Beowulf College Essays Samples For Students

A monster is a mythological animal with a ferocious, physical appearance; it can either be partly animal and partly human. Examples of monster stories are Grendel and Frankenstein. Frankenstein is a story written by Mary Shelley. It is about the monstrous creature that was created and abandoned by its creator. After being abandoned, Frankenstein tries to integrate with the society, but he is completely rejected. On the other hand, Grendel is a story written by John Gardner. The story is about a monstrous character that battles to have a meaning in life and live like the rest of the people. He was confused about his ...

The epic poem Beowulf is one of the most well-known and outstanding poems which keeps its own important place within the borders of the Old English literature. It is a heroic, epic poem, which means that both its context and form follow the rules of epic poetry. It consists of 3182 verses and like most epic poems, it begins its story in ‘media res’, which means that it begins in the middle of things. The thematic core of this epic poem is the heroic actions and performance of the main leading male figure of the poem. There is a warrior who ...

An abstract image is something, frequently a question, that stands for a critical notion or arrangement of plans. Frequently an image is significant of the qualities of the characters. In Beowulf, a portion of the most vital images are Hrothgar's mead-corridor, Grendel's hole, Grendel's arm and head, and the mythical beast's fortune trove.
Typically, Heorot speaks to the accomplishments of the Scyldings, particularly Hrothgar, and their level of progress. It is a position of light, warmth, and delight, diverged from Grendel's horrible marsh and in addition the dim and icy of winters in Scandinavia. In Heorot, Hrothgar praises his triumphs and prizes ...

Hrothgar is referred to as “peerless among kings” because he demonstrates certain outstanding qualities that other kings of his time fail to demonstrate such as military success, kindness, wisdom, bravery and good leadership. He is a successful ruler whose symbol of success is the Heorot that is an amazing hall “It came to his mindthat a hall-house, that he wished to commanda grand mead-hall be built by men” (Lines 67, 68 & 69). He is popular with his followers as demonstrated by “gracious Hrothgar, for he was a good king” (Line 863). His kindness is demonstrated where it is stated that he housed ...

Dark Ages is a term that is commonly used together with middle Ages. It defines a period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the start of the Italian Renaissance as well as the Age of Discovery. An Italian scholar Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) 1304-1374 coined the term Dark Ages. He used the label in the description for what he viewed as a lack of quality in the Latin literature of his time. The term evolved with time to define lack of culture and development in Europe. At the time, Greek and Roman civilizations were well advanced for the time as they ...

The women in Beowulf and other heroic narratives of other cultures were forced to take the background roles in the society because they were considered as weak and passive. The women in these epic stories were considered inferior to men and they were owned by their husbands once they got married. In the story of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Geoffrey Chaucer, the women took active roles than what was expected of them by the society.
Beowulf is an epic poem that primarily focuses on the men heroic deeds, however, women play an integral ...

Grendel is one of the most focused character from the Anglo Saxon poem known as Beowulf in which he is believed to be a human monster that relishes in cannibalism yet he doesn’t feel the need to play by the rules (Liuzza, 2000).
Grendel is a human monster that feeds upon men and is cannibalistic in nature. In the poem, he is known to be a descendent of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve that killed his own brother. As any descendent of Cain is to be known as a creature himself, so is the case with Grendel. However, the ...

In the sixth-century A.D., the Anglo-Saxon culture left behind nearly 30,000 lines of literature. Of those, 4,000 lines formed the epic poem, Beowulf. The author of the piece remains shrouded in mystery as does the exact year of its writing. The ancient, alliterative poem tells the tale of the adventures of the strong and courageous warrior, Beowulf, who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, King of the Danes. Beowulf himself is the nephew of Higelac, King of the Geats, and is said to have the strength of 30 men in each of his arms (pace.edu, n.d.). The story ...

The involvement of hero figure in the society reflects social, political and cultural aspects of that time period. In the social context, heroes depict the prevailing aspiration of the society of that period. The figure constitutes the important values essential for development. The hero encapsulates the values required to succeed in life and its positive reformation of the individual. The hero figure also reflects the political issue at that time. They are seen as leaders and motivators. Thus, heroes not only must constitute society’s positive desire, but he must also possess certain qualities of being a leader. Political issues ...

Grendel is a character from the heroic epic poem Beowulf that is certainly worth remembering. Despite the ambiguity of his nature, Grendel, it seems that the emotions and impulses that drive him are vaguely human. Therefore, considering vaguely human character traits that Grendel possesses, almost any ‘human’ hero with the right set of heroic qualities could defeat a monster like Grendel.
When Grendel first reveals himself and attacks the sleeping men at Heorot, which is King Hrothgar's mead-hall, the narrator of the poem claims that his motives are anger and envy of the nightly entertainment at the mead-hall, while he ...

