Epic Of Beowulf

Beowulf: A Reflection of Cultural Context. A society's culture and values are dependant on their standard of living. Anglo-Saxons in harsh winter weather constantly warred amongst the neighboring tribes for food, valuables, and territory. In a world where survival hinges on combat, rulers would extol the concept of glory in death. These people were not allowed the luxury of having compassion, not to say they were completely void of it, but it was not necessary. Conversely, we today live in a relatively peaceful society that allows us to focus on the more sensitive aspects of life. In retrospect, we would view this frivolous warfare as barbaric, but that cannot be so. Barbarism would imply bloodshed without meaning. These Anglo-Saxons found …show more content…
In the epic poem rendition of Beowulf, Christianity is professed greatly throughout the work. All glory and ultimate faith is referenced to “The Lord” by both Beowulf and Hrothgar. The persistence of this religious motif could be due to the fact that Christianity was a seedling of a religion by the time it had reached the birthplace of this particular epic. As a means of conversion, the scop regurgitating the tale could have employed the professions of Christianity. Not only does it put Christianity in a glorious light, the story as we read it today seems to dismiss the Danish Gods as false or weak. For having put their faith in the Old Gods, death was a consequence in one case. Okay, the movie rendition presents a character that was not in the epic poem. This character is a holy man of God, who seeks to convert the Danish to Christianity. The movie as a whole seems to portray the circumstances of what we imply to be the purpose of the epic itself. That being, ultimately converting these people to Christianity. As a society focused on conversion to christianity, the story being told a thousand years or so ago was one focused on doing that. In the film, we as a modern developed society consisting of mainly Christians, attempt to emulate the interactions of converts and the native people. The movie presents an introspective look into the personal feelings of characters, …show more content…
In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel is viewed as an inherently evil bringer of death, killing anyone who dares to enjoy themselves in the great mead hall. This is an example of simplistic duality, essentially meaning something is either good or evil. The portrayal of Grendel in the epic is very harsh, easily making him out to be a senseless killer. However, in the movie he does not see reason to even combat Beowulf because he had done nothing wrong to him. This is not the only instance of mercy Grendel has, either. On a raid on the mead hall he spares all but the one man who shattered his dead father's decapitated head. In this rendition, he at least has reason and sensibilities of his actions. More depth being provided to his character in the modern day interpretation, and the cultural implications would be that maybe the authors of the original epic weren’t sophisticated enough to come up with multidimensional characters. Even then, the reason Grendel wreaks havoc is one of vengeance, so the shared value permeates. Maybe an expression of justice that Grendel feels the need to right a wrong Hrothgar made. Historically, this shows the contrast in values correlating to the conditions they lived