The epic poem, beowulf, displays a variety of things that the anglosaxon people valued. Because of its complicated origin, beowulf has elements of both pagan germanic culture and christianity. He rules wisely for fifty years, bringing prosperity to geatland. The plot of the pearl is driven by a constant struggle between the morally opposite forces of good and evil.
Good vs evil in the epic of beowulf essay examples bartleby. But its that contrast that provides the drama, with all the language and action surrounding them. Beowulf and grendel represented the ultimate struggle of good and evil. Suffice it to say that the resulting beowulf is like a pagan story wrapped in christianity. In this lesson, well take a look at the good versus evil aspects of this epic poem. Some people do acts of good because they have to and others do it out of the goodness of their heart. Beowulf is not honest, women are sexually powerful, and the monsters are hrothgar and beowulf s sons, etc. Evil paganism in beowulf human nature although beowulf is seen as a hero, and is loyal to a god, his. For instance, the narrator of the poem describes hrothgar at one point as a pagan who does not know of the true god, and yet all the characters, including hrothgar, constantly thank god for their good fortune. Beowulf comes to the surface and presents grendels head and the hilt to hrothgar. But good cannot exist alone, and there is not one but three villains or embodiments of evil in the.
But, as with hrothgar, all good things must come to an end. This motif is used so often because it pertains to so many facets of authentic life. The lore and history of mead in germanic cultures viking hall. The battle between good and evil is a necessary part of beowulfs life. Beowulf presents the head and the sword hilt to hrothgar, assuring him of his future security. They hang grendels arm in the mead hall and drink to beowulfs victory. Religious notions of evil and moral notions of evil are not mutually exclusive essay pages. While the poem revolves around the adventures and battles of beowulf, the message of the story consistently conveys the concept that good would always defeat evil. But good cannot exist alone, and there is not one but three villains or embodiments of evil in the poem beowulf. Can frankenstein be considered a true gothic novel. Also, there are people who act evil because that is the way they are and others decide to be evil. Evil because the warrior beowulf battles against god enemies in order to save gods people. Evil ever since the beginning of time, good and evil have been an evident theme in many stories. In real life i would compare beowulf to batman because batman represented good, the.
Conflict between good and evil or the three fights in beowulf. Reading the poem beowulf, many ideas, related to the forces of good fighting those of evil, are present within its structure and within its events. Often cited as one of the most important works of old english literature, beowulf is a great way to introduce students to epic poetry. Beowulfs destiny is to fight and conquer the monsters that terrorize the kingdom of the danes.
The old english poem beowulf opens with grendels attack on king hrothgars mead hall. The entire poem centers on the fight of good, represented by beowulf, versus evil, represented by grendel, his mother, and the dragon. A struggle between good and evil existed then and will continue to exist for centuries to come. Actions in modern america are parallel to those seen in beowulf because although times have changed, people have stayed the same. The story of beowulf probably originated as an oral tradition sometime in the 7th century. Evil is demonstrated through the bible reference of god and cain, and the battle with grendel. At heardreds death, beowulf takes the throne of the geats, and rules in great prosperity and fame for fifty years. Cain the old testament of the bible, in the book of genesis, tells the story of how cain killed his brother abel. As a theme it is a stark contrasting picture of the two forces, perhaps even oversimple. The theme of christianity and paganism in beowulf from.
As grendel is trying to flee heorot, beowulf slams the door on his arm, severing it. People are ruthlessly sacrificed and killed because of someones selfish. Evil the distinction between good and evil is clearly defined in beowulf. Beowulf is an epic that illustrates many defined themes, one of which is good versus evil. While we didnt have the opportunity to work with a battle of the books team this year, i still find myself looking to this list when i want to find something new to read. Grendal, his mother, and cain portray the contrasting side of evil. Its about the conflict between a courageous, mighty, loyal warrior and the demons and dragons of hell itself. The good usually overcomes the evil, as is assumed.
Beowulf represents the ability to do good or to perform acts selflessly and in help of others. Evil the key to writing an epic poem is to show that there is a predominant hero who paved the way for a nation. During the 14th century, england experienced the great famine and the bubonic plague. The poem is believed to date back to about the eighth century, and the written manuscript in the eleventh century bjork and obermeir 17. Monkeynotes study guide summarybeowulf themestheme analysis. Many people argue the main theme found in this story. This epic poem displays many contrast between good and evil. In many ways, beowulf is the simplest kind of epic there is. Corruption, greed, and jealousy exist today, as do courage, bravery, and nobility. The encounter demonstrates fully the poets main theme of conflict between good and evil.