Heroes are a much vaunted source of pride among the cultures and history of mankind. In each society, the tales of heroic exploits have been used to teach both the lessons of truth and valor and the pitfalls of overconfidence and poor planning. This essay will explore the similarities and differences that that two of history’s greatest adventurers have alongside implications of these comparisons. In the end this essay will have explored both the Odyssey and the tale of Beowulf to develop a better understanding of the full depth of the story on every level.
A vital component for ...

Beowulf is an epic Greek poem based on a great hero named Beowulf. It is a universal story of a life’s journey from adolescence to old age. Beowulf is revealed as the hero of the people for saving them from the monster Grendel and his mother and in his last battle with the dragon, a new hero appears. Wiglaf appears to be the new hero at the end of the poem after he was able to help his lord in fighting the dragon. Wiglaf assumed his heroic role when he remained courageously loyal to Beowulf his lord. When the dragon’s scorching ...

Monster Madness

July 17
Theme of Isolation and Loneliness
The themes of isolation and loneliness are illustrated in Beowulf through Grendel’s character. Grendel felt excluded and isolated from the humans because he was living alone with his mother and this made him feel that he does not belong to the community. The loneliness and isolation Grendel felt made him the monster he was, he desired to belong to the humans in the community but they isolated him. The exclusion from the rest of the community pushed him into becoming a hideous and cruel beast with a hard heart and thirst ...

Over the course of the several decades, numerous romantic tales and epics have been penned. Epics are basically tales of warriors with heroic traits, capable of performing superhuman feats and fearlessly saving the nation and the damsel in distress from a terrible fate. In most tales of romance, captivating adventures as well as exciting experiences usually occur. The Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, happens to be one of the most renowned epics in the world. The eponymous character of Beowulf is a strong and brave hero whose ferocity and skill in battle helps save the clan of King Hrothgar. Beowulf later is crowned the ...

Literature

Thesis statement: The common theme that appears in the Anglo-Saxon poetry pieces, Beowulf and “The Seafarer” is that they both embed a definitively Christian values despite the presence of pagan images (Mursell 36).
Beowulf is perceived to be written by a Christian cleric, who draws pagan images and themes to signify its Christian character. In the story of Beowulf, he had to leave behind the warmth of his hall in order to pursue his journey over the sea to conquer Grendal, the evil monster in their combat. In Beowulf, although the author was able to form pagan images in the ...

Beowulf

Beowulf is an epic poem based on a great hero called Beowulf. He decides to help Hrothgar who was under attack by the monster Grendel. He defeats Grendel plus his mother and becomes king. After sometime, Beowulf dies after being badly wounded by a dragon which he defeated. Beowulf travelled in great places and distances while fighting against supernatural beings and demons.
The themes of isolation and loneliness are illustrated in Beowulf through Grendel (Streissguth 78). Grendel felt excluded and isolated from the humans because he was living alone with his mother and this made him feel that he does ...

__ July 2013

Since time immemorial, the issue of gender has been subject to much debate. Literature captures gender perceptions of people in the past and the widespread sentiments of gender roles and equality back then. More often than not, women and men were boxed into the same set of roles in many classical literary pieces. Women were always portrayed as frail, gentle, submissive and passive. They obeyed their husbands and fathers without question. Men in classic literature always took on roles that characterized them as brave, strong, aggressive and initiator. Decision-making was their turf and they occupied positions of ...

The central themes of one’s identity, and strength and skill are interwoven in the characters and the plot of the poem “Beowulf.” The setting of the poem and the time period in which it is set both characterize the identity of individuals is a string of lineage, where individuals are judged in society according to the repute of their ancestors, and the strength and skill they possess. Basically, Beowulf is a record of heroic deeds, so it is not surprising that the theme of identity, which revolves around individual reputation based on ancestral heritage, is central to the poem. Similarly, ...

In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul stands up during a meeting at the Areopagus, in Athens, and begins to speak to them about a statue he had seen while he was walking around the city. While many of the objects of worship had the name of their god or goddess on them, one was labeled “to an unknown god” (Acts 17:23). He uses this object to open the discussion of the God of the Hebrew and Christian faiths with the Athenians – people who worshipped a whole spectrum of deities, many of whom behaved like adolescents given too much power in ...

