Darkness In Beowulf

In the epic poem, Beowulf, the recurring image of darkness is often used as a portrayal of death and the unknown. The author also uses the same image to depict evil and sin and its relationship to Christianity. The underlying elements of Christianity within Beowulf can be attributed to the recent conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Through the persisting application of darkness, Beowulf addresses the presence of sin and the fundamental Christian beliefs in a savior and the redemption from sin. Throughout the poem, the pervasive use of sinister monsters lurking in darkness portrays the immoral acts of sin and evil. Monsters are symbolic of sin because they are evil and commit sinful acts such as murder and the terrorization …show more content…
This is also evident when the poem depicts Grendel, one of the monsters, as a descendant of Cain. In the following lines, Beowulf delineates the tainted ancestry of Grendel when it states, “Conceived by a pair of those monsters born / Of Cain, murderous creatures banished / By God, punished forever for the crime / Of Abel’s death” (20-23). Both Cain and Grendel commit the mortal sins of murder and are a disappointment in the eyes of God. Since Cain and Grendel both represent the sinful nature of humans, Grendel and the other monsters who dwell and attack at nighttime are manifestations of sin and evil.
Additional evidence that darkness equates to sin is through the inference that Beowulf represents the Christian Savior, Jesus Christ. Beowulf, the slayer …show more content…
It is possible for darkness to represent a multitude of various concepts and themes that affect the interpretation of the plot. Finally, a modern day example of the portrayal of darkness is through movies. Similar to Beowulf, a movie that contains the presence of darkness may cause a scene to appear or feel different than if it was a well-lit