Christian Elements in Beowulf

Christian Elements in Beowulf The praised epic poem, Beowulf, is the first great heroic poem in English literature. 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 when he 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 monstrous dragon soon invades his peaceful kingdom and he defends his people courageously, dying in the process. His body is burned and his ashes are placed in a cave by the sea. By placing his ashes in the seaside cave, people passing by will always remember the legendary hero and king, Beowulf. In this recognized epic, Beowulf, is abound in supernatural elements of pagan associations; however, the poem is the opposite of pagan barbarism. The presentation of the story telling moves fluidly within Christian surroundings as well as pagan ideals. Beowulf was a recited pagan folklore where the people of that time period believed in gods, goddesses, and monsters. It’s significance lies in an oral history where people memorized long, dense lines of tedious verse

Beowulf, having lain down his life for the defense of his people and havingthanked God for winning the dragon"tms treasure for their use, suggests the figure of Christ. Paul was looking toward the northern partof this middle-earth, where all the waters go down under,and there he saw a hoary stone over that water, and northof that stone the woods had grown very frosty, and therewere dark mists, and under that stone was the dwelling ofnickers and outlawed creatures. The author has fairly exhaulted the fights with Grendel, his mother, and thedragon into a conflict between powers of good and evil. These remarkable verbal parallels show that the landscape of the mere symbolizeshell. " Also, this speech occurs shortly after Christ has cast out a demon (11:14-18),while that of Hroogar follows Beowulf"tms cleansing Heorot of the demonic Grendel. The depiction of the mere is the most remarkable because it is a conceptuallandscape made fearsomely realistic by the poetry. Beowulf in the end is not revealed to be a God-manbut man. Furthermore, this is whereBeowulf dove into Grendel and his mother"tms dark mere and swam until the ninth hour,reaching the mere"tms bottom, symbolizing the death of Christ and his stay in hell. The snake is an allegory for the devil much like thedragon is an allegory for the archfiend. Beowulf"tms last monstrous foe is designated by the word "wyrm" meaning aserpent or worm, and the word "draca" meaning dragon.