Since the beginning of mankind there has been a battle between good and evil. Wondrous stories passed down from generation to generation of epic heroes sent on quests, encountering and overcoming evil in order to attain their final goal. The poem Beowulf is an extraordinary example of a hero fighting the battle between good and evil. Beowulf was written in the adjournment of the reign of the Anglo-Saxon beliefs which can reveal an abundance of information about what was going on during this changing time period.
Throughout Beowulf there are concepts of good versus evil. For instance, there is Beowulf against Grendel, Beowulf against Grendel’s mother, Beowulf and Wiglaf against the fire breathing dragon, to name a few of the significant battles of good versus evil. Although Beowulf is the hero of the poem, he has his own flaws that show that even the greatest of all are still fighting the good versus evil battle. Take Beowulf’s boasting for example.
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This season of the British society was widely viewed as an evolution from evil to good by the rest of the surrounding areas, where Christianity was already a common belief system. King Alfred helped led the Anglo-Saxons to form a nation and create the language Old English become more widespread. Beowulf was one of the many stories that were orally passed down to entertain and teach lessons to the future offsprings of the Old English language. These stories were of battles that were similar to the events going on within the society. Villainous monsters and demons were much like the sliver of the population that still believed and practiced Animism, which is closely related to witchcraft. Unimaginably strong and grandiose heros were the war heroes or Christian leaders of the societies with exaggerated qualities. These stories reflected the good versus evil struggles that were current as well as the ones in the