Beowulf

There are two clearly different interpretations of the poem Beowulf, one being that of a fundamentally Christian nature and the other being a distorted superficial Christian nature. As one would think, these inverse ideas should be easily justifiable or dismissed. However, upon first read, this is not the case. Beowulf has a confusing balance of both pagan and Christian concepts. It is a sort of battle between pride and humility, sacrifice and selfishness.

“…The wondrous gifts God had showered on him: He relied for help on the Lord of All, on His care and favor.” (pg. 89) The Christian aspects of Beowulf can be seen fairly clearly throughout the poem, but the directly Biblical portions are more evident in the first half. Page 9 is the first obvious Christian ideal, taken directly out of the Old Testament. The murder of Abel by Cain is the explained reason for the existence of the monster, Grendel. Also, on page 117, the Flood from the book of Genesis is described as the cause for the death of the giants, whom the sword that Beowulf used to kill Grendel’s mother is from. Throughout the poem, Beowulf repeatedly acknowledges God as his protector and the provider of his great strength. “...if God had not helpe

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Beowulf constantly tests fate and believes that through courage he can live on in the memory of those who will live after him. 97) This is the very opposite of any Christian moral that can be thought of. Beowulf is not always seen throughout the story as humble, but the moral shines through.

“Almighty God rules over mankind and always has. “Past and present, God’s will prevails. Beowulf, although sometimes acting opposite, as seen previously, has the arrogance of a great warrior. Also, the burial of Beowulf at the end of the poem seems to be entirely pagan. Grendel is the evil descendent of a murderer and the hero, Beowulf, with his strength from God, saves the people from disaster. On the same note, Beowulf’s fight with Grendel conveys a sort of “good vs. One example would be after Beowulf defeats Grendel’s mother, he returns the worthless sword to Unferth. Humility is strongly stressed in the Christian faith and there are many specific examples of this in the poem. The author of Beowulf seems to have a primarily Christian audience and I believe this is why the values are seen strewn throughout the poem. I agree that some points stray off this path, but the majority are guided by a curb of Biblical concepts.

Approximate Word count = 877
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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