The entire poem centers on the fight of good, represented by Beowulf, versus evil, represented by Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. In the theme there is a clear religious overtone, with the forces of good aligned with God, Christ and salvation, while the forces of evil are aligned with Satan. Beowulf becomes almost a crusader, fighting to rid the world of Satan's influence. The satanic strain, seen in the monsters, is a timeless foe that attacks mankind and leaves behind a path of destruction and doom; it has been in existence since the fall of man.
Christian allegorists see the greedy, malicious, and evil monsters as symbols of Satan and eternal damnation. Beowulf is the means of salvation. By slaying the monsters, he is delivering mankind. The poem, therefore, emphasizes the need of a savior to protect mankind from the powers of evil. In truth, during the time the poem was created, many Danes had turned away from God and were practicing ritualism and pagan idol worship. According to the poet, Hrothgar is still devoted to God; as a result, he is not harmed by Grendel, who fears his staunch belief in God. In s similar manner, Beowulf's strength seems to be a gift from God and it is through God's power that he overcomes God's foe. The poem is the tale of the triumph of good over evil.
The symbolism throught Grendel and Beowulf is seem clearly throughtout the novel. Grendel is used as a representation of the devil, praying on people as they sleep. While Beowulf is symbolic of God as he trimphs over evil.
This criticism does provide a new outlook on Beowulf. Although the comparison of the Bible and Beowulf is common this viewpoint is not. The author points at the similarities and representations between God and Beowulf and Grendel and the devil. This is an interesting view and I agree.
I agree with the character representation of the forces of God as well as the forces of the devil. The line, "The satanic strain, seen in the monsters, is a timless foe that attacks mankind and leaves behind a path of destruction and doom..." is definetly supported from Beowulf (the dragon representing the sin of greed, grendel's mother showing wrath, and grendel showing hatred for man). I found the history fact ("...Danes had turned away from God and were practicing ritualism and pagan idol worship") does provide much insight to why Hrothgar was not murdered in his sleep by Grendel ("According to the poet, Hrothgar is still devoted to God; as a result... not harmed...") Overall, I agree, with the representation of characters and values, as well as the theme of good versus evil. Good being the side of God, and as a result, according to the author, overcoming their foes thus good triumphs over evil.
The structure and main points of this criticism do give a second opinion to the theory of God's influence over the battle of Good vs. Evil. Because Grendel is a demon, a spawn of the devil, it is understandable that because Hrothgar is a devout christian, he is left untouched by Grendel's attacks, while the victim's may represent the converters-to-paganism at the time.
I agree that to some extent that Beowulf represented a crusader in the poem as seen through his slayings of the "bad", which was Grendel, Grendel's kin, and the dragon. This poem was definitely a depiction of good vs. evil, and that symbolism was present throughout the entire text, and played an important role in getting a message across.
From what I read of Beowulf, God and Christianity were not mentioned at a level this extreme. Sure, religion can play a role in Good vs. Evil, but if Beowulf incorporated religion as a major role, I believe that I would have seen more evidence of this within the story itself.
While Brandon has a vaild point, I feel that we may have read a condensed version of Beowulf, or perhaps, we read a version that was translated different from what this author read. All said and done, the author lays a fairly compelling argument comparing Beowulf to the forces of good and Grendal to those of evil.
I agree that good and evil are clearly represented throughout the text. I believe that Beowulf represents salvation, but not God himself, and that Grendel, his mother, and the dragon represent satanic evils, but not Satan himself.
Again, I agree with the idea of good vs evil, but i don't think religion comes into play. There are examples of religious things such as Cain. However the point of Beowulf is good vs evil, not God vs Satan.
I don't believe that God and Christianity were mentioned very much in the story. Religion does play a role in good versus evil, but the story does not go into depth to explain this.
The comparisons made about grendel and beowulf are evident throughout the entire poem. The theory that good always triumphs over evil is proven as well. The comparison between the poem and the Bible however, i would have to disagree with, it is however an interesting view point.
When i read Beowulf, I personaly didnt see a strong connection of God and Christianity within the story. The Good vs evil aspect seen within Beowulf does relate to God and Christianity but i really dont see that strong of a connection in the version of Beowulf in which we read in class.
