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Religion And Beowulf Comparison

957 Words4 Pages

Beowulf Comparison Essay Beowulf, the brave and mighty man who slayed monstrous sea serpents and ferocious dragons. His story will live on forever, but will the story ever stay the same? The infamous Beowulf story was forgotten at one point in history and is now revitalized today in our society. The story we read hasn’t always been told the way it is portrayed to us today. For years, the story has been told verbally, and along the way, has experienced changes due to a number of outside influences such as religion. The story seems to change according to the time period it has been told, reflecting the society’s beliefs and values at the time. Through examining both the Beowulf poem and Beowulf movie, the similarities and differences in religion, …show more content…

In both the poem and movie, Christianity is widely referenced, and the Anglo-Saxon society seems to be turning towards it as their main religion. The movie portrays a scene in which Wealhtheow (Beowulf’s wife) is being accompanied by a priest. You can imagine how much Christianity was now recognized across the land if the queen obtained a priest to follow her wherever she desired to go. On top of that, in the Beowulf poem, before he fights the evil monster, Beowulf quotes “God must decide who will be given to death’s cold grip.”(Lines 174-175) Before his battle with Grendel, it is clear that Christianity is present since Beowulf directly references God and how he is responsible for determining the fate of the battle. In addition to the similarities, there are also numerous differences. For example, in the movie, Christianity is portrayed as having an atrocious impact on society as opposed to the poem, in which Christianity is praised and welcomed. In the poem “The Battle With Grendel’s Mother”, he states “Thanked God that their leader had come back unharmed” (Line 582). Christianity plays a huge role in both the poem and movie, whether it’s in a positive or negative way, due to the spread of Christianity and its popularity in modern society over

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