...The Reasoning for Beowulf’s Killing (An Analysis of why Beowulf Killed The Three Monsters in The Story Beowulf) Beowulf is an epic poem of a man, who had the strength of 40 men, called Beowulf. He is a Norsemen which were scary, brutal killing men. The tale begins as an oral story, told around campfires and not being written down until several years later. These men live by a code called the Anglo-Saxon code. The code set guidelines on how the Norsemen are supposed to act and behave. This code gave an understanding of the power of a role model, which the men would look to, or in other words, the leader. Beowulf faces three monsters in the poem, and tries to defeat them all. In the epic poem, Beowulf, Beowulf has three motivations for killing the three monsters. In the story, Beowulf, Beowulf’s motivation to kill the first monster, Grendel, was because of duty. Beowulf travels from his country to Harot in order to fight Grendel because his people knew of his ability to fight, therefore, making it his duty to kill the monster. When Beowulf meets Hrothgar, the aging lord of the Dunes, and gives him information about where he comes from and his background. Obligation is another word associated with duty, which made Beowulf...
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...“A Selfish Hero” Many people recognize Beowulf as the hero of Anglo-Saxon times. Judging by his amazing resume of feats and strengths, this is not hard to believe. Beowulf exemplifies the traits of a perfect and valiant hero, or so it seems. However, Beowulf, written by an unknown author, illustrates the great length the character goes through to succeed. Beowulf does anything in his power to prevail, leading him to become a selfish individual. Examining Beowulf's speech, thoughts, and actions, it becomes evident of the selfish hero within. Firstly, Beowulf's speech proves that he would do anything to prevail, illustrating his inflated ego. Although defeated in some battles, Beowulf manages to carry out every mission in order to justify his loses and make himself look successful. Unferth, who attempts to criticize Beowulf’s battles says, "Then winter churned through the water, the waves ran you as they willed, and you struggled seven long nights to survive. And at the end victory was his, not yours” (22;6;248-51). However, upon hearing this, Beowulf accuses Unferth of being drunk in order to make people believe he never understands what he says. "Ah! Unferth, my friend, your face is hot with ale, and your tongue had tried to tell us about Brecca's doings” (22;6;263-65). After hearing this, people are lead to believe Beowulf never takes this criticism seriously, for Unferth‘s drunkenness hazes his rationality. Thus, Beowulf makes Unferth, appear envious, while making himself...
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...language has been subject to an ever-changing evolutionary process, adjusting and adopting to its geographical circumstances, cultural influences and niches. The English language has undergone a series of transitional changes since its origins dating back to c.400 A.D. whilst Britain was under occupation by hosts of Germanic tribes. Detailed throughout the literature that still exists in our modern world, it is possible to trace links between the English language and its development throughout different cultures and historical time periods. The study of the development of the English language has been used to represent the specific ideals and notions that pertain to particular cultures throughout history. Anglo-Saxon poetry express its cultural identity and values that underpin Anglo Saxon society, through ancient texts such as Beowulf exploring notions of heroism and servitude. Middle English literature such as The Millers Tale, unmasks the inner feudal system that deciphers the hierarchal structure within Middle England. The Holkam bible through both visual representation and literature highlights the Biblical understanding at the time and cultural barriers that were associated. The Miller’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer is an example of Middle English poetry that represents the societal structure of the time through language. The Miller’s Tale expresses the hierarchal structure in Middle England through denoting each individual characters social standing within society. The Miller’s...
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...What is Beowulf doing? (An analysis of the motivations for Beowulf’s actions in the poem) Beowulf is a hero figure that fights many monsters and for many reasons. Beowulf has been translated from an oral tale to a written tale in old English, to a written tale in modern English. It is unclear who the original author of the tale is, although many think that monks are partially responsible for it. Beowulf has three main battles throughout the tale and there is a motivation behind each one. The three motivations for Beowulf’s actions are that it is his duty, he wants to be a hero, and he wants to leave something behind for his people. In the Anglo Saxon time period, something being someone’s duty is something that is really important and Beowulf...
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...”borrowing” a lot from the greeks and the romans. Milton is desperate to make english latin. We have got to be latin, if it’s not latin it’s not literature. The language comes really late into the game. English always tries to catch up. Languages comes from a conquerer taking a country and forcing his language onto the native language. English is a mishmash language. Grammar is also merged. The vikings/barbarians invaded England, and beat down all culture/cities/religion. They wiped out the latin culture. And settled. Anglo-saxon 450-550 AD. Britain becomes a series of tribal bands. Britain becomes ”aengland”. Britain becomes a country under a german people. G.M- Trevelyans comment on the Anglo-Saxons: In many respects the life resembles that of Homer’s day. Each was a free Heroic Age, wherein the warrior chief played his part unshackled. Even when Christianity and territorial feudalism were beinning to lay new restraints on the individual, Anglo-Saxon society had in it much...
