...descriptions, strong use of literary elements (alliteration, assonance, consonance, imagery, etc.), poetry, ballads, and plays. • The only four Anglo-Saxon works include Beowulf, A History of the English Church and People, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and The Exeter Book. • Important Medieval works include Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Le Morte D’Arthur, Everyman, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and ballads (“Get Up and Bar the Door”, “Sir Patrick Spens”, “Bonny Barbara Allan”). What essential question(s) will be considered? • What are the elements of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval literature? What key...
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...Loyalty: Fact or Fiction Loyalty becomes a luxury in times of hardship. Some have an overwhelming amount, while others seem to run out like they never had it in the first place. Like dust, loyalty can be everywhere, yet be brushed away with a single breath. Loyalty is a gift, but it isn’t neverending. Although to some characters in BW and LotF loyalty isn’t a choice, to others it is valueless. ` Each character has a part to play and a loyalty to someone: King Hrothgar to his kingdom, the Thanes and Beowulf to the King. When Grendel came to terrorize Heorot Hall, King Hrothgar knew the chaos being wreaked would affect his kingdom and disliked the idea of burdening anyone else with that amount of grief (Beowulf 473-476). His loyalty couldn’t protect the people he lived to rule and keep safe. Despite the years of attack, Hrothgar’s loyalty never faltered. The King’s fighters faithfulness didn’t either. They “would pledge themselves to protect Heorot”...
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...Moore Professor Graham EN 231 July 27, 2016 Beowulf the Legend The action packed, fantasy film Beowulf, released in 2007 is an animated 3D film inspired by the fictional old English epic poem Beowulf. The film was directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis, and contains an all-star cast including, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, Ray Winstone, Jon Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brenden Gleeson, Crispin Glover and Alison Lohman. The film is a loose adaption of the epic poem Beowulf, and the screenwriters, Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary have weaved various tidbits of differences throughout the film, adding a touch of “Hollywood” to the story. Avary is a Hollywood screenwriter, and Gaiman is a well-accomplished author across a huge number of...
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...Dan Gallegos October 20, 2014 Ms.Delgado While the classic battle between good and evil forces is a major theme of the medieval epic Beowulf, one may question whether these good and evil forces are as black and white as they appear. Scholars such as Herbert G. Wright claim that “the dragon, like the giant Grendel, is an enemy of mankind, and the audience of Beowulf can have entertained no sympathy for either the one or the other”. However, other scholars such as Andy Orchard disagree with this claim, and believe that there is “something deeply human about the ‘monsters’”. While Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are indeed portrayed as evil and violent foes, there are parts within Beowulf that can also lead a reader to believe that the “monsters” may not be so monstrous after all. This ultimately evokes traces of sympathy in the reader for the plight of these “monster” figures, and blurs the fine line between good and evil within the poem The first opponent Beowulf must face in the land of the Danes is Grendel, textually described as “a fiend out of hell … a grim demon / haunting the marches, / marauding round the heath / and the desolate fens” (Beowulf, line 100 – 104). The author also provides us with a moral description, explaining how Grendel is “merciless … malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (line 135-137). As we can see here, the author’s physical and moral portrayal of Grendel is rather unforgiving. We also resent Grendel further once we learn that...
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...Taylor Armendariz Mr. Ryan English 4 9/20/17 Beowulf The epic Beowulf is by an unknown author. It is an epic about a warrior named Beowulf, who helps king Hrothgar defend his land against an ogre named Grendel. Another story by an unknown author is the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is a romance about a green knight who goes to a dinner party and desires to play a game. Both Beowulf and sir Gawain show bravery, courage, and strength in all that they do. Beowulf’s bravery is certainly not in question throughout this epic. From his victory over Breca in a swimming contest, to his final fall as a glorious king defending his kingdom, we see that bravery is an important aspect of his life. We see some of this bravery when...
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...Stephanie Newman English 41 Midterm Essay Beowulf: Man and Monstrosity After winning his fight against the monster Grendel, Beowulf stands on rooftop and holds up the demon’s torn-off arm, displaying the mangled limb for all to see. Our hero has just defeated this monster whose attacks on the mead-hall Heorot lasted for years, thereby relieving the Danes of “no small affliction” (832). This victory scene can easily be read as a rally of hope against the grim threat of monstrosity in Beowulf—but that would be to ignore the monstrous nature of the scene itself. There is a certain horror in watching Beowulf revel unabashedly in his slaughter of another creature. As he exhibits Grendel’s “shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp” we are invited to question what “awesome” signifies in this context (835). Are we repulsed by Grendel’s destructive force? And are we impressed by Beowulf’s equally grotesque power? If monstrosity is the insolvable problem in Beowulf, then the question at hand is where it becomes manifest: in monster, or in man. One clear fact about Beowulf’s monsters is that they are pitilessly committed to human destruction. The damage they cause to the Danes and the Geats is immeasurable, and their acts of terror afford impressive description in the text. Whole sections of the epic are dedicated to the monsters’ assaults on humans. From Grendel’s first attack on Heorot, the monster gruesomely kills men by the fistful; he is depicted, in a brutely alliterative line...