Whoa, shocker! This article is also about the topic of good vs evil. Should i take a different stance then I did on the last one? Nah, its too late, im too tired. I agree with this article. It clearly identifies the aspects of good, Christian morals and evil, pagan beliefs found in Beowulf.
I agree that Good vs. Evil played an important role throughout the poem. Although Good defeated Evil numerous of times, evil overcame good at the end of the book when Beowulf had died.
I concur with the theme of "good v. evil" in the story. I also agree, with the symbolic represetnation of Grendel being the devil and Beowulf being the savor. I do agree with Kevin though, that since we did only read a short version of Beowulf; that the evidence of grendel being a full fetched devil and Grendel being a true savor, may have been more evident in a longer version of the story.
Im not sure how clear the religious over tones really are in the poem. While yes, there do seem to be a few major connections to Christ, I don't think they have a lot of influence on the overall story.
As stated before, I agree that good and evil are represented throughout this text. However, I do not see Beowulf representing God, that is taking it too far.
The epic did include alot of symbolism. I agree that the comon theme was that of good verse evil. Also, though im not sure that iagree entirely, Christianty could be a major influence/aspect as well.
Even though the story of Beouwlf includes Christian morals, I find it interesting that the theme of good vs. evil is compared to God and Satan, who ultimately represent good and evil.
I agree that there is a religious theme through Beowulf. Good vs. evil is an obvious theme that is shown through beowulf and the monsters. It is very possible that beowulf represents god and Grendel represents satan.
Beowulf is all about good vs. eveil, theres no getting around that. But i think that it takes it a little to far when they compare Beowulf to God...Hes good but not God
The author states that all good is aligned with God, and all evil with Satan. I think that the author makes an important observation when he says that Grendel fears Hrothgar's staunch belief in God.
28 comments:
The entire poem centers on the fight of good, represented by Beowulf, versus evil, represented by Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. In the theme there is a clear religious overtone, with the forces of good aligned with God, Christ and salvation, while the forces of evil are aligned with Satan. Beowulf becomes almost a crusader, fighting to rid the world of Satan's influence. The satanic strain, seen in the monsters, is a timeless foe that attacks mankind and leaves behind a path of destruction and doom; it has been in existence since the fall of man.
Christian allegorists see the greedy, malicious, and evil monsters as symbols of Satan and eternal damnation. Beowulf is the means of salvation. By slaying the monsters, he is delivering mankind. The poem, therefore, emphasizes the need of a savior to protect mankind from the powers of evil. In truth, during the time the poem was created, many Danes had turned away from God and were practicing ritualism and pagan idol worship. According to the poet, Hrothgar is still devoted to God; as a result, he is not harmed by Grendel, who fears his staunch belief in God. In s similar manner, Beowulf's strength seems to be a gift from God and it is through God's power that he overcomes God's foe. The poem is the tale of the triumph of good over evil.
The symbolism throught Grendel and Beowulf is seem clearly throughtout the novel. Grendel is used as a representation of the devil, praying on people as they sleep. While Beowulf is symbolic of God as he trimphs over evil.
This criticism does provide a new outlook on Beowulf. Although the comparison of the Bible and Beowulf is common this viewpoint is not. The author points at the similarities and representations between God and Beowulf and Grendel and the devil. This is an interesting view and I agree.
Although the comparison of Beowulf versus the bible is new, I most commonly agree with Beowulf representation of Good versus Evil.
I agree with the character representation of the forces of God as well as the forces of the devil. The line, "The satanic strain, seen in the monsters, is a timless foe that attacks mankind and leaves behind a path of destruction and doom..." is definetly supported from Beowulf (the dragon representing the sin of greed, grendel's mother showing wrath, and grendel showing hatred for man). I found the history fact ("...Danes had turned away from God and were practicing ritualism and pagan idol worship") does provide much insight to why Hrothgar was not murdered in his sleep by Grendel ("According to the poet, Hrothgar is still devoted to God; as a result... not harmed...") Overall, I agree, with the representation of characters and values, as well as the theme of good versus evil. Good being the side of God, and as a result, according to the author, overcoming their foes thus good triumphs over evil.
