Christian Themes In Beowulf

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Beowulf is believed by many historians to have been written sometime between the eighth and eleventh century by an Anglo-Saxon poet. In the book, The Audience of Beowulf, it is stated that Beowulf was written for a Christian Audience and that the author himself was also most likely a Christian (Dorothy Whitelock 1951, 5). Today, Beowulf is one of the oldest long poems still in existence and is also noted to be one of the most important works of Old English literature.

The poem follows a brave man named Beowulf who undergoes treacherous trials in order to become a hero. Throughout the story, Beowulf comes face to face with three powerful creature whom he must defeat. First he begins with slaying Grendel who spent his time feasting upon the Danes. Then Beowulf must face Grendel’s mourning mother who is out for revenge for her dead son

This poem has many interesting aspects incorporated within the storyline. One aspect that the poem quickly …show more content…
Just like in story of the Bible, there exist both good and evil whom are locked in eternal conflict with one another. The same could be said about the tale of Beowulf. In the poem, good and holy values are represented by the Beowulf. He is known as a mighty hero who will vanquish any monster that may threaten humanity. Though he is already stronger than many the monster he faces, he still does his best to make the fight between him and Grendel a fair one. Though he was able to slay Grendel with nothing more than his bare hands, he did have the option to take with him his sword which would have made slaying the foul Grendel even easier than it already was. However, he instead chose to leave his sword behind and face him one on one with nothing more than his bare hands. However, it could be argued that he also did this in order to prove how mighty or how much of a hero he truly

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