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...story of Beowulf represents what qualities a hero should embrace. Many heroes are portrayed as men with god-like gifts, or born half god; Beowulf is simply born strong, courageous, brave, and selfless. He does what good he can do where he can. His mood and tone are always that of someone doing the good deed, for the sake of the deed itself. In the film Beowulf, filmed in 2007, the hero still retains some of his virtuous qualities but in a smaller form. Beowulf still comes to Hrothgar’s to repay his father's debt, however, in the film Beowulf gives lust, and is clearly attracted to Hrothgar’s Queen. In the book, Beowulf does not think twice about the queen. His virtues keep him from drifting off task, as he is simply there to kill the monster, which plagues the Danes. The film may not have meant to, but does portray Beowulf as prideful concerning his achievements. A portion in the story addresses Beowulf’s swimming race with Breca. In the film, Beowulf is matched in strength with Breca and claims he was saving his strength for the last loop. In the book, Beowulf makes note that he and Breca were tied, and neither could beat each other. Unferth challenges whether or not Beowulf can even beat Grendel, because of his loss of the swimming race. Beowulf’s response in the book shows his maturity and a level head. Though he is young he manages to answer very calmly, traditionally Beowulf would have had rights to challenge Unferth, despite having this opportunity Beowulf declines...
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...Honors English IV 23 August 2010 Beowulf Beowulf is the universal story of life’s journey from adolescence to adulthood and to old age. The hero grows in wisdom about himself and about the world through the pain and triumph of personal experience. Throughout the story, Beowulf is portrayed as the hero of Hrothgar’s people for saving them from Grendel, the monster. Beowulf changes as he advances from adolescence to adulthood to old age; he matures through heroism and courage. As Beowulf becomes older, you can see the maturity that grows inside of him through his acts of heroism. Grendel is the monster that went to Herot (mead hall) and slaughtered many of Hrothgar’s men while they were sleeping by smashing their bodies and devouring them for dinner. Beowulf, who is a follower of Higlac and is the strongest of the Geats, heard about Grendel and decided to take action himself, so he rounded up a few men and “ended the grief, sorrow, [and] suffering forced on Hrothgar’s helpless people” (Raffel, page 55). Beowulf showed heroism as he crossed the sea that led him to Herot to go save these people of Hrothgar, from this savage. He was portrayed as a hero in their eyes because he ended this tragedy with such strength and courage. As Beowulf pretended to sleep, Grendel “clutched at [him] with his claws, and was instantly seized himself, claws bent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm” and Grendel was sure that he had never met a man so strong that his mind quickly filled with fear...
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...Monster Beowulf perfectly illustrates the characteristics of what it means to be considered a perfect hero. The poem clearly shows his heroism in two completely different eras, Beowulf as a young man and then again when he is much older. This is shown through battles of three monsters, Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the dragon; each is progressively more difficult than the last. But as the poem digresses it is easy to see that the biggest monster that Beowulf fights is himself. As a young man, Beowulf is an extremely successful warrior, shown by his ginormous wins of both bravery and strength. He also exemplifies the characteristics of loyalty, respect and most importantly pride. When the poem begins, Beowulf shows little maturity as he has always had his inhuman powers. The great king Hrothgar quickly becomes a father like figure to Beowulf and begins to give wisdom about how to be a great king. This foreshadows the second half of the poem, his impressive past as a undefeated warrior has in some ways prepared Beowulf to take claim of the throne. Years later the Geat King Hygelac dies, this is important because Beowulf doesn’t simply take the throne in which he has rightfully earned instead he chooses to support Hygelac’s son as he is whom should be the king. This act of respect only further proves his characteristics as a hero. Beowulf progresses throughout the poem from a very unrealistic portrayal of a hero to an extremely realistic man. For his first battle Beowulf defeats...
