Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Beowulf Essay Beowulf - 1473 Words
Hyunsu (John) Kim Prof. Hohl ENG2800 November 10, 2016 Beowulf Paper II The poem, Beowulf, explores its protagonist’sâ€â€Beowulf’sâ€â€heroism through a series of three increasingly difficult conflicts with Grendel; Grendel’s mother; and the dragonâ€â€, each of which exemplifies an aspect of the Anglo-Saxon heroic code. Beowulf’s first encounter with Grendel demonstrates the importance of reputation as a means of establishing one’s legacy, even beyond death; Beowulf’s triumph over the seemingly indomitable Grendel legitimatizes his boasts and ensures that Beowulf will be long celebrated. His subsequent encounter with Grendel’s mother exhibits the importance of vengeance; just as Beowulf exacts revenge upon Grendel for killing Hrothgar’s men, Grendel’s mother attempts to avenge her son by slaying her son’s aggressors, and Beowulf in turn chases and slays her as revenge again for Aeschere. Lastly, Beowulf’s final encounter with the dragon echoes the fateful mortality th at befalls all humans; blinded by his preceding victories, Beowulf engages the dragon alone to preserve his warrior’s reputation and suffers his demise. In all three instances, though Beowulf’s actions embody the traits of a hero in a warrior’s culture, it is these same actions caused by the steep influence that his warrior upbringing has that ultimately lead him to his tragic downfall. Beowulf is introduced at the beginning of the poem as the greatest man in the world: â€Å"there was no one else like him alive. In his day,Show MoreRelated Epic of Beowulf Essay - Alliteration in Beowulf1297 Words  | 6 PagesAlliteration in Beowulf                  The diction of the Old English poem Beowulf is distinguished primarily by its heavy use of allliteration, or the repetition of the initial sounds of words.  In the original manuscript version of the poem, alliteration is employed in almost every line (or two half-lines); in modern translations of the poem this is not so. Beowulf uses alliteration [my italics] and accent to achieve the poetic effect which Modern English poetry achievesRead MoreBeowulf Is a Hero Essay877 Words  | 4 PagesBeowulf Essay Every epic hero possesses certain heroic characteristics. The epic poem Beowulf describes the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf is the hero. He shows that he is a great man by always putting other things before his own needs. He is important and needed by his people and is known by many as a strong, courageous and a helpful person. He shows all of the qualities and traits that a true hero possesses. Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities:Read MoreThe Pessimism of Beowulf in the Epic Poem, Beowulf Essay2837 Words  | 12 Pages   Anticipation of catastrophe, doom, gloom are present in Beowulf rom beginning to end, even in the better half of the poem, Part I. Perhaps this is part of what makes it an elegy – the repeated injection of sorrow and lamentation into every episode. In his essay, â€Å"The Pessimism of Many Germanic Stories,†A. Kent Hieatt says of the poem Beowulf: The ethical life of the poem, then, depends upon the propositions that evil. . . that is part of this life is too much for the preeminent manRead MoreBeowulf And Gilgamesh Essay1975 Words  | 8 PagesComparative English Essay Compare the Beowulf poets presentation of the battles with Grendel and his mother with the Gilgamesh poets depiction of Gilgamesh battles with Huwawa and the Bull of Heaven. 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In this essay I hope to state clearly some of the popularly mentioned themes running through the poem, and to carefully delineate many aspects of the author’s style.  â€Å"Many critics feel that the speech of Hrothgar between lines 1700 and 1784 encapsulates the moral of the poem†¦.’He does not know the worse – till inside him great arrogance grows and
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