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...and religious change, and that different areas were affected by different factors. Introduction This dissertation will assess the extent to which ancient beliefs and practices survived the introduction of Christianity and their subsequent development in England. This will be achieved through the study of visual culture; the survival of ancient practices; and an investigation into superstition and the changing acceptance of witchcraft. Visual Culture will be used to group together several different areas, for instance knot work and grotesques in architecture and manuscripts. Other artefacts such as The Franks Casket will also be investigated. Ancient culture will be defined as an umbrella term covering everything from pagan or Anglo-Saxon festivals to...
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...In the poem Beowulf the idea of warrior culture is described through literary, poetic and real life situations. Beowulf is an epic poem about a hero who sparks up an old rooted allegiance to help save the Danish people from a terror far greater than anyone has ever seen. However, this is only the beginning of his journey as he ends up defeating the monster and later dies in his old age fighting off a dragon in his last breathe. The journey itself is one that displays the warrior culture that lives within the Anglo-Saxon period and through the lenses of literary, poetic and real life situations the reader is shown how society was built and society had valued. From the very beginning of the poem we see that weapons and gifts are a big part of the warrior culture, they represent honor, glory, pride and status within a society. Anglo-Saxon society in literary terms was centered on a warrior chieftain and his retinue of loyal followers who were expected to defend him to the death. Loyalty is essential and is rewarded by the chief's generosity...
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...Eng 201 September 7, 2012 Analysis of Christian and Pagan Themes in Beowulf The heroic poem, Beowulf, written circa ninth century after the Common Era (C. E.), presents a bloody chronicle of a king’s role in the violence and tumultuous Germanic tribes shortly after the Roman Empire’s expulsion from the low countries of Northwestern Europe. Evolving from oral narrative’s, Beowulf’s origins, while traceable to a general place and time in history, remains obscure, and comes to modern readers through a manuscript written around the year one thousand C. E.. Written in the language of the Anglo-Saxons, Beowulf, namesake for the title, defeats three monsters, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and finally after many years of ruling his lands, a dragon. While fictional, the author weaves the main plot centering on defeating these vicious adversaries with a mixture of both pagan and Christian customs. Beowulf illustrates numerous biblical references and Christian influences, while simultaneously reflecting a core of Germanic pagan customs. Christianity and its religious elements, alongside, pagan customs and practices, play a fundamental role in the heroic poem, Beowulf’s narrative. Grendel, the monster that terrorizes Hrothgar’s great Hall of the Hart, traces his lineage back to Cain, one of the two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain commits the first murder according to Christian teachings, slaying his brother, Abel (The Holy Bible, Genesis 4-8). Grendel sprang from, “Cain’s clan, whom...
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...unbroken one, but within it it’s possible to single out 3 main periods: 1.Old English (OE) 2.Middle English (ME) 3.New English (NE) Old English The historical background. It began in the 5th century, when the German tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians) settled in the British Isles. Originally the social and economical system was tribal and slave owning, which gradually developed into a feudal one. Accordingly tribal dialects developed into local ones. Geographically it covers the territory of the so-called English Proper. The main historical events are: -the introduction of Christianity; -the Scandinavian invasion. Word-stock (WS) Originally OE was a purely G language. So the WS comprised 3 layers of native words: 1st – IE words (mother, father) 2nd – CG words (to rise, to sink) 3d - OE proper (hlaford - lord) There were some borrowings from the Celtic language, denoting mostly place-names (London, York) and names of rivers (the Thames). After their settlement in Britain the G. tribes came into contact with the Celtic tribes who lived there, but the Celtic borrowings are very few (Loch Ness). Latin borrowings are: 1.Latin words borrowed by Ancient G. tribes when they lived on the continent of Europe. 2.Latin words borrowed by the Anglo-Saxon tribes from Romanized Celts on the British Isles. 3.Latin words which penetrated into OE after the introduction of...
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...literally. Some texts were lost and now we only have fragments. These texts are writing in manuscripts, there weren’t books in that period. In particular there are four manuscripts that contain most of English literature: Cotton Vitelius, Exeter Book, Junius Manuscript and Vercelli Manuscript; they are from 10th century. However the poetry and the texts contain the literature from 9th century, but they originated in 7th century orally (all of them originated orally before they appear written). That manuscripts tell some things about the society of this period of time, so we know details of this century. This period is the Anglo-Saxon period, before them there were the Britons who were invaded by some different people. They spoke different dialects of old English, the stronger kingdom was Wessex, which dialect was the most important and it called “west saxon”. Beowulf was writing in this dialect. In 597 appeared the Christianization. This means that the English became Christian, it became familiar with the church language: Latin. Latin is the culture language. The entry of Christianity is the entry of the culture in Britain. 2- WRITTEN RECORDS OF THE ANGLOSAXON PERIOD English began to be written when the Christianity arrived. Before that they had a writing system, they used the German alphabet: runic alphabet, to the 6th century. In Europe this system is known with the name futhark, but in England is known as futhork. The runes of this alphabet are similar to Chinese letters...
