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Comparative Themes In Shakespeare's Beowulf And Paradise Lost

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Comparative Essay While the works Beowulf and Paradise Lost where created almost 16 centuries apart, the stories show many of the same features like themes and the way they reflect the time period. Each helps create a feeling or mood that puts the reader back to the time the works were produced, or even the time period it is referring to. They each hold many different writing styles and language with reflects the writer’s era and where he was from. While very individualized in their own way they share many similarities, like the presence of religion and power. While one is on a god-like level and the other an almost immortal human level, they both represent true power of others. The real difference is the way they use it for good, but more …show more content…

Heroism, pride, distress, conflict and morals are all components which produced the literary piece. Each character had different motives for their aggression, but whether it was for revenge or out of pure enjoyment, the killing was always present. But above all, envy played the main candidate for what would come to be a bloodbath. The author uses envy and revenge as a motive for action, by creating a sense of aggression and purpose of the evil characters. Envy was shown through the eyes of a demon, Grendel, who sought after those who cherished and enjoyed the treasures of Heorot and their king, Hrothgar. He ached at the sound of “the din of a loud banquet every day in the hall” and the “telling of the man’s blessings” (Beowulf 88). Night by night he would snatch men from their beds and take them back to his lair, only leaving a trail of corpses behind. These men never meant any harm to a demon of his power, but prejudice raged flames from within his dark soul. The attacks rained on Heorot for 12 years to come before Beowulf got a hold of this blood thirsty nuisance. Grendel's character creates a sense of helplessness to the reader, also adding doubt to the fact that Beowulf could take on such a creature from below. His impulse to kill is much greater than the simple fact that he is envious of the men who live there which made Grendel a bit too

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The people in the story view Grendel as a monster, but why does Hrothgar-Grendel’s father-want Grendel to be killed? Is he full of shame? What would happen if the Geats knew about Hrothgar and Grendel’s Mother’s secret scandal? Grendel’s sadness and loneliness, the courage to protect himself from what is hurting is why he is despised. As a monster, Grendel was trying to protect himself.

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Up until the end of Chapter 7, Grendel’s actions are influenced by the dragon.   He believes nothing matters, there is no good or bad, and everybody eventually dies. The people of Heort know Grendel as a monster and a killer and he lives up to his reputation.

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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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Everyone has a perspective on good and evil; the battle line between good and even runs through the heart. “Beowulf” illuminates characters that come from dark and deep backgrounds that construct their dauntless actions. In the heroic tale “Beowulf,” the author’s tones strongly demonstrates themes of loyalty, honor, and courage. Raffel’s tones remotely displays the act of loyalty within multiple characters. “Hail to these who will rise to God, drop off their dead bodies” (101).

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This is the beginning of Grendel falling directly into the role that the dragon said he would need to fill. Grendel’s murderous tendencies completely reflect the monstrous side of his personality and the more he kills the more he grows insane, separating from rational, humanistic thought. “I am swollen with excitement, bloodlust and joy and a strange fear that mingle in my chest like the twisting rage of a bone-fire... I am blazing, half-crazy with joy” (168). It is clear that, by the time Beowulf arrives, Grendel has embraced the fact that he is required to be evil, despite the fact that he previously claimed he would oppose that destiny.

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