Themes:

Good vs. evil and the good

Beowulf is one of the oldest existing poems in the English Language. Beowulf is
an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, which portrays a story of an epic hero destined to
defeat a ferocious monster in order to save a kingdom from destruction and death.
The major theme in this epic was the theme of good versus evil. The theme of
good versus evil was portrayed through the people and things that represented
good and evil, which helped portray the theme throughout that novel, and
explained the overall effect of this theme on the poem as a piece of literature.
There are many symbols that represent good in Beowulf. Beowulf himself is a
symbol of good in this epic. Beowulf is tamed and civilized which are the
characteristics of goodness and purity. First off, Beowulf is pure and shows this
before his battle when he removes his armor, and vows not to use a weapon to
defeat Grendel. Defeating Grendel, he shows that man, without armor and
weapons, can defeat evil in any form including that of his enemy Grendel. This
serves as a symbol of Beowulf’s Goodness. Another symbol of goodness is light.
Light symbolizes day and rejoicing. When light, such as the sun and moon, are
showing it gives people a sense of comfort and they don t seem to be scared of
daylight. In connection with light, words like shining and gleaming prove to show
goodness in this epic. These symbols can be shown as good in this excerpt: In the
lap of their shining ship, lined with gleaming armor, going safely in that oak-hard
boat to where their hearts took them. Human civilization, in the form of heroic
warriors, is often associated with light: the halls are illuminated with rejoicing and
treasure. This is shown in this excerpt: “How many times have my men, sworn to
stay after dark and stem that horror with a sweep of their swords. And then, in the
morning, this mead-hall glittering, with new light would be drenched with blood,
the benches, stained red, the floors, all wet from that fiend’s savage assault-and
my soldiers would be fewer still death taking more and more.” In this description
of Herot after Grendel’s massacres, Hrothgar describes the mead-hall as
“glittering, with new light which would be drenched with blood. Just like light
symbolizes good, darkness symbolizes evil in Beowulf. Grendel’s lair is dark and
gray, and he only hunts at night, in darkness. Darkness and night is associated
with evil and Grendel’s bloody attacks. Hrothgar’s warriors face the darkness and
the evil, but when the light of day comes, only their blood is there. This shows
that Grendel, the monster whose name strikes terror to the people of Herot, is also
a symbol of evil. This is shown in this excerpt: Grendel was spawned in that slime,
conceived by a pair of those monsters born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished
By God, punished forever for the crime Of Abel s death. The Almighty drove
those demons out, and their exile was bitter, Shut away from men; they split into
a thousand forms of evil–spirits and fiends, goblins, monsters, giants, a brood
forever opposing the Lord s Will, and again and again defeated. Another monster
associated with evil was the dragon. In the end Beowulf had to fight one last battle
and it was with this dragon. The dragon blew breaths of fire upon Beowulf as
Beowulf was trying to shelter himself with his shield. But as his shield was
melting, the dragon injected poison into Beowulf s neck, which injected him with
poison, thus killing Beowulf. So the last battle came down to Good, which was
Beowulf, versus Evil, which was the dragon.
The theme of good versus evil is portrayed throughout the entire epic. In the
beginning there was Herot, which was good, and Grendel, which was evil. When
Grendel killed most of the warriors in Herot, there was little good left. But when
Beowulf came to Herot there was more goodness. So when Grendel attacked
Herot that night, it was Beowulf and Grendel fighting it off. In the end it was evil
which died. Beowulf managed to kill Grendel by tearing off his arm. But another
evil lurked the murky swamps. It was Grendel s mother who was much more evil
