Beowulf is one of the most famous works of Anglo-Saxon literature, and is possibly the oldest surviving long poems in Old English. The manuscript dates back between the years seven hundred and one thousand. Beowulf is considered an epic poem that has both Germanic pagan and Christian influences. The poem centers mainly on a Geatish warrior named Beowulf. In the poem Beowulf is confronted with a series of battles that are instigated by the need for revenge. The first of many battles begans with the terrorizing of Hrothgar’s lands by a terrible monster. Beowulf offers his services to rid Hrothgar of this monster. This battle is then followed by the retaliation of a distraught mother. The final battle Beowulf faces is with a vengeful dragon. The poem of Beowulf explores many themes within the Anglo-Saxon society, one of
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In the poem Grendel is seen as an outcast, since God had condemned the descendants of Cain and exiled them. Consequently, he is descended from of linage that embodies malevolence and resentment. He despises the Danes with their nightly singing in the mead-hall Heorot. The Danes sing a song about how the world was created that enrages Grendel the most since it tells of the light and beauty of God’s creations. He is furious, jealous, and resentful towards mankind; perhaps because he thinks that God blesses them, but that he will never be able to be blessed, since he is cursed. For 12 winters he terrorizes the mead-hall of Heorot. He finds pleasure in attacking Heorot and killing Hrothgar’s people. Heorot is a representation of everything he loathes about mankind: their happiness, achievements, glory, and the approval they seem to have in Gods’ eyes. In retaliation for Grendel’s attacks on Heorot, Beowulf meets Grendel in the mead-hall and kills him with his bare hands, in a great
In the poem Grendel is seen as an outcast, since God had condemned the descendants of Cain and exiled them. Consequently, he is descended from of linage that embodies malevolence and resentment. He despises the Danes with their nightly singing in the mead-hall Heorot. The Danes sing a song about how the world was created that enrages Grendel the most since it tells of the light and beauty of God’s creations. He is furious, jealous, and resentful towards mankind; perhaps because he thinks that God blesses them, but that he will never be able to be blessed, since he is cursed. For 12 winters he terrorizes the mead-hall of Heorot. He finds pleasure in attacking Heorot and killing Hrothgar’s people. Heorot is a representation of everything he loathes about mankind: their happiness, achievements, glory, and the approval they seem to have in Gods’ eyes. In retaliation for Grendel’s attacks on Heorot, Beowulf meets Grendel in the mead-hall and kills him with his bare hands, in a great