In an effort to make literary analysis more obviously practical, I’ve drawn three pragmatic applications from Beowulf...
First, the ability of poetry to glorify God is a beautiful thing. The author of Beowulf is unknown, but his poetic ability has made him famous. It is a marvelous testimony that he used his talent to glorify the One who gave it to him. Here’s a sample of his beautiful writing:
The harp sounded the poet’s clear song. – He sang what he knew of man’s creation – the Measurer’s work: ‘He shaped the earth – opened the heavens rounded the land – locked it in water then set skyward – the sun and the moon lights to brighten – the broad earthyard beckoned the ground – to bear gardens of limbs and leaves – life He created of every kind – that quickens the earth.’
Secondly, an analysis of Beowulf shows that, despite the talent of the author, he failed to depict the truly perfect man, though he did succeed in portraying the (near) perfect hero. In reality, no one person (excepting Jesus Christ) can embody perfection. It is impossible for one human to exhibit all the diverse qualities necessary for perfection – perfect compassion and justice, for example. For that matter, none of us can fully comprehend the perfection that is the nature of God, let alone be that perfection. Yet, Paul describes the church as the body of Christ, meaning that all its diverse members come together to represent that perfection which no individual can ever attain. Individually, we are insufficient, but united, we are the bride of Christ.
Third and finally, looking at the way Beowulf’s author presented the nature of evil led into comparing and contrasting different theories of evil. What becomes clear is that a society’s conception of evil is entirely based on its conception of absolute goodness. Evil is that which conflicts with goodness. So, to change a culture’s ideas about what is wrong, we must get to the heart of the issue by changing their idea about absolute goodness. Modern Americans have two primary values, according to Francis Schaeffer – safety and personal affluence. With this value system, abortion, overly powerful governments, homosexuality, etc. are not necessarily wrong. Only by reforming the way people think about goodness can we reform the way they think about evil.
The Canterbury Tales, by the English author Geoffrey Chaucer, were written near the end of the middle ages. Feudalism dominated English culture at the time. Feudalism is a socio-political system in which order is maintained through strict adherence to a top down societal hierarchy. The greatest values of the English people during the middle ages were order and loyalty because their society depended on these principles.
The Canterbury Tales are written in a now common poetic form, but when Chaucer originally wrote them, they were unique. Through most of the Middle Ages, English poetry was recited verbally, and the style focused on alliteration and other effective oral techniques rather than on the rhyme and meter Chaucer used in his work. During England’s Elizabethan age, poets began to use and develop the style Chaucer pioneered in his country.
Chaucer used a frame story to construct his work, meaning he began telling one story, but added many more within the overall frame of the original. The setting of the frame story is the road to Canterbury. A group of over twenty people are traveling on a pilgrimage to Canterbury where the former Archbishop Thomas a Becket is buried. In order to pass the time, the group decides that every pilgrim must tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two stories on the way back. Chaucer wrote stories for each of the characters to ‘tell’ within the frame story.
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In an effort to make literary analysis more obviously practical, I’ve drawn three pragmatic applications from Beowulf...
First, the ability of poetry to glorify God is a beautiful thing. The author of Beowulf is unknown, but his poetic ability has made him famous. It is a marvelous testimony that he used his talent to glorify the One who gave it to him. Here’s a sample of his beautiful writing:
The harp sounded
the poet’s clear song. – He sang what he knew
of man’s creation – the Measurer’s work:
‘He shaped the earth – opened the heavens
rounded the land – locked it in water
then set skyward – the sun and the moon
lights to brighten – the broad earthyard
beckoned the ground – to bear gardens
of limbs and leaves – life He created
of every kind – that quickens the earth.’
Secondly, an analysis of Beowulf shows that, despite the talent of the author, he failed to depict the truly perfect man, though he did succeed in portraying the (near) perfect hero. In reality, no one person (excepting Jesus Christ) can embody perfection. It is impossible for one human to exhibit all the diverse qualities necessary for perfection – perfect compassion and justice, for example. For that matter, none of us can fully comprehend the perfection that is the nature of God, let alone be that perfection. Yet, Paul describes the church as the body of Christ, meaning that all its diverse members come together to represent that perfection which no individual can ever attain. Individually, we are insufficient, but united, we are the bride of Christ.
Third and finally, looking at the way Beowulf’s author presented the nature of evil led into comparing and contrasting different theories of evil. What becomes clear is that a society’s conception of evil is entirely based on its conception of absolute goodness. Evil is that which conflicts with goodness. So, to change a culture’s ideas about what is wrong, we must get to the heart of the issue by changing their idea about absolute goodness. Modern Americans have two primary values, according to Francis Schaeffer – safety and personal affluence. With this value system, abortion, overly powerful governments, homosexuality, etc. are not necessarily wrong. Only by reforming the way people think about goodness can we reform the way they think about evil.
The Canterbury Tales, by the English author Geoffrey Chaucer, were written near the end of the middle ages. Feudalism dominated English culture at the time. Feudalism is a socio-political system in which order is maintained through strict adherence to a top down societal hierarchy. The greatest values of the English people during the middle ages were order and loyalty because their society depended on these principles.
The Canterbury Tales are written in a now common poetic form, but when Chaucer originally wrote them, they were unique. Through most of the Middle Ages, English poetry was recited verbally, and the style focused on alliteration and other effective oral techniques rather than on the rhyme and meter Chaucer used in his work. During England’s Elizabethan age, poets began to use and develop the style Chaucer pioneered in his country.
Chaucer used a frame story to construct his work, meaning he began telling one story, but added many more within the overall frame of the original. The setting of the frame story is the road to Canterbury. A group of over twenty people are traveling on a pilgrimage to Canterbury where the former Archbishop Thomas a Becket is buried. In order to pass the time, the group decides that every pilgrim must tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two stories on the way back. Chaucer wrote stories for each of the characters to ‘tell’ within the frame story.
Though The Canterbury Tales are quite humorous and even risqué in parts, they deliver a sober message. The primary theme of the work is the evil of hypocrisy. To Chaucer, hypocrisy was the greatest sin because it clashed with the important values of his age. Through the use of excellent poetry and humor, Chaucer exposes the hypocrisy of many of the pilgrims in his story and then subtly ridicules this hypocrisy.
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