Theme Of Dualism In Beowulf

As the intriguing storyline of Beowulf heightens and progresses, the theme of egotism is consistently portrayed. Through various predicaments and events that occur within the book, obvious signs of Beowulf’s dualistic pride are revealed, both positive and negative expressions of it. Although Beowulf is considered the hero of this epic poem, his pride in violence and destruction can easily be paralleled to that of the hell-brute Grendel, making him monstrous in nature too. Beowulf has a tendency to show off how essential and valuable he is to those around him by boasting in his past triumphs flattery language such as when he says, “They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest …show more content…
Success is healthy unless it is self-righteous. Repeatedly, the anonymous author of Beowulf throws in a phrase that shows Beowulf giving thanks to God for His help in order to allow the book to appeal to a Christian audience besides being a simply pagan material. Indeed, the author reconciles pagan concepts by following them with Christian elements. These key points mirror society today. First off, the current generation focuses so much on appealing to every audience equally in fear of offending someone in the slightest way. Secondly, Beowulf remains a classroom classic because of a possibly never-ending human interest in heroes and monsters. Furthermore, the characters and motifs, although described through archaic vocabulary, can apply to culture today because people have not changed that much. Humanity will always be flawed and face struggles in balancing pride and power, or lack thereof. Like in Beowulf, we tend to look back on our personal and cultural glory days. The ubi sunt mindset thoroughly radiates from the text and can be comparable to the style of writing found in The …show more content…
The poem leads one to question whether humanity is really that different from monstrousness. Take Beowulf for example, he was never labeled a monster but undeniably had monstrous characteristics whether in his invincible attitude, immense ego, or passion for bloodshed. Most assuredly, Beowulf’s pride can be considered both blameless and corrupt manifestations of his personality. Beowulf, symbolizing mankind, is said to be valiant, and Grendel is said to be vindictive because humans think highly of themselves as the so-called moral kind. Who were the real monsters of the story? Humanity is not as inherently good as one is led to