Fate And Destiny In Beowulf

The story of Beowulf is considered an epic poem, which means that the main character is a hero who travels great distances to show his strength and succeeds in many trials even against the supernatural. The Anglo-Saxon period is one that lasted six hundred years, from 410 to 1066 and this is the time period that the epic poem of Beowulf is set in. The Anglo-Saxon period had a definite culture that went along with it and this particular culture is reflected throughout Beowulf in many ways. The people of Anglo-Saxon society had definite values that represented their culture. The way the culture is reflected is by the way that Beowulf carries himself, with humility, dignity, and loyalty, the way Beowulf keeps his status through heroic acts of …show more content…
It is unclear on whether or not Beowulf has Christian principles in it. It is clear that throughout the poem there is a sense of "what will be will be" and it is obvious Beowulf believes in destiny and a higher power. "Wyrd" is a synonym for fate and that is what is used throughout the poem. People during this period felt that the will of a higher power ruled their lives. This influenced the Anglo-Saxon people 's outlook on life and the culture. The people of this society as well as Beowulf think that they will win a battle because it is the will of fate not because of anything else. Beowulf made several comments in the poem concerning fate. He states "fate goes ever as fate must" meaning that no matter what anyone does, fate will always follow through (line 455). He also goes on to say "What God judged right would rule what happened to every man, as it does to this day" (line 2858-2859). Beowulf is able to fight fearlessly because he thought that if he were to die, then it was God 's will. In the third part, Beowulf goes courageously to fight the dragon with just Wiglaf even in his old age because he knows fate will carry out no matter what the circumstances