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How Does Shakespeare Present Religion In Beowulf

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Religion in Macbeth and Beowulf
Whether it be a play or a poem religion will influence how the author writes their story. Some writings might hold more religious standing than others, for example Macbeth and Beowulf. While both Macbeth and Beowulf express Christian views, Macbeth’s Christian standing is stronger because it doesn’t use paganistic views like Beowulf, and the characters express a more biblical background. Shakespeare's biblical imagery in Macbeth is far greater than Beowulf’s biblical standing.
Macbeth was written during a time where religion was an important aspect most people’s lives and it was meant to please King James who was on the throne at this point. The main religion during the time Macbeth was written was Christianity and you can see this through Shakespeare's writing. They believed that if you had faith in God, and you …show more content…

Even though they were portrayed as being evil, they were able to prophecies about the future just as God is able to see our future. For example the sisters told banquo that his descendants will become great and will increase in number. You can also compare this with Noah in the bible when God told him that his descendants will amount to the number of stars in the sky. “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2. Another example would be when the three witches prophesied that Macbeth will become king just as it was prophesied in the bible that Jesus will become the true king (Wiliam). Even though the witches prophecies all came true, Macbeth still tried to prevent them from being fulfilled. This relates to how we are unable to change what God has in mind for us no matter what we do on earth. For example in act 3 scene 1 Macbeth tries to stop Banquo from becoming the father of kings but ultimately fails because in the end Banquo’s descendants still become

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Today, many works incorporate religion in order to thrive during their time period and region. The incorporation of religion into literary works has occurred for thousands of years. In Seamus Haney 's Beowulf, a Christian narrator is present in order to spread throughout Anglo-Saxon culture. While the narrative presented in Beowulf is that of the Vikings, the narrator can be identified as Christian, an element that would best appeal to the audience of Anglo-Saxon England. After exploring the historical influence of Christianity on the Anglo-Saxons, an analysis of the first descriptions of Grendel in Seamus Heaney’s translation will reveal that it was best to have a Christian narrator in order for the audience to fully understand and appreciate the poem’s morals and themes.

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The thing that stands out when reading the stories of Beowulf, Sir Gawain, and the Canterbury Tales is that the writers use Christianity to show conflicts in human nature. Also with these stories taking place in different times with writers who have different opinions about Christianity and how it has influences Society. For example, in Beowulf, the writer chooses to mash up the ideas of Christianity and paganism because during the time that the writer was transcribing the story there were missionaries trying to convert the Anglo-Saxons that lived in Britain, so the missionaries used Beowulf as a way to reach the pagans. This is also been done to other stories like in the Viking legend Thor god of thunder where at the end of the story the world

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Beowulf Character Study Essay There are many religious influences and implications in Beowulf, ranging from the characters, to their journeys and their religious beliefs. One of the main religious implications is Beowulf himself, in the text Beowulf appears as a “Christ-like” figure. Beowulf and Christ follow very similar journeys, both men travelled to an exotic land, and began to save and protect the people that lived on it. Beowulf traveled to Danish land; in order to protect them from the incoming threat of Grendel, who also plays a sort of religious character by being a “devil-like figure”.

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In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, religion and hell are referenced to many times throughout the story. “Because the poet 's obvious references to religious matters are infrequent and elementary, he would-appear to have had a slight grasp of Christianity as we understand it, unless he disguised his erudition with characteristic Anglo-Saxon understatement (Whallon).” Chapter two of Beowulf “is most interesting when it collects the familiar evidence for Christian education in the early Anglo-Saxon (Parker)” era. When he speaks of the arrows of the devil in lines 1743 through 1744, “Grown too distracted. A killer stalks him, An archer who draws a deadly bow,” “one may therefore look to a passage in Ephesians, observe that the image was common

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Beyond Beowulf’s role in history and its role in literature, it also plays a role in church history, as a Christian text. Beowulf is often seen as a Christian character who holds his moral and virtues above all else. The growth of the church in Anglo-Saxon England greatly influenced Beowulf; in fact, Beowulf himself is a figure of Christ in this epic poem. The conversion of Anglo-Saxon England to Christianity stands out in history.

