Christian Elements in Beowulf
The praised epic poem, Beowulf, is the first great heroic poem in Englishliterature. The epic follows a courageous warrior named Beowulf throughout his young,adult life and into his old age. As a young man, Beowulf becomes a legendary hero whenhe saves the land of the Danes from the hellish creatures, Grendel and his mother. Later,after fifty years pass, Beowulf is an old man and a great king of the Geats. A monstrousdragon soon invades his peaceful kingdom and he defends his people courageously, dyingin the process. His body is burned and his ashes are placed in a cave by the sea. Byplacing his ashes in the seaside cave, people passing by will always remember thelegendary hero and king, Beowulf. In this recognized epic, Beowulf, is abound insupernatural elements of pagan associations; however, the poem is the opposite of paganbarbarism. The presentation of the story telling moves fluidly within Christiansurroundings as well as pagan ideals. Beowulf was a recited pagan folklore where the people of that time periodbelieved in gods, goddesses, and monsters. It's significance lies in an oral history wherepeople memorized long, dense lines of tedious verse.
However, the dragon is the instrument of Beowulf's death. They each gave up their lives to save the people. And he saw that on thatcliff many black souls were hanging on the icy trees withtheir hands bound, and the devils in the likeness of nickerswere seizing them as does the greedy wolf, and the waterwas black underneath the cliff. Michael and the nineorders of holy angels that they be a help to us againsthell-fiends. The scene where Beowulf dives into Grendel's dark mere and begins his descentinto the watery depths swimming until "the ninth hour of the day" (Kermode, 57). The sentiment has beensoftened and purified. Beowulf is a timeless classic that has endured thecenturies. Grendel is a member of the race ofCain, from whom all "misshapen and unnatural things were spawned" (Kermode, 42)such as ogres and elves. Klaeber wrote, "We might feel inclined to recognize features of theChristian Savior in the destroyer of hellish fiends, the warrior brave and gentle, blamelessin thought and deed, the king that dies for his people" (Chickering, 17). Itis believed that the scribes who put the old materials together into their present formwere Christians and that his poem reflects a Christian tradition. There is no longer a genuine pagan atmosphere. " Also, this speech occurs shortly after Christ has cast out a demon (11:14-18),while that of Hroogar follows Beowulf's cleansing Heorot of the demonic Grendel.
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