Understanding Ancient Cultures In Beowulf's Culture

Epic poems tell a story that indirectly answers the questions for the culture they were written for, “who were they and what did they believe? Epic poems help us understand ancient cultures and help us discover what their values were. One such epic poem that greatly reflects its culture is the Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf. In the epic, Beowulf, a great hero, fights three monsters. In his younger years, he first travels to the land of the Danes to help purge King Hrothgar’s hall of the evil demon-monster, Grendel. It is soon discovered that Beowulf must also kill Grendel’s mother. In the third part of the epic, Beowulf is an old man who decides to kill a fire- breathing dragon, which is terrorizing his kingdom. When reading this story, the question posed is, why does Beowulf risk his life to fight these monsters? In other words, what are his motivations to do so? In the epic, Beowulf, there are three very important motivations for Beowulf to fight these monsters: it is his duty, he wants to be a hero, and he does it for his people. …show more content…
When Beowulf arrives to the land of the Danes and is led to King Hrothgar, he states when telling why he has come, “My people have said, the wisest, most knowing/ And best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’/ Great king” (Beowulf). Duty is similar to an obligation. He’s going to fight Grendel because he has to (and he also wants to). It is the Anglo-Saxon code that if someone has the ability to help, one must do so, and Beowulf certainly has the skills to get rid of Grendel. If Beowulf were to not use his abilities to help, then he wouldn’t earn the respect and glory he