Essays on Beowulf

When faced with the question whether humans and monsters in Beowulf are opposed, I believe that humans are just as monstrous as the monsters and the monsters are more humane than humans at points in the poem. This essay will address: the ironic juxtaposition between…

Despite origins in a pagan culture, Beowulf features numerous Judeo-Christian images. Beowulf was originally composed by various scops and bards, who shared the stories of the epic hero Beowulf as a didactic tool to spread ideals such as honoring courage and valuing loyalty. Although Beowulf…

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the character Gilgamesh exemplifies the value of immortality in the Babylonian culture. Similarly, in Beowolf, Beowulf portrays a different idea regarding immortality and how immortality can be achieved. The only way that Gilgamesh can be able to achieve immortality is…

The Classic Hero The epic poem Beowulf, written by an unknown author and translated by Seamus Heaney ensues of a valiant hero named Beowulf and his heroic deeds during the Anglo-Saxon era. Beowulf is a culmination of Christian traditions with a folk story that extols…

The Heroism of Beowulf A hero is the personification of values such as bravery, sacrifice, and honor. There are two main characters in the epic poem Beowulf; one character obviously possesses these heroic traits, but the other is strongly the opposite of them. Beowulf always…

A theme is a serious attempt by an author to observe and record life in order to reveal some truth or some common characteristic of life. Themes aim to uncover aspects of a common human existence; and because these themes discuss the common human existence,…

A Comparison of the Epic Poems “Beowulf” and “Iliad” The epic poems “The Iliad” and “Beowulf” meet certain requirements that make the features that they convey epic. In the impressive poems, the heroic actions that are described determine the fate of different groups of people,…

The Heroism of Beowulf A hero is the personification of values such as bravery, sacrifice, and honor. There are two main characters in the epic poem Beowulf; one character obviously possesses these heroic traits, but the other is strongly the opposite of them. Beowulf always…

Converting to Christianity in Beowulf The old English poem Beowulf was written in the late first millennium. During this time period, the majority of Anglo – Saxons were Christians, but they had not been for very long. Prior to the conversion of Christianity, they had…