The story follows the pattern of other stories throughout history, in which good comes out victorious over evil. One of the central points, which demonstrates this, is the conflict between beowulf and unferth. Evil there are many ways to determine if someone is good or evil depending on what they do and why they do it. How are the concepts of good and evil presented in beowulf. A thoroughly christian theme of gods grace has been integrated artistically within the framework of a pagan struggle between the hero and the monster. The epic poem beowulf encompasses all aspects of a great tale. Colando frankenstein cranston high school west library. In pagan mythology, monsters represented evil, and it was the mission of heroes to overcome evil by slaying the monsters. It is also considered to be one of the pioneers of the good versus evil theme. While the scorpions evil takes the form of lethal poison, mans evil throughout the novel.
Beowulf himself embodies all that is good, but its often expressed through his superhuman capabilities. Beowulf grapples grendel, who has a chain wrapped around his arm, pulling it loose. Good and evil in beowulf relate to the idea of selflessness versus selfishness. They added many things that were definitely now in the poem. Beowulf, god, and wiglaf represent good in the poem whereas. The beowulf poet reconciles the pagan and christian viewpoints by making mythological creatures the offspring of cain, who committed the first murder. Notice how the good characters tend to be generous, communityminded people, like the warrior kings who share. To what degree are the characters portrayed as innately good or innately evil.
Beowulfs boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. These symbols depict the main concepts for beowulf. Evil in the pearl can appear in both man the doctor and nature the scorpion. They called him grendel, a demon grim haunting the fenlands, holding. Mar 12, 2010 many times we see a battle of good vs. In beowulf, some of the most important symbols are hrothgars meadhall, grendels cave, grendels arm and head, and the dragons treasuretrove. Hrothgar praises beowulfs goodness, evenness, and loyalty, contrasts him with the evil king heremod, and predicts a great future for him. For this reason, loyalty is of paramount importance.
In addition, a lesson on germanic and scandinavian history, scandinavian legends, and christian elements in beowulf will help students contextualize the poem. This poem tells the conflict between a brave, loyal warrior and the monsters and demons from hell itself. When beowulf fought grendel, almightys enemy sang in the darkness the horrible shrieks of pain and defeat, in tears torn. Evil found in beowulf in the story of beowulf, there are many different themes found. Beowulf the protagonist of the epic, beowulf is a geatish hero who fights the monster grendel, grendels mother, and a firebreathing dragon.
Beowulf, nephew to the king of the geats, sails across the seas to try to defeat the beast. But if a one had to be labeled, beowulf would be good and grendel would be evil. Evil good versus evil beowulf is one of the oldest existing poems in the english language. Beowulf had a big ego, everything was about him fighting this monster or that monster, but he was as vicious as grendel. In his youth, he personifies all of the best values of the heroic culture. The first is simply that grendel is an evil monster. The tone of the epic is somber and relates the achievements of the hero beowulf. Good versus evil beowulf is one of the oldest existing poems in the english language. This book contains material protected under international and. She went to get his arm from herot and in the process grabbed hrothgars trusted adviser, aeschere. In the epic poem beowulf, both good and evil are clearly defined. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. By the time of beowulf, evil was being equated with fighting against god.
When beowulf is an old man, however, a thief disturbs a barrow, or mound, where a great dragon lies guarding a horde of treasure. While we didnt have the opportunity to work with a battle of the books team this year, i still find myself looking to this list when i. After grendels death, his mother goes to heorot to avenge him, but being weaker than her son, only makes off with a single thane. Beowulf is an anglosaxon epic poem, which portrays a story of an epic hero destined to defeat a ferocious monster in order to save a kingdom from destruction and death. The poet makes it clear that good and evil doesnt exist as only opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. The good in beowulf and the evil in the monsters beowulf is considered to be the oldest surviving poem that is preserved to date. Beowulf realizes that his own mortal strength in the face of such evil would be inadequate. They have suffered at the hands of an evil monster, grendel, who has pillaged their kingdom for more than 12 years and killed many men.