The structure and main points of this criticism do give a second opinion to the theory of God's influence over the battle of Good vs. Evil. Because Grendel is a demon, a spawn of the devil, it is understandable that because Hrothgar is a devout christian, he is left untouched by Grendel's attacks, while the victim's may represent the converters-to-paganism at the time.
I agree that to some extent that Beowulf represented a crusader in the poem as seen through his slayings of the "bad", which was Grendel, Grendel's kin, and the dragon. This poem was definitely a depiction of good vs. evil, and that symbolism was present throughout the entire text, and played an important role in getting a message across.
From what I read of Beowulf, God and Christianity were not mentioned at a level this extreme. Sure, religion can play a role in Good vs. Evil, but if Beowulf incorporated religion as a major role, I believe that I would have seen more evidence of this within the story itself.
While Brandon has a vaild point, I feel that we may have read a condensed version of Beowulf, or perhaps, we read a version that was translated different from what this author read. All said and done, the author lays a fairly compelling argument comparing Beowulf to the forces of good and Grendal to those of evil.
I agree that good and evil are clearly represented throughout the text. I believe that Beowulf represents salvation, but not God himself, and that Grendel, his mother, and the dragon represent satanic evils, but not Satan himself.
Again, I agree with the idea of good vs evil, but i don't think religion comes into play. There are examples of religious things such as Cain. However the point of Beowulf is good vs evil, not God vs Satan.
I don't believe that God and Christianity were mentioned very much in the story. Religion does play a role in good versus evil, but the story does not go into depth to explain this.
The comparisons made about grendel and beowulf are evident throughout the entire poem. The theory that good always triumphs over evil is proven as well. The comparison between the poem and the Bible however, i would have to disagree with, it is however an interesting view point.
When i read Beowulf, I personaly didnt see a strong connection of God and Christianity within the story. The Good vs evil aspect seen within Beowulf does relate to God and Christianity but i really dont see that strong of a connection in the version of Beowulf in which we read in class.
I agree with the essay, Beowulf does have reoccuring good v. evil. It seems as though this essay also recgonizes the Christian elments that reoccur.
Whoa, shocker! This article is also about the topic of good vs evil. Should i take a different stance then I did on the last one? Nah, its too late, im too tired. I agree with this article. It clearly identifies the aspects of good, Christian morals and evil, pagan beliefs found in Beowulf.
I agree that Good vs. Evil played an important role throughout the poem. Although Good defeated Evil numerous of times, evil overcame good at the end of the book when Beowulf had died.
I concur with the theme of "good v. evil" in the story. I also agree, with the symbolic represetnation of Grendel being the devil and Beowulf being the savor. I do agree with Kevin though, that since we did only read a short version of Beowulf; that the evidence of grendel being a full fetched devil and Grendel being a true savor, may have been more evident in a longer version of the story.
Im not sure how clear the religious over tones really are in the poem. While yes, there do seem to be a few major connections to Christ, I don't think they have a lot of influence on the overall story.
As stated before, I agree that good and evil are represented throughout this text. However, I do not see Beowulf representing God, that is taking it too far.
The epic did include alot of symbolism. I agree that the comon theme was that of good verse evil. Also, though im not sure that iagree entirely, Christianty could be a major influence/aspect as well.
The srory of Beowulf can definately be seen as good versus evil. Saying that Beowulf represents God is a little extreme though.
Even though the story of Beouwlf includes Christian morals, I find it interesting that the theme of good vs. evil is compared to God and Satan, who ultimately represent good and evil.
I agree that there is a religious theme through Beowulf. Good vs. evil is an obvious theme that is shown through beowulf and the monsters. It is very possible that beowulf represents god and Grendel represents satan.
Beowulf is all about good vs. eveil, theres no getting around that. But i think that it takes it a little to far when they compare Beowulf to God...Hes good but not God
The author states that all good is aligned with God, and all evil with Satan. I think that the author makes an important observation when he says that Grendel fears Hrothgar's staunch belief in God.
I agree that there is a religious theme through Beowulf. Good vs. evil is an obvious theme that is shown through Beowulf and the monsters.
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