Beowulf arrives at King Hrothgar’s because he has heard about their

problems with the monster Grendal. Beowulf’s epic warrior reputation precedes him

which poses a threat, literally and figuratively, to Unferth’s previously-undisputed place

in Hrothgar’s hierarchy of being sort of a bard or soothsayer (line 499). Unferth is

envious, or shall we say jealous, of Beowulf’s reputation for bravery. Beowulf has

offered to slay Grendal, something Unferth has not been able to do.

Unferth challenges Beowulf (line 506) and brings up a long-ago story in front of

everyone about Beowulf’s swimming contest with someone named Breca. For all to hear,

Unferth tries to discredit Beowulf to all who ...

Beowulf starts with the history of the royal Danish family for several generations. “So. the Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.” But it is mostly about the life of Beowulf himself. It is more than just the history of the Danes though. It is about the right way for a warrior to live and die.

The poem starts with Shield Sheafson, who was a great king. He was a foundling, who became a great king. When he died, he was given an elaborate funeral. His son, Beow inherited the throne, followed by his son ...

The hero narrative is as old as The Epic of Gilgamesh and as new as Superman Returns. We find hero stories compelling, not only because we secretly want to be a hero for others, but we also want to believe that there is some sort of hero out there keeping an eye on things for us. Culturally, in modern times we like to look to our political leadership to be heroic, although the 24-hour-a-day coverage that the Internet provides makes it difficult for anyone to remain heroic in appearance. King Arthur represented a shift in paradigm from earlier heroes such as ...

Benedict and Beowulf each provide images of an ideal ruler and an ideal subject. Compare and contrast the descriptions of ideal rulers and ideal subjects in these texts. What qualities should a good ruler and good subject possess? What should the chief concerts of rulers be? Of subjects? How should rulers and subjects relate to each other? Do these texts provide examples of bad rulers and bad subjects? What make them bad? What do the similarities and differences between the images of rulers and subjects presented in these texts tell us about the value systems of those writing the texts.

Introduction:

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The complexity of the characters in a written work is often a significant method to invest the reader in a given work – following people who have interesting stories and who change over the course of the plot is one of the biggest draws to a work of fiction. As time passes, it can be thought that a greater emphasis on psychological complexity can be found in fiction; as society and language develops, there exist more complex problems that must be addressed. This can be seen in the epic poem Beowulf, there is not as much complex psychological development within the characters as there is ...

After reading the Old English heroic epic poem “Beowulf”, which considered to be one of the most significant masterpieces of Anglo-Saxon literature, and watching the 2007 American screen version of the same name directed by Robert Zemeckis I have identified the similarities and differences of interpretation. The film director has chosen this particular literature work as it holds important information regarding relationships and controversies of the society and kingship in Old England. In addition, the poem is extremely exciting and contains numerous astonishing descriptions and vivid characters.

Altogether the movie accurately resembles the heroic poem; there are several dissimilarities ...

Classic English Literature

The world of “Beowulf” is a world of kings and fighters, world of banquets, battles and duels. The poem paints the reality from a specific point of view. “Beowulf” is one of the examples of medieval heroical epic. The poem was based on the old Germanic legends relating to pagan times. These legends appeared in the environment of the Germanic tribes long before the migration of the Saxons to Britain.
The antithesis between good and evil plays an important role in dualistic myths, where each of the characters and symbols refers to either a positive number as a bearer of good, or a ...

Beowulf’s’ ‘Beowulf’ and Spencer’s ‘Redcrosse’ were both heroes in the making. In those ages, the deed of heroism was widely praised in the society. In this accord, I will compare and contrast Beowulf’s and Redcrosse knight’s heroism, and the line that separates the man from the monster. Both knights developed deeds that came to be the epicenter of fine pieces of ancient literature. Beowulf’s epic poems and Spencer’s ‘Canto’ brings up interesting contrasts of these two readings. Contrasting the two readings will make use of real life examples to discover what separates a ...

English literature spanning various centuries reveals idiosyncratic trends and ideals of British history, which allows students and scholars to examine and assess successive literary periods. Indeed, literature can be situated within its historical context because literature cannot be separated from the context in which it as written. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales underscores societal concerns with regards to corruption. Moreover, it provides a window into the historical ideals with regards to gender and how women were expected to behave and comport themselves according to their class. In a similar fashion, Beowulf, a classic in old English literature, reflects the ...

