Literary analysis on beowolf - Education

Beowulf is an ancient English heroic poem whose author is unknown. In the poem Beowulf, as the hero of the Geats, faces and battles three antagonists namely, Grendel, who frequently attacked the local warriors of mead hall, or Heorot in Denmark, the others are Grendels mother and unnamed dragon.In Beowulf, the variance involving good and evil is the poem's focal and most significant feature. The epic makes it obvious that good and evil do not subsist as only dissimilar, but that both are equally present in everyone. Basically, this poem portrays the ability to being conscious of others as well as having the capability to behave selfishly. Hence Goodness is also exposed throughout as having the power to defuse and cleanse evils. Hence, the evils exuded in Grendel, his mother and the dragon compels them to act against the people savagely destroying them mercilessly. Equally, pride is also exposed as a quality that Beowulf takes upon himself to declare numeral actions that he desired to undertake to perform on context of helping other nations. Some of these deeds included his offer to king Hrothgar, whereby he declares his intention of destroying Grendel and he states "Single-handed I'll settle the strife!" likewise he continues by exposing his unselfish desire to decimate Grendels mother and singularly swears "And I give you pledge, She(Grendel's mother) shall not in safety escape" Naturally, goodness has been viewed as the epitome of human life where, evil is not accepted. More so, as the epic flows it becomes obvious that, even during those ancient days, evil was not condoned, hence it is apparent that, to purge evil, more than often goodness prevailed but death became inevitable, hence when Beowulf declared "That I may alone with my loyal earls, with this hardly company, cleanse Hart-Hall" it meant the cleansing involved acts that would result in destruction of life and properties.As the poem gains momentum, various aspects are brought into the surface, exposing the cultutal myth as denoted by king Hrothga who dares to lecture Beowulf on dangers of pride, therefore, this signifies that, moral obligation was purely upheld in the society despite who was involved, on the same context the king added Since God has granted him glory and wealth he forgets the future", while on the other side, in Beowulf, pride is projected as an evil and he hated it.Looking at religious angle the poem reflects Beowulf as an apparatus of God, a tool of righteousness ordained by God to execute His will. In barren disparity to his good, is the enemy, Grendel, the embodiment of unadulterated evil(255). He is an adversary of the people, and as he is depicted in the prose, he is also an enemy of God. Grendel is a disparaging and fatal "being" that is entirely contradictory to each and every one that is good. Though present are countless mentions to God and the Bible, When Beowulf and Grendal fight, Grendal realizes that there is an incredib le and unusual thing regarding Beowulf. Grendal experiences something unique about him. "That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime knew at once that nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder." Grendal felt the clout of Beowulf's hands and acknowledged that he was not a habitual man. After this fight. Good overcomes evil.All in all, the cultural context of the society explored by the author of the poem is revealed by the numeral mention of such Pagan cryptogram such as dragons, ravens, and monsters. The raven was a symbol from Norse legends; it was the courier for a war god by name Odin. This cultural diversity is established after Beowulf defeats Grendel's mother. However, the principal evidence to the paganism of Beowulf is the panorama that contains the interment of Beowulf and the structures and veneration of the tower, all of which go unswervingly against the Christian creed(200). Therefore, it is apparent that, even before Beowulf came to the land of Dane s, it is quite possible that, this community had a close relationship with other communities who were practicing black magic, but the advent of Beowulf, the axis of evil was destabilized for the sake of goodness.Additionally, the epic has mixed elements in as far as good and evil elements are concerned, considering that, the theme and plot set up revolves along the time when the Danes were under siege, the author has managed to strongly bring out the Germanic elements of the immediate society of how evil in one way or the other dodged good, however, it is certainly obvious that, the cultural backdrop that the poem is set exposes the savagely executed by this ancient empires. And on Christian context, the epic depicts a picture of the savior who came to annihilate the evil in order for the peace to prevail.In conclusion, the epitome of the poem can be said to be anchored on the axis of conflicting human nature, that's, good and evil, though dissimilar, affects the human race equally. Hence, it takes self sacrifice, determination and dedication to overcome evil, which as outlined in the epic could be disastrous and fatal.