, in the epic poem involving Beowulf and the people around him, establish several key values in this ancient culture including reputation, generosity, and bravery.
Anglo-Saxon and Germanic culture has a very deep culture, in which they are known in history. As this epic poem is told, Beowulf embodies this culture in his heroic instances during this epic poem. With the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic culture being the backbone of this poem’s culture, Beowulf exemplifies what this culture is and what they stand for. As the story is told and develops with Beowulf, he himself shows through his heroic instances what it means to be a heroic figure from this ancient culture having qualities of honor, loyalty, and strength.
The epic of Beowulf shows its culture through being orally written, having Pagan and Christian beliefs, following Comitatus, and the influence of warriors. Beowulf is a timeless and beloved epic that shows the values and beliefs of the society. Readers are able to see how society influences what and why the writers compose their stories. Nowadays, writers tend to write fiction stories because there are no courageous and story-worthy heroes like Beowulf around to save us from the monsters and dragons. Books about a post-apocalyptic world or alternate universe interest people, additionally they can be made into good movies too. If there would to be a book written about a hero today, maybe they would be slaying the electronic world from overtaking
The historical poem of Beowulf not only reveals to us the importance cultural values of the warrior society, but also the importance of literature. The warrior culture at this time reflects the values of the society of the 6th century. There are a couple of key features of Beowulf’s characterization that reflect what was important in Anglo-Saxon society. For example. Beowulf comes across as arrogant and bigheaded, but Anglo-Saxon society valued the daring and confident young man who was proud of his actions and could use his past experiences and journeys to motivate himself toward future success. Our modern world leans towards modesty rather than arrogance. Anglo-Saxon society also believed in a concept of revenge that resulted in a vicious cycle. If someone killed one of your men, you were obligated to avenge their death, but then that group could come back and avenge that death and so on. This is shown in Beowulf by the killing of Grendel and then Grendel’s mother seeking revenge. The only reason this cycle was broken is because there wasn’t anyone else to