than her son, Grendel. So Beowulf, still feeling triumphant about killing Grendel,
set off for Grendel s mother. Thus the theme of good versus evil comes up again.
The good Beowulf was traveling down to the evil Grendel s mother, who was
ready to avenge her son s death. After the battle, it was good who overcame evil
again. However, the next battle wouldn t be so easy. When a stranger had taken a
chastise from a dragon s liar to make amends with Beowulf, whose is now a king,
the evil dragon was furious. He went to Beowulf s kingdom and breathed fire upon
it. Thus, Beowulf was now ready for yet another battle with death. Therefore, this
symbolized another good versus evil battle. Wiglaf showed goodness by helping
Beowulf defeat the dragon when the others would not. But then the dragon
showed equal evil when he shot poison through Beowulf s net. So, in the end of
this final battle, it was good and evil that perished. However, Wiglaf took over the
kingdom and good once again prevailed.
The overall effect this theme had on the poem as a piece of literature was by
Beowulf represented good and Grendel represented evil. Beowulf had killed
Grendel when Grendel had attacked Hrothgar s kingdom. After he killed Grendel
he had to kill Grendel s mother too, who was also evil. So he set out to the murky
swamps to kill Grendel s mother. After he swam for a whole day to find Grendel
s mother he defeated her. Then all of the people in the kingdom of Herot danced,
feasted, and rejoiced for the rest of the night. Beowulf was then seen as a hero and
was given the throne to be the king of Geatland. Everything went well for fifty
years, until a stranger stole a chastise from a dragon s lair. The dragon then
destroyed Beowulf s kingdom. As revenge Beowulf set out to kill the dragon. As
a result, he killed the dragon but also died in the process. Wiglaf, a fearless warrior
who helped Beowulf kill the dragon, was then given the throne and the kingdom
was good again. Thus, the overall effect of good versus evil in the epic poem was
to show that Beowulf was a good hero and to show that goodness will always
prevail no matter what obstacles you will have to overcome.
In Beowulf, the theme of good versus evil was used widely throughout the epic
poem. Beowulf was seen as a good hero, and light was seen as a symbol of good.
Grendel was seen as an evil monster that brought terror to Herot, and darkness
was seen as a symbol of something evil lurking nearby. The theme of good versus
evil was portrayed widely throughout the epic poem during the battles between
Beowulf and Grendel, Beowulf and Grendel s mother, and Beowulf and the
dragon. The theme of good versus evil had an overall effect on the epic poem by
implying that no matter how much evil is in the world, it can always be overcome
by goodness. This was portrayed when Beowulf defeated the dragon, and even
though he was also killed, Wiglaf carried on the goodness as he had done before.
Therefore, the good overcame the evil.
Warrior vs. the good ruler.
Over the course of the poem, Beowulf matures from a valiant combatant into a
wise leader. His transition demonstrates that a differing set of values accompanies
each of his two roles. The difference between these two sets of values manifests
itself early on in the outlooks of Beowulf and King Hrothgar. Whereas the
youthful Beowulf, having nothing to lose, desires personal glory, the aged
Hrothgar, having much to lose, seeks protection for his people. Though these two
outlooks are somewhat oppositional, each character acts as society dictates he
should given his particular role in society.
While the values of the warrior become clear through Beowulf’s example
throughout the poem, only in the poem’s more didactic moments are the
responsibilities of a king to his people discussed. The heroic code requires that a
king reward the loyal service of his warriors with gifts and praise. It also holds
that he must provide them with protection and the sanctuary of a lavish mead-hall.
Hrothgar’s speeches, in particular, emphasize the value of creating stability in a
precarious and chaotic world. He also speaks at length about the king’s role in
diplomacy, both with his own warriors and with other tribes.