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Beowulf: Telling Others Who God Is Beowulf is an epic poem written by an unknown author in 8th century England. Set in Scandinavia, this saga has its roots in pagan tradition. This well-known Old English work tells the fictional story of Beowulf, a hero who must defeat three monsters. Throughout Beowulf the characters and narrator give credit to God for victories, Beowulf’s fabled strength, and man’s existence. Although some pagan themes are expressed in Beowulf, its original author possessed a knowledge of God.

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Belief systems are an integral part of not only culture, but also self-image. This becomes evident in Beowulf, with both the overall story and the individual characters. Christianity and paganism vie for control of all aspects of Beowulf, just as they did with the Germanic tribes a century earlier. Although much is known about the history of the time is documented, the story is shrouded in mystery. The author and even the date it was written are educated estimates at best.

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Even though there are many examples of christianity in the poem, it points more towards pagan beliefs because of the time of creation, the fact that it talks about vengeance, the ancient belief in wyrd, the use and naming of swords,and the tradition of ship burials . Beowulf was written in the anglo-saxon period by an unknown anglo saxon poet. It is best known by the scholars as The Beowulf Poet. When the poem was written it was influenced by paganism even though christianity is prevalent amongst its verses. Anglo-saxon were invaders of britain (Angles, saxons and jutes)

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Critically assess the extent of Christian and Latinate influence on Beowulf. When first reading Beowulf it would appear that the Christian references within it superimpose onto the essentially pagan view that makes a huge body of the poem. Therefore, within this assignment, there will be investigations of inconsistencies. Sources clearly show that Beowulf was written by Germanic pagans that had been debauched by some leftist ecclesiastic wordsmith , to the insistence that the author designedly created the Christian allegory along the lines of Book 1 of The Faerie Queen. It is know that Germanic traditions and techniques were used by Anglo-Saxons to frame Christian literature, just as it was with the poet of Beowulf.

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Macbeth could not intervene with faith and was basically losing control of his life. After he had received the prophecy from the witches his wife Lady Macbeth pushed him to commit murder. While doing so, she remarked how "full o' the milk of human kindness" he was (I.v.15-18). This exchange also helps with sympathy for the character by showing he was pressured into it. To know that he fell victim to temptation makes his character more sympathetic.

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Christian faith was slowly evolving during the middle ages in Europe. The most common principle of Christian faith in medieval Europe revolved around the belief that everything comes from God and is part of a greater plan. As the Christian faith grew more powerful in medieval Europe, forms of non-Christian religions were banned and frowned upon. “Beowulf” is an ancient Germanic story about a respected pagan hero, even though it is the work of a Christian poet. During this time, the idea of a Christian poet writing about a pagan legend seemed like a conflict of religion.

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Christopher Cain, professor and expert in Old English and Medieval Scandinavian literature and culture, published an essay analyzing the relationship between Beowulf and the Old Testament, as well as the presence of paganism in this poem. In the essay, it is noted that “the general tone of the poem and its ethical viewpoint are decidedly Christian;” the poet relied heavily upon the Bible, as can be evidenced by “allusions to Cain, the Creation, and the Deluge,” which are all Old Testament allusions (Cain). The characters themselves also serve to represent Christian ideologies, though references to Germanic culture appear frequently. For instance, this is embodied in the scene where Beowulf is fighting to rid Heorot of Grendel, and “Beowulf recognizes it to be God's will that determines the outcome of the fight—” not his own strength (Cain).

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Though Macbeth is only rejecting the word of the demonic sisters, the idea that he rejects what is appointed for him by whatever means he can is parallel to Saul. Interestingly, though Macbeth has no children, he complains, “no son of mine succeeding,” as if Shakespeare is adding the phrase so that we can see the parallel to Saul more clearly. So it is evident in ways that Shakespeare related Macbeth to the Bible but is hasn't been proven. Nobody knows what religion Shakspeare was so we don't know whether or not this was what he believed or if he wrote this in honor of King James, for the translation of the Bible.

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