The Struggle Between Good And Evil In Beowulf

Epics are stories about heroic feats that usually illustrate society’s idealistic qualities such as bravery and loyalty. The poem Beowulf has outlasted the trials of time and has become a classic epic. Considering the story Beowulf was originally told orally, no one today knows the primordial author. Whoever the author was, he would demonstrate the idealistic warrior in these primitive times through his writings. Not only does he reveal the ideals of society, but he also shows complex topics such as the passing away of society and loyalty of friends. There are numerous topics on which this brilliant author touches but one sticks out. The epic poem Beowulf deals with the vast moral struggle between good and evil with topics of heroic feats against evil monsters, protecting ones friends and family or taking revenge for a lost loved one, and internal conflicts such as being heroic or cowardly. At the beginning of the poem the man eating monster known as Grendel is introduced to readers. He is viewed as the main villain or evil of the story. The author tells how “He was spawned in that slime, conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures...” [Lines 19-21]. Grendel has an unquenchable thirst for human blood, and none of the Danes can seem to

No person is truly one or the other. One of the main conflicts in Beowulf was one's internal struggle. Many choose to run in cowardly fear when faced with danger. Others attempt to help such as Wulfgar when he tells his comrades “We must go to him while angry flames burn at his flesh, help our glorious king” [Lines 778-780]. When faced with such danger, many warriors turn to cowards, yet Wulfgar continues to fight for his king. The warrior race began to dwindle “You're the last of all our far-flung family. Fate has swept our race away” [Lines 821-822]. Beowulf realizes that many men are pusillanimous and there are few true warriors