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...Beowulf’s Actions: Heroism or Duty? In a historical poem named Beowulf, we see people of Danes living in a fear of a powerful monster, Grendal. No one seems to be able to defeat him until a hero warrior named Beowulf sails from Geatland and kills Grendel. From the very beginning of the poem Beowulf stands out as a fearless, “the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful” (line 196). He is not afraid of anyone or anything and he is also not shy about showing off all his success. He mentions all the accomplishments he had when he was younger and he goes to a great detail describing his fight with the sea monster, Breca. At the moment when we can see Beowulf crosses path with Unferth, his character really stands out in comparison to Unferth’s coward and jealous nature. Even though Beowulf comes across as a brave and strong warrior who later becomes a beloved and well respected king, there is a part of the story that makes me question his motifs. I wonder: Were his actions an act of heroism or was it his duty? After arriving in Danes, Beowulf meets with the king, Hrothgar. Based on their conversation, we can assume that they are not complete strangers. Hrothgar admits knowing Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow. There is something Hrothgar said during their meeting that raises a question. Lines 470 - 473 read: “Finally I healed the feud by paying: I shipped a treasure-trove to the Wulfings, and Ecgtheow acknowledged me with oaths of allegiance”. In my opinion, the phrase “oaths of allegiance”...
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...I have read Beowulf and have chosen to use that to answer the following questions. How does Beowulf describe the landscape? The author of Beowulf seems to use creativity along with some (possibly) real aspects when conveying the landscape throughout the poem. A common theme when it comes to landscape that I noticed is water. This poem takes place in Scandinavia, which could explain the water. Throughout the poem, water in the landscape is mentioned in nearly every important event. Some of the most important may be Beowulf fighting Grendel in a swamp and Beowulf dying on a cliff near the ocean. Beowulf and his warriors also take a dangerous trip across the ocean at the beginning of the poem in order to reach the Danes. Other than the water features, the landscape isn't talked about much. I am just assuming that it's very plain with nothing special. After all, if there was something special, it would be mentioned in the poem. How do the humans in Beowulf respond to the landscape?...
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...Beowulf is a great representation of what an epic hero is. Throughout the story, Beowulf is painted as a very brave and courageous hero. He is able to slay many monsters that most men in his world cannot fathom. In the poem of Beowulf, he is introduced as a brave, determined, and loyal hero, and it is shown through the heroic deeds he displays throughout the poem. Beowulf has shown readers his bravery by losing his life to fighting a dragon when many have cowered at the thought. He has willingly put himself in danger to protect his people.”I sold my life for this treasure and I sold it well”.(pg.59 ).This proves Beowulf as an epic hero because it is selfless to give one’s life to protect a city. Would an ordinary person give his life to save...
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...“The Wulf and the Sheep” (An Analysis of the Motivation of the Epic Hero Beowulf) What drives the heroes to commit acts of upright morality rather than making decisions that would lead them down the road of infamy? If you were in the place of the hero would uphold the “right” instead of enveloping yourself in the “wrong”? Why would you ever want to be a hero? The great Anglo Saxon epic Beowulf seeks to provide us with the answers to these questions. Beowulf is clearly motivated by a lust for something, why else would he seek to help the Danes slay a monster that has no effect on his homeland? Beowulf slew the fiends out of duty, an aspiration to be the hero and he slew the dragon to ensure the security and prosperity of his people. Beowulf made great strives to achieve to accomplish his duty. He felt obligated to use his abilities to save the Danes from their plight. Why did he feel this way? He felt that way because he had been told by the wisest of his people that he was capable of saving the Danes from Grendel and therefore, should save them....
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...recognize as heroic.” More importantly, the archetypal hero has some “…form of journey (the hero's journey archetype); these needn't be physical journeys like Homer's epics, but also spiritual journey(s)…” In the Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf slays dragons and monsters, as well as becomes king, and sails across vast oceans—however, Beowulf’s ultimate purpose to his journey is to be remembered for what a renowned hero he once was, as well as gain recognition from others for his heroic battles. Beowulf can be considered an archetypal hero because he possesses attributes that would be considered heroic, and also goes on a physical as well as spiritual journey. In the story of Beowulf, Beowulf has an ultimate journey that involves a call to adventure, followed by a refusal of the call, as well as reward (seizing the...
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...Beowulf in Relation to Anglo-Saxton Beliefs and Values In the epic poem, Beowulf, there are many references of Anglo-Saxton beliefs and values and the effects they have on the characters and the outcome of the story. As the setting of the story takes place in Anglo-Saxton times, these beliefs and values were well represented and well valued by the many characters of the story, such as Beowulf, Hygelac, Hrothgar, and Wiglaf. The Anglo-Saxton values consisted of generosity, friendship, loyalty, and bravery. Anglo-Saxtons also desired their kings to be chivalrous, powerful, and daring. Most importantly, the epic reveals the values of Anglo-Saxton society in its chivalry code, as well as the code of knighthood. Beowulf demonstrates Anglo-Saxton values and beliefs by strengthening...
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