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...from Scandinavia. After the victory of William at Hastings in 1066, he acted swiftly to solidify his victory, where he began to build motte and bailey castles, which was newly introduced as before the conquest there was only one apparent castle in Hereford. Although William was a powerful man, he was unpopular in the English kingdom, where he was faced with rebellions from 1067, with the first rebellion in Dover. William managed to respond by re-asserting his authority as he captured villages, towns and road crossings in places where rebellions took place and building a castle. This was then a visible sign of the Norman’s power over the English. The castles provided his troops with strong defensive structures to guard against any upstart Saxons bold enough to try to prevent William's rule. Castles were built in Exeter, Warwick, Nottingham, Lincoln, Huntingdon, Cambridge and York. As a result of the castle building, the English were unable to mount a successful challenge to Williams I rule. Despite this, the series of castle building did not make the problem disappear. Those who rebelled against William’s power gathered together in...
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...Throughout the history of the Earth, heroes have been characterized by great achievements. Heroes have saved lives or opposed their oppressors. Some victories incorporated are standing up for what they believe or fighting prejudice. These heroes have been around since the Anglo- Saxon period. During Anglo- Saxon time, heroes were revered for exhibiting loyalty and bravery whether it is through fighting monsters or wielding godly weapons. In modern times, how heroes exhibit these traits may be less extravagant; however it is no less heroic. The heroic qualities of loyalty and bravery are shown through Beowulf’s actions and compared to the famous Rosa Parks. In the epic poem “Beowulf,” loyalty and bravery is displayed when Beowulf travels to Denmark to fight Grendel for the Danes. These traits are also visible in Rosa Parks who is...
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...Written and compiled by one hand, the Exeter Book is an incredible source of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Dated to have been written in the latter half of the 10th century, the unknown scribe wrote down the gathered these Christian stories into the codex in the order to which he found most befitting. The first poem in the story about a creature, following poems on Christ himself or saints, is The Phoenix poem. This poem is the 7th text in the Exeter book, positioned between Azarias and Juliana, and its purpose in the Exeter book is to serve as an allegory to Christ in his death, resurrection, and return, as well as an allegory to the Christian soul and the promise of eternal life. The phoenix as a creature is not originally an Anglo-Saxon beast. The first recorded mention of a phoenix-like creature is from ancient Egypt mythology, a creature called Benu or bennu (Hill, 61). The Benu was a sacred bird that symbolized rebirth and renewal, and most commonly thought to be the inspiration for the more commonly known phoenix in Greek mythology first seen in Herrodotus’ Persian wars...
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...English' for the first time ? 2. What is the name of Bede's history book ? 3. What is the meaning of the Anglo-Saxon word 'scop" ? 4. What is the meaning of Anglo-Saxon word 'Wyrd' ? 5. What is the name of the only Anglo-Saxon historian ? 6. Name the Germanic tribes which formed the Anglo-Saxon race ? 7. Name the manuscripts in which Old English poems are found ? 8. Who is the author of Sermo Lupi ad Anglos ? 9. Who is the author of Lives of the Saints ? 10. Name two Anglo Saxon Christian poets ? 11. Name the 'earliest extant' Anglo-Saxon poem ? 12. When was Beowulf written ? 13. Mention one Christian element in Beowulf ? 14. Refer to one Pagan element in Beowulf ? 15. What is the name of the pleasure hall in Beowulf ? 16. What is the name of Hrothgar's wife ?(the queen) 17. Name the sword of Beowulf with which he killed Grendel ? 18. Which Anglo-Saxon poem records the fight between the English and Danes ? 19. When did the Battle of Maldon take place ? 20. Who is the author of Death Song ? 21. Who is the author of the poem Brut ? how many lines are there in this poem ? 22. Name two battles referred to in the Anglo-Saxon poems ? 23. What is the name of the monster Beowulf killed ? 24. What is the name of Beowulf's father ? 25. What is the name of the king Beowulf helped ? 26. Name two Anglo-Saxon Elegies ? 27. Name the Anglo-Saxon poem written in dream vision ? 28. Who is the author of Beowulf ? 29. When was Thomas Becket murdered ? 30...
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...English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic invaders and/or settlers from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Netherlands. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually became predominant. The English language underwent extensive change in the Middle Ages. Written Old English of AD 1000 is similar in vocabulary and grammar to other old Germanic languages such as Old High German and Old Norse, and completely unintelligible to modern speakers, while the modern language is already largely recognisable in written Middle English of AD 1400. The transformation was caused by two further waves of invasion: the first by speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic language family, who conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries; the second by the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman. A large proportion of the modern English vocabulary comes directly from Anglo-Norman. Close contact with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core of English. However, these changes had not reached South West England by the 9th century AD, where Old English was developed into a full-fledged literary...
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