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Beowulf Examples Of Unity

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I believe life in the world of Beowulf and “The Wander” was based on unity. Beowulf and “The Wanderer” are written by Burton Raffel. Both poems provide examples of unity in Anglo-Saxon times. There were other characteristics of Anglo-Saxon life, but the main aspect was unity. Anglo-Saxons put their family and their tribe before everyone and everything. In Beowulf, Welthow was the queen of the Danes. Says, “Welthow, / Hrothgar’s gold-ringed queen, greeted / The warriors; a noble woman who knew / what was right, she raised a from warrior to warrior, / Pouring a portion from the jeweled cup / For each, till the bracelet-wearing queen / Had carried the mead cup among them and it was Beowulf’s / Turn to be served”(ln.345-357). Welthow honored …show more content…

Raffel states, “Together Beowulf and the young Wiglaf kill the dragon, but / the old king is fatally wounded. Beowulf, thinking of his people, / asks to see the monsters treasure” (pg.31). Beowulf can’t kill the dragon alone, and Wiglaf knows it, so he goes to help his king. This shows how Anglo-Saxons helped each other when in need. Even when injured and dying Beowulf was thinking of his people and what he could give them. This is an example of a good, respectful king who cares for his people as if they were his own blood. This is another instance in which unity is proved to be the main aspect of Anglo-Saxon life. Without a tribe, Anglo-Saxons have nothing. Raffel says, “Alone, in every land, / Could only be told by telling my footsteps. / For who can hear: ‘friendless and poor,’ and know what I’ve known since the long cheerful nights / When young and yearning, with my lord I yet feasted / Most welcome of all. That warmth is dead” (“The Wanderer” ln.30-35). A man was exiled from his tribe and became homeless and sorrowful. After he was exiled, he had no family, no home, and no reason to live. That is how it was for Anglo-Saxon people who got exiled or lost their tribe. This is yet another example that shows that unity is the most important aspect of Anglo-Saxon life. Unity is the main aspect of the Anglo-Saxon time period. Without unity Anglo-Saxons would have had a hard time surviving. Beowulf and “The Wanderer” give many

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