Throughout early British literature the concept of war is a significant part of those first stories. The true definition of war is a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state. Although the true definition of war is seen as a physical act we also can see that it can happen internally in a person’s mind or within their emotions. War can also be infectious, it can sometimes creep into all parts of a person both internal and externally. In stories like Beowulf, Lanval, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, and The Wife of Bath the concept of war is seen as disease that takes over the body, the mind, and the heart.
The physical part of war is the most well-known aspect of war. It is what …show more content…
One of the main battle scenes in Beowulf is when Beowulf himself is fighting Grendel. In lines 662-835 we read and witness the fight between Grendel and Beowulf. We see the struggle and pain Beowulf endures while trying to defeat Grendel, but we also see his determination and triumph when he defeats the evil demon. Also in lines 2510-2590 we see war between man and beast. In this instance it was a dragon and this dragon will take Beowulf’s life. War can be a part of someone’s life until there final days as seen in Beowulf. Even though he died in battle he grew to old age and in that time he took part in many battles showing us that war doesn’t go away. We understand physical war in this story as being between the hero and his enemies. Another story in which we see physical war is a story of war between lovers. In the Wife of Bath Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer the war is one between husband and wife. The wife of bath is telling the story of her five husbands and how she gained control of them. When she is telling of how she gained “sovereignty” of her fifth husband she describes the fight between the two of them where she literally pushes him into a fire and hits him. Not only is war …show more content…
Even to this day the power struggle between one’s mind and one’s heart still exists. This type of war is sometimes not recognized as war but it is in many ways. War of the heart can tear you down and destroy you just as physical war can but it’s different in the way that it attacks your emotions first. Lanval is definitely going through these emotional attacks when he loses his love. He battles with depression and no longer wanting to live or caring if he gets sentenced to death. In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight Gawain is battling with morality as in he does not know whether or not he should return the girdle or not. Morality, or deciding between what is right and what is wrong is another way we can see war of the heart in these stories. In lines 2369-2455 of Sir Gawain we see his reaction to his lack of morality and how he is greatly ashamed of his actions. Lastly in The Wife of Bath prologue the wife of bath herself greatly struggles with her thoughts and feelings of her many husbands. She does everything in her power to convince the man she is talking to that what she is doing is right and that it’s okay if she continues on with the way she treats her husbands. While reading the story you can’t help but feel like she’s trying to convince herself too. War of the heart makes you want to validate every decision you make and reassure yourself and others that the things you are doing are not
The physical part of war is the most well-known aspect of war. It is what …show more content…
One of the main battle scenes in Beowulf is when Beowulf himself is fighting Grendel. In lines 662-835 we read and witness the fight between Grendel and Beowulf. We see the struggle and pain Beowulf endures while trying to defeat Grendel, but we also see his determination and triumph when he defeats the evil demon. Also in lines 2510-2590 we see war between man and beast. In this instance it was a dragon and this dragon will take Beowulf’s life. War can be a part of someone’s life until there final days as seen in Beowulf. Even though he died in battle he grew to old age and in that time he took part in many battles showing us that war doesn’t go away. We understand physical war in this story as being between the hero and his enemies. Another story in which we see physical war is a story of war between lovers. In the Wife of Bath Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer the war is one between husband and wife. The wife of bath is telling the story of her five husbands and how she gained control of them. When she is telling of how she gained “sovereignty” of her fifth husband she describes the fight between the two of them where she literally pushes him into a fire and hits him. Not only is war …show more content…
Even to this day the power struggle between one’s mind and one’s heart still exists. This type of war is sometimes not recognized as war but it is in many ways. War of the heart can tear you down and destroy you just as physical war can but it’s different in the way that it attacks your emotions first. Lanval is definitely going through these emotional attacks when he loses his love. He battles with depression and no longer wanting to live or caring if he gets sentenced to death. In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight Gawain is battling with morality as in he does not know whether or not he should return the girdle or not. Morality, or deciding between what is right and what is wrong is another way we can see war of the heart in these stories. In lines 2369-2455 of Sir Gawain we see his reaction to his lack of morality and how he is greatly ashamed of his actions. Lastly in The Wife of Bath prologue the wife of bath herself greatly struggles with her thoughts and feelings of her many husbands. She does everything in her power to convince the man she is talking to that what she is doing is right and that it’s okay if she continues on with the way she treats her husbands. While reading the story you can’t help but feel like she’s trying to convince herself too. War of the heart makes you want to validate every decision you make and reassure yourself and others that the things you are doing are not