The story demonstrates grendel as an evil and powerful being that enjoys killing, however, the story brings up the context that good will defeat evil which is the role of beowulf who is the hero in the story. There are many translations of beowulf to choose from, including our literary touchstone classics edition. In beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the poems main and most important aspect. This hero should be someone who shows qualities such as loyalty to his followers, bravery and courage just to name a few. And clearly our king, hrothgard, agrees by declaring no one strange to this land has ever been granted what ive given you, no one in all the years of my. Beowulf then returns to the geats, where he is proclaimed a hero. Despite numerous cultural and technological advancements, life in modern america continues to bear resemblance to the anglosaxon world. This has been argued for a very long time and will go on for many more years to come. Many events in beowulf are directly related to the bible, making the constant battle between good and evil one of the most important themes.
Beowuld vs grendel, beowulf vs grendels mother, beowulf vs the dragon. The epic poem beowulf is an example of this because the hero of the story has an ongoing conflict with the evil villain, grendel. Goodness is also showed throughout this epic as having. In the theme there is a clear religious overtone, with the forces of good aligned with god, christ and salvation, while the forces of evil are aligned with satan. Essay on good vs evil in beowulf 1568 words bartleby. Beowulf the great anglosaxon epic, which was composed around the year 700, presents readers with a glimpse into the life of anglosaxons. This is a title from the 2015 lone star reading list.
Prose translations may work best if you have limited time, but more advanced high school students can study poetic translations, which will. Analyze and discuss the relationship between good and evil in frankenstein. Beowulf in the epic beowulf there are three specific themes. Eventually, beowulf becomes a great king of the geats. The main character in this story is beowulf who stands for all that is good in a epic battle against grendel, the monster, who represents evil, death, and pure darkness. The manuscript of beowulf, the longest poem in old english, thought to. Such instances are shown through the battles, the rivaling opponents and settings. He delivers a long speech about how to be a good and wise ruler by choosing eternal rather than earthly rewards. But the only surviving manuscript of beowulf was written in the 11th century by christian scribes, who either inserted the christian overtones to the story, or were working from a. Although it may take time and some loss of pride to admit it, since characteristics of human nature have stayed the same, from work place to personal. Cionci grendel cranston high school west library rilink. Beowulf is one of the oldest and most extensive poems in the history of literature today.
The first monster grendel, a walker of darkness, he who bides in darkness and the black nights. Often a symbol is emblematic of the values of the characters. A literary symbol is something, often an object, that stands for a significant concept or series of ideas. With loyalty and heroism in mind, beowulf comes to the rescue of the danes and king hrothgar. Evil in many ways, beowulf, as translated by burton raffel, the fight good versus evil is the poems main and most significant focal point. The major theme in this epic was the theme of good versus evil.
Grendels mother explanation of theme example of explanation grendels mother wanted revenge for her sons death. Throughout the epic poem beowulf there are many examples of good versus evil. On days scheduled for library research or from home, look for books journals. Macbeth is a good example of the treatment of good and evil in both elizabethan drama and jacobean drama. Beowulf, written in poetic form, was translated by burton rafael. But in the movie hollywood made, everything is different.
Before starting beowulf, you can show students how the english language has changed over the centuries by reading passages from old, middle, and early modern english. Grendel, snarling and fierce with eyes that gleamed in the darkness, is a force of evil. Theme of good vs evil in beowulf 753 words 4 pages. Evil in beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the poems main and most important aspect. The theme of the epic poem beowulf is the ageold theme of good versus evil. Notice that, in this passage, good is not just the opposite of evil good is actually the process of avenging evil that has been done in the past. It can be seen in many major franchises such as harry potter, lord of the rings, and most prezi. A comparison between the world of beowulf and modern america. While reading the novels grendel, and the epic poem, beowulf. The poet makes it clear that good and evil do not exist as only opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. Concepts of good and evil essaysbeowulf is one of the oldest existing poems in the english language. Madsen1 andria madsen miss mckimson senior english 17 december 2006 good vs.
Beowulf is a hero but may not have had a good heart or motive. Evil because the warrior beowulf battles against god enemies in order to save god s people. When beowulf fought grendel, almightys enemy sang in the darkness the horrible shrieks of pain and defeat, in tears torn out of grendels taut throat, pg. But before the good can overcome the evil, innocence and kindness is lost. Good and evil have always played a classic role in many books.