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Beowulf Theme Analysis

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In the epic poem, Beowulf, the poem’s namesake tells us that, “And only one of them remained, stood there, miserable, remembering, as a good man must, what kinship should mean”. (lines 694-696). We all have probably had a friend that may not always be there when we wanted them to be but when we truly needed help and no one was around but the person that we least expected was there. This happened to Beowulf too. This is how the main events of Beowulf go, in order. The first thing that happens is, Beowulf fights a very bloody battle with Grendel where Grendel ends up dying. Next, is the battle with Grendel 's Mother where Grendel 's mother tries to avenge Beowulf for what he did to her only son but ends up dying at the end of the battle. The last main event in the story is, when Beowulf faces his last and greatest challenge after he becomes king of Geatland: the fight with the dragon which he ends up dying in the process. The epic poem of Beowulf definitely explains the theme of group needs vs individual needs; for this reason the audience can see that people were not so different back then as they do today. The first way that Beowulf shows this tension is when Grendel does his very last run through of Herot and he sees the young children and all the warriors that he will begin to kill off . For instance when the narrator says, …show more content…

The next way that Beowulf shows my theme is just after Beowulf defeats Grendel’s Mother and then Beowulf and geats went back to Herot. For example, when the narrator says, “The geats carried Beowulf’s helmet, and his mail shirt”(lines 583-584). The text states that, carried and Beowulf next to each other means that Beowulf was very tired or exhausted after coming out of the abyss. Thus, the audience can infer that battle with Grendel’s Mother is a great challenge for him. Perhaps if he went on the trip alone he could be dead. Having a great challenge is already enough but when you challenges with group members it could be a little

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Beowulf’s closest companion was not planning to join the fight but stepped in, as he could not bear the sight of Beowulf suffering; however, Beowulf only somewhat applies to the Return, specifically, when he battles the dragon, since he does not continue his reign or return to Geatland (Sweden). Due to the untimely death of a hero, the Return is unfinished and, in general, the Hero’s Journey. Excluding the fact that he does not transgress through all stages, Beowulf is relevant to the Hero’s Journey due to his persistence and heroic deeds. Frequently used in plays and movies, this template serves as a guide for storylines; additionally, the values of the people who passed on these meaningful stories are implicated in the hero’s personality and the decisions he makes. Beowulf’s heroism defines the archetypal hero and represents the cultural ideals of the Anglo-Saxons.

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Mythological or Archetypal philosophy has been around for centuries and is used across numerous cultures. Carl Jung, a close colleague of Sigmund Freud, defined the word archetype as “a figure...that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is fully manifested.” Archetypes can come in various forms: characters, images, and situations. Though many different forms of archetypes appear in the tale of Beowulf, specifically, the archetypal character roles of the hero and the outcast are major aspects of the story. The role of the hero is a popularly recognizable element of many stories.

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The story of Beowulf successfully follows every step of an Archetypal Hero Quest; the hero, Beowulf, answers a call, makes a decision, prepares, faces obstacles, reaches a climax, and returns home. Beowulf is met with three large battles within Beowulf, first with Grendel, then with Grendel’s mother, and his last fatal battle, with a dragon. Each battle carries aspects that add to the Hero Quest but do not fully create one until all are together. The call is the beginning of a Hero Quest.

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In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.

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In beowulf’s culture loyalty, true friendship and companionship were all very important, especially to beowulf who was always in the danger zone. In case of one's death the other would stay behind to let the world know of the others greatness and achievements in

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Have you ever heard of the story Beowulf? If not, then I will be telling you the different scenarios that occurred in the movie and the book. Beowulf is about a heroic fellow who saves a kingdom from a magical named Grendel. He went through numerous of battles between Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the Dragon. In this essay I will be discussing the different event that happened in the story and the movie.

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Beowulf is the main hero in the poem, and he travels to the land of the Danes to help King Hrothgar get rid of the monster Grendel. After having slain Grendel, there is still a huge crisis present. Grendel’s mother comes to the Hall of Heorot to avenge the death of her kinsmen by killing Aeschere. Aeschere is one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisors, and his loss bear’s heavy on Hrothgar’s heart. In the culture displayed in Beowulf, the bonds of friendship and kinsmanship are very important to the characters.

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If someone were to read Beowulf straight through and not think into any of the deeper meanings or symbolism in the story, the whole tale would come off as fairly superficial and typical. It would seem like just another story of a powerful hero slaying monsters and receiving lavish rewards in return. Going through the story in that fashion would be doing it a great disservice because there is so much more to Beowulf underneath all of the grandeur of the basic story. There are many recurring themes that hint at much deeper messages and even some darker, more nihilistic themes. As if ripping the arm off of a creature and then hunting down and killing its mother wasn’t already dark enough.

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Thus allowing the reader to interpret the tone better because of how Grendel expresses his feeling. On the other hand, Beowulf gives the reader a generalization of how he sees society. Plain and simple. Beowulf only sees the world as good and evil, black and white, there is no gray area, causing the tone to be bland and boring due to no detail or unexpected turns. Beowulf overlooks society as a horrible place that only " the vicious raids and ravages of Grendel, his long and unrelenting feud, nothing but war...young and old were hunted down by the death shadow" (line 151-160).

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Once upon a time, there was a marvelous warrior that was a hero to so many and king to some. In the story of Beowulf, the hero, Beowulf, must follow and go through the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey has twelve stages, or three acts. The stages go in the order: 1) The Call to Adventure, 2) Assistance, 3) Departure, 4) Trials, 5) Approach to the Inmost Cave, 6) Crisis, 7) Treasure, 8) Result, 9) Return, 10) New Life, 11) Resolution, and 12) Status Quo (Winkler). Since Beowulf is facing three different monsters, there is not only the story’s significant journey, but also multiple inside it.

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The movie Grendel starts off attacking Herot Hall, but in the textbook he started attack villagers. In the textbook, Grendel mother was considering hideous; however, in the movie she was a gorgeous monster. Accordingly, to the textbook version Beowulf’ death was extremely not dramatic. The movie and poem Beowulf share many differences, for the attack of Herot Hall, death of Grendel and his mother, also tragedy death of

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The epic poem Beowulf is a classic tale of good versus evil. Good, as shown in the story, is any action that fights evil and defends the community and the people of it. The evil intent of Grendel, the story’s antagonist and cannibalistic murderer, who is depicted as a “fiend out of hell” (99), is strongly countered by the heroic actions of the stories main protagonist, Beowulf. The noble King Hrothgar is a role model for young Beowulf at the beginning of the epic, displaying acts of charity and wisdom throughout his life.

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Very little is known about the epic poem Beowulf besides that the story was told during the Anglo-Saxon period, specifically between the years 500-1100. The author is unknown, due to the fact that the story was originally told verbally and not documented until much later. Like many stories told throughout the ages, Beowulf consists of many archetypes. An archetype is a recurring symbol found in literature, such as the Hero archetype. In this epic poem, the hero, Beowulf, travels from his homeland to Denmark to save a kingdom from an awful beast that has been attacking men late at night for over twelve years.

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In Beowulf, a wide variety of aspects are portrayed but only one of them captivates the reader the most: Beowulf’s battles between Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. They all share similarities and differences and each of the opponents symbolize different things. Firstly, all three of Beowulf’s battles are similar in some way.

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