Different cultures sustain various values, some of which are not even comparable with one another. Societies have myriad ways of expressing this, yet their cultural productions are some of the richest ways of understanding how they conceived the world. In this sense, the epic poem Beowulf is one of the greatest epic poems that have ever existed. This is especially true and evident in that, even though Beowulf was not actually Anglo-Saxon, he does represent the ideals of this people. As such, one can see that bravery was one of the most extraordinary characteristics that this people had as ...

Different cultures have different ways of defining what they consider heroic. For example, in the 2016 campaign for the Democratic nomination for President in the United States, one candidate who has emerged as a hero for the Left is Bernie Sanders. His followers tend to praise his refusal to accept donations from corporations or to have anyone set up one of the gargantuan political action committees (called SuperPACs) that raise millions of dollars in money. They also tend to praise the fact that he has not changed many of his positions on matters of social justice, in an era ...

Discussion Board Posts

What is the miracle of Caedmon’s hymn? Consider the poem itself as well as Bede’s account of its genesis
The miracle of Caedmon’s Hymn according to the Venerable Bede is that while Bede had always known Caedmon as a great poet of unmatched skill. He did not always possess such a talent. Bede contended that the gift of song that Caedmon had could have only come from God. The reason for this was so Caedmon could bring the people that come to listen to him away from evil. For much of Caedmon’s life he had ...

Introduction

This essay will use sources from six key films, and written text in order to describe, discuss, and analyze how society picks on people with less power over time. The sources used in this essay, depict a narrative where there is an underdog, and a person in a position of authority over them. They highlight the underdog’s struggle to align themselves with the values of society, and to be recognized as equal members within it.
Each of the narratives discussed in this essay depicts people who are used, and discarded by society. These underdogs are seen as outcasts ...

The heroic tale of Beowulf, a Geatish warrior, who travels to Denmark with the intention of aiding the land in ridding itself of the demons Grendel and its mother, portrays multiple traces of religious beliefs harbored by the characters. From the presence of the mentioned demons to that of the Anglo-Saxons’ belief in personal destiny and fate, a religious theme is evident throughout the work. To that end, Tietjen’s views in the writing of God, Fate, and the Hero of Beowulf stems from the notion of the original work being a “pagan poem” that later had “Christian elements” ...

Literature is entertaining and provides valuable lessons on various subjects to the reader. A writer must use different methods to pass their message across to the reader. Some of the time, the idea maybe plain, but possess a hidden meaning to engage the reader’s mind. The methods used by writers in accomplishing this fete are known as literacy devices. There are several literacy devices that play various roles in literature: chiefly among them is the theme of the story. Writers tell a story through the characters and reveal the theme through the events in the story. For instance, ...

According to the synopsis by Rich Lawson, a major theme of the epic narrative poem Beowulf is heroic legacy. The characters in Beowulf are actively influenced by and engaged with the cultural and historic past of the city they live in. This investment in the heroic past is the driving force in the narrative.
The characters derive their values from the examples of the heroes and legends before them. For example, the story the hero Heremod serves as a cautionary tale. When Beowulf gives Hrothgar the ancient hilt of a sword, Hrothgar reminds him of the story of Heremod ...

The life, unfortunately, does not always resemble a happy kingdom where people live in peace and harmony. One day it brings you an ocean of happiness and glory, the other day it throws you to the dark abyss of poverty and solitude. In spite of all life’s ordeals, the person should never give up and show courage in overcoming everyday difficulties. Only the bravest and most ingenious ones, who are capable of learning on their own mistakes, will definitely attain success in the adventurous life journey. The courage is surely the most important trait of character which not ...

Nature is an important element in many of the early texts. Both Beowulf and Canterbury Tales, written in very early English, use and personify Nature. It can be useful, therefore, to discuss the persona and action of nature in both texts, in an exploration of the use of nature in early fiction. This paper will, therefore, compare and contrast nature in the works of Beowulf and Canterbury Tales.
The imagery in the opening prologue of the Canterbury Tales is expressly related to nature. It describes the rebirth of spring, but the verbiage, specifically, that is used by Chaucer to ...

Total Word Count:3000 words

Part A: Ethical Dilemma Essay
Ethical Dilemma Description
This essay describes the ethical dilemma faced by an equipment assistant in a health care organization. It draws on the theory of moral intensity. There are organizations that develop stringent policies and procedures that could pose various ethical dilemmas. One is aware that there is an organization that developed strict policies on safeguarding the company’s assets, including office supplies (paper, pens, hygiene materials such as paper towels, plastic trash bags, and the like). The policy is that any personnel who brings out the company’s assets and resources would ...