Identity (see b).

As Beowulf is essentially a record of heroic deeds, the concept of identity—of
which the two principal components are ancestral heritage and individual
reputation—is clearly central to the poem. The opening passages introduce the
reader to a world in which every male figure is known as his father’s son.
Characters in the poem are unable to talk about their identity or even introduce
themselves without referring to family lineage. This concern with family history
is so prominent because of the poem’s emphasis on kinship bonds. Characters take
pride in ancestors who have acted valiantly, and they attempt to live up to the
same standards as those ancestors.
While heritage may provide models for behavior and help to establish identity—
as with the line of Danish kings discussed early on—a good reputation is the key
to solidifying and augmenting one’s identity. For example, Shield Sheafson, the
legendary originator of the Danish royal line, was orphaned; because he was in a
sense fatherless, valiant deeds were the only means by which he could construct
an identity for himself. While Beowulf’s pagan warrior culture seems not to have
a concept of the afterlife, it sees fame as a way of ensuring that an individual’s
memory will continue on after death—an understandable preoccupation in a
world where death seems always to be knocking at the door.

Courage, strength, fortitude vs. skill, wisdom and prudence.

Religion plays a labyrinthine role in Beowulf. The two prominent types of traits
in this epic poem are Christian and pagan. Christian traits describe a person who
follows one deity, one God. Pagan traits describe a person who follows no one
deity. Christian traits include: wisdom, unselfishness, and the ability to kill to
protect. Pagan traits include: strength, courage, fortitude, and the belief in Fate.
Beowulf expresses the pagan trait of strength, which is displayed in the battles he
faces against the various monsters. Beowulf wrestles Grendel with his bare
hands, and tears his arm off. Beowulf is a firm myrmidon of Fate. Fate guides
Beowulf's every move and every event. Beowulf shows courage in the way he
goes into battle unaware of what will become of him. When Beowulf died against
the dragon, he was cremated on a pyre along with some of his jewels. This burial
ceremony is characteristic of paganism. Beowulf also demonstrates the Christian
feature of unselfishness. Beowulf's unselfishness is manifested when he leaves
his homeland in order to help Hrothgar vanquish Grendel. Beowulf also kills
Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon in order to protect the Danes.
Hrothgar, king of the Danes, is very prudent in his reign. He allows Beowulf to
come onto his land to help him against Grendel, instead of forcing Beowulf off
the land. Hrothgar is also unselfish; he is very grateful to Beowulf for eliminating
his heathen enemies. Hrothgar is a believer in Fate, he leaves every thing to be
decided by a higher and stronger force. Hrothgar is a gentleman. He welcomes
Beowulf with open arms and gives him and his men a great feast. Even though
he is old, Hrothgar portrays great leadership in ruling his people.
Grendel, although a monster, has traits of his own. He kills in order to protect;
he goes into Herot, Hrothgar's palace, and kills the men who was sleeping
there. Grendel kills the men because they were having a festival, making
numerous disturbances. He also wanted to protect his well-being. Grendel is
revengeful; he kills the men because he wanted revenge for them ruining his
peace. While Grendel was "feasting", he shows great strength in devouring his
enemies. Grendel prowls along the floors of Herot, breaking the men's bones and
ending their lives. Grendel shows the pagan trait of having a water burial. When
he was struggling against Beowulf, Grendel ran away to the lake to die.
Grendel's mother, also, has a water burial. Beowulf fights Grendel's mother in a
cavern near the lake, where he uses Unferth's sord, Hrunting. Hrunting dissolved
in the water, so Beowulf grabs a sword from a mantle and cuts Grendel's mother's
head off. Grendel's mother also kills to protect; she kills the men in Herot to
protect her son. Grendel's mother does for the good of others by killing the men
in order to let her son heal.
When Grendel was confronting Beowulf, he did not touch Hrothgar's throne
because it was protected by God. Grendel was created by the monsters of Cain,
who was banished for Abel's death. Grendel never knew God's love because of
what happened to Cain. Also, while the two were fightring, Beowulf was fighting
with his bare hands, because Grendel bewitched the soldiers' weapons so that they
would not hurt him. Beowulf believed that Fate would guide his every
move. Religion is a vital subplot to the overall understanding of Beowulf.

Pride.
The Anglo-Saxons believed that pride was a measure of one’s success in life.
Warriors who were victorious in battle were prideful due to their achievements.
The strongest and most successful warrior was elected leader by the witan
(council of elders). Since the leaders were the best of the best, they were the most
prideful men of the time. This Anglo-Saxon passion for pride is seen throughout
Beowulf. There are numerous kennings that refer to Beowulf as “the Geat’s proud
prince” and ‘Edgetho’s brave son”. In Anglo-Saxon society, pride was a major
factor behind the actions of men.
Beowulf’s fight with Grendel in Herot is where Beowulf’s battle prowess is
first exhibited. The battle with the monster results in the inflation of Beowulf’s
pride and his renown as a warrior. After killing Grendel, Beowulf’s kennings
describe him as “the mighty protector of men” and “Edgetho’s brave son.” Since
Beowulf defeated a monster that no other man could kill, Beowulf is immediately
heralded as a hero. Beowulf’s pride and respect both drastically increase after his
fight with Grendel.
Killing Grendel’s mother is the next epic task Beowulf undertakes.
According to Anglo-Saxon beliefs, Beowulf had proven his worth as a warrior by
slaying Grendel. However, Beowulf’s obligation to help King Hrothgar causes
him to seek out and destroy Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf begins to fight
Grendel’s mother, he realizes she is the strongest opponent he has faced yet. In
accordance with Anglo-Saxon beliefs, Beowulf would have preferred to kill
Grendel’s mother with his bare hands, but the she-wolf proves too powerful.
Beowulf is forced to resort to using an enchanted sword forged by giants to kill
Grendel’s mother. Despite that he needed a weapon to vanquish Grendel’s mother,
Beowulf’s pride increases substantially due to his victory. That was what mattered
to the Anglo-Saxons: victory.
In the Anglo-Saxon perspective, Beowulf’s death was the death of a truly
great warrior. Beowulf dies protecting his people, and more importantly, he dies
from battle wounds. With the assistance of the young warrior Unferth, Beowulf
slays the dragon that is plaguing his people. The king of the Geats sustains
devastating wounds from the battle, and he dies after the battle. Dying from battle,
or from battle wounds, was the way any proud Anglo-Saxon warrior would
choose to die. Beowulf’s demise is seen as an honorable and heroic act to the
Anglo-Saxons, because of his ultimate sacrifice.
Pride is interpreted differently in contemporary society. Society still
considers pride a respectable emotion, but there are limits to pride. If one’s pride
exceeds certain limits, it descends into arrogance. Arrogance then decays into
hubris, and from hubris, suffering is spawned. This lesson has taken society
centuries to learn. Another ideal that contradicts traditional Anglo-Saxon beliefs
is that death in battle isn’t always as one-dimensional as the Anglo-Saxons saw
it. The Anglo-Saxons believed that dying in battle was an honorable act that
denoted a brave and prideful warrior. Today, the belief is that dying in battle isn’t
always so theatrical. There is a fine line between lives wasted in battle and lives
well spent. Modern society’s view of pride is very moderate in comparison with
Anglo-Saxon Society.
The story of Beowulf is interpreted differently by contemporary society than
it was by the Anglo-Saxons. Throughout the epic poem, Beowulf becomes more
proud as each battle progresses. In Beowulf’s battle with Grendel, Beowulf
dominates the battle, resulting in a huge boost of his pride.
During the battle with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf experiences the possibility
of losing for the first time. Despite this, the proud warrior manages to decapitate
Grendel’s mother with the help of the sword of the giants. This is the first time in
the epic that Beowulf needed to resort to using a weapon in order to win a battle.
Even though the battle was very close, Beowulf’s ego inflates to immense
proportions.
In his final battle, Beowulf attacks the dragon that has been ravaging his land.
At this point, Beowulf’s pride is at its peak, while his combat abilities have
slumped due old age. Despite being weakened by time, Beowulf is still the
strongest of his men, the only man who has a chance at slaying the dragon. When
fighting the dragon, Beowulf’s weapons and armor are rendered useless, but he
manages to slay the creature with the aid of Unferth. Beowulf’s immense pride
leads to overconfidence, an in the eyes of modern society, that sounds his death
knell. From the Anglo-Saxon point of view, Beowulf dies an honorable death
protecting his people. It was the obligation of any proud warrior to sacrifice
himself for his people. The different perspectives of pride influence the reader’s
(or listener’s) perception of the epic poem. It is clear that the concept of “pride”
cannot be confined to a brief and simple definition, since it is a complex and
intricate emotion.
Mortality.
Most scholars read Beowulf as a multi-sectional poem, with the first being the
story of Heorot, where the Danish warriors celebrate their heroic deeds in song
until the attacks by Grendel begin. Beowulf shows a sense of honor by first getting
permission from his king to travel to Heorot to help. In this section of the poem.
Beowulf is challenged by Unferth, one of Hrothgar's warriors who doubts him. It
is Unferth, however, who gives Beowulf a sword with which to fight Grendel's
mother, in order to make amends. Beowulf responds by naming Unferth his
estate's benefactor if he were to die. After killing Grendel's mother, Beowulf is
given many gifts by Hrothgar, including an heirloom sword. Here, the poem
stresses honor, forgiveness, camaraderie, indebtedness and loyalty.
In the second section of the poem, Beowulf is made king of the Geats, which
teaches the moral lesson of fairness and merit. Because he is the bravest and
strongest of the warriors, Beowulf deserves to be made king, and he is. The
incident with the dragon occurs because a Geat slave steals a golden cup from its
lair, which teaches the evils of greed. The dragon, angered, attacks Beowulf's
kingdom. Because of his civic duty to his people, Beowulf must fight the dragon
and, to protect his men, he insists he do it alone. Only one of his warriors, named
Wiglaf, stays behind to help, a scene that stresses loyalty and friendship. The
poem offers a nod to the power of cooperation as the two together defeat the
dragon, although Beowulf is fatally wounded.
The poem ends with Beowulf's burial in Geatland. Given a hero's funeral, he's
placed in a tumulus on a cliff overlooking the sea, and the dragon's treasure is
buried with him. As with other funerals in the poem, the burial is the measure of
the stature of the man. The poem therefore ends on a lesson of heroism and
rewards -- that one who leads a heroic life is remembered well in death.
The supernatural
Beowulf qualifies as an epic for the following reasons: the hero performs
courageous dead, the plot has supernatural beings or events, and the hero s actions
determine the fate of a group of people. First of all, Beowulf, the super hero,
performs several courageous deeds. For instance, when Beowulf battles Grendel
with his own bare hands.

