Beowulf
We all know that Beowulf illustrates the perfect hero. The poem explores his heroism in two separate stages- as a young man and then as a king through three separate and increasingly difficult conflicts, with Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. In his youth, Beowulf is a great warrior, characterized predominately by his feats of outstanding strength and courage, an example would be his "swimming" match against Breca. He also perfectly represents the manners and values dictated by the Germanic hero code, such as loyalty, courtesy, and proud self- presentation. Much of Beowulf is devoted to articulating and illustrating this Germanic code which values strength, courage , and loyalty in warriors; hospitality, generosity, and political skill in kings, ceremoniousness in women and good reputation of all people. Traditional and long- respected , this code is very important to Beowulf because it is the means of understanding the relationship to the world and its menaces lurking outside its boundaries .
The second part of the story , skips over middle part of Beowulf's career and focuses at the end of his life. Though his death in the encounter with the dragon clearly proves his mortality the poem itself stands as a testament to the raw greatness of his life, ensuring his ascension in the worldly heaven of warrior legend. This tension leads to frequent asides about God, hell, and heaven and to many allusions to the Old Testament throughout the work. The poem suggests that sacrificing himself , Beowulf unnecessarily leaves his people without a king. As a result, the Beowulf poet is at pains to resolve his Christian beliefs with the often quite un- Christian behavior of his characters. In light of all this Beowulf becomes somewhat ambiguous at the end of the poem. In the end, however, it proves simply irresolvable: Beowulf doesn't lead a particularly good life by Christian standards, but the poet cannot help but revere him. His conquering of Grendel and Grendel's mother validates for his reputation that the poem establishes for him from the beginning of the poem and leads Beowulf into complete heroic status. He ultimately lives for the preservation of earthly glory after death, not for entrance into heaven. Over the first part of the poem , Beowulf experiences very little maturation as he possesses heroic qualities in abundance from the start The difference between these sets of values manifests itself early on in the outlooks of Beowulf and King Hrothgar: whereas the youthful Beowulf, having nothing to lose, desires personal glory, the aged Hrothgar, having much to lose, seeks protection for his people. Though he is deservedly celebrated as a great hero and leader, his last battle ,courageous as it is also somewhat fast. The poem has a transition from paganism to Christianity. Throughout the poem, the poet strains to accommodate these two sets of values; though we aren't such is he is Christian or not , he cannot (and doesn't seem to want to) deny the fundamental pagan values of the story. This is a code, which is also, often in tension with the values of medieval Christianity: while the code stipulates that honor is gained during life through deeds, Christianity asserts that glory lies in the afterlife.
Common topics in this essay:
King Hrothgar,
Grendel Grendel's,
,
grendel's mother,
grendel grendel's mother,
christianity code,
heroic code,
code stipulates,
grendel grendel's,
strength courage,
sets values,
throughout poem,
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Acceptance Essays