To face such a terrible beast with the greatest weapons would be a terrifying
thought by its self. He is willing to risk his life to save people he doesn t even
know. A second example is when Beowulf ventures into the swamps of where all
the evil lives to seek out and destroy Grendel mother. He risks his life just by
going near the swamp and he swims to the depths of its murky death to battle the
evil within. As well as performing courageous deeds, Beowulf also encounters
supernatural beings. Furthermore, the story of Beowulf, includes supernatural
beings that help make it an epic.

First of all, Grendel is a beast that lives in a mysterious swampy marsh. He only
hunts at night and he lurks in the shadows, you never know where he is but you
can always feel his evil presence. He is a gruesome monster with great power,
with razor sharp claws for gripping and shredding the place of hands. Grendel also
bears many human-like qualities causing him to be known sometimes as a
cannibal instead of a predator. The second paranormal creature is the dragon that
Beowulf battles. The dragon is a ferocious beast that can engulf an entire village
in flames with a single deadly breath.

Not only did he strike fear into soldier s hearts; his deadly venomous bite is the
terrible cause of Beowulf s downfall. Now that you know about the supernatural
beings, you will learn about the hero s actions and how they effect the fate of the
Dane and the Geats. The powerful fearless warrior, Beowulf, battles many
monsters and demons that threaten the lives of the Geats and the Danes. Beowulf
saves the Geats by destroying Grendel and his evil mother. Grendel was always
destroying and wreaking havoc in the mess hall looking for humans to eat, so
many people were afraid to even come near the mess halls. So Beowulf battled
Grendel to bring life of the Geats back to a normal state and extinguish the fear
that they dealt with everyday.

Secondly, he stopped the horrendous dragon from destroying the town and
slaughtering his men. The dragon killed off many of the Danes, and that caused
people to fear even setting a foot outside their own homes. Once Beowulf defeated
the evil dragon the people found the great treasure that the beast once protected.
Days later the great hero died from his battle wounds with the monster. The story
of Beowulf is an epic because his actions and decisions determined the fate of a
group of people, the story contained involved supernatural beasts and evil, and
himself as the hero, performed many courageous tasks.

Wealth
Treasure plays an important part in the poem. Many lines are spent on the
description of treasure, the appearance and history of swords, armour and neck-
rings. Beowulf in his dying moments wishes to see the hoard he has won for his
people. The prominent role of treasure has irked especially Christian-minded
critics, who have accused Beowulf of avarice. One's dying thoughts ought to be
concerned with the afterlife, not worldly treasure, and Christian Anglo-Saxons
would easily recognise Beowulf's shortcomings in this scene. In the resulting
reading, the gold hoard deceives Beowulf, who is unaware of the danger
represented by earthly riches. The gold draws Beowulf to his death (Bolton, p.
150). The problem with Bolton's approach is that Alcuin was a very unhappy
choice for a reader. From his famous letter, containing the line: "what has Ingeld
to do with Christ," it is clear that Alcuin was not very likely to read Beowulf, nor
was he likely to appreciate the poem if he did. From his writings, Alcuin emerges
as a rather humourless man, who might indeed have concluded that Beowulf was
an avaricious and vainglorious pagan who deserved to die and burn in hell.
However, I am not sure the poet held the same opinion. Our view of the mind of
the Anglo-Saxon is likely to be tainted by church doctrine; the body of writing we
have available has been produced and preserved in monasteries and churches. In
all probability, much more was written than has been preserved, and much more
was thought than was written. Although it is not very useful to speculate on the
contents of what was lost, there is no reason to assume that the writings we have
are a representative sample. The average Christian Anglo-Saxon may have had
ideas quite different from the ideas arising from the writing that has been
preserved from Anglo-Saxon times.
Loyalty, the lord-thane relationship, etc.
As leading characters go, you will not find one more loyal than Beowulf. Loyalty
is at the root of each step he takes throughout his life. It guides him in his decision
making and is one of his most upstanding traits.
When Beowulf comes to the aid of Hrothgar, it is because he feels a great sense
of loyalty to the king because of his father. In their younger years, Beowulf's
father, Ecgtheow, had needed assistance because of a feud, and Hrothgar had
come to his aid. This set the stage for the familial loyalty Beowulf feels and his
desire to help when Hrothgar is in need. Hrothgar remembers,
''Ecgtheow acknowledged me with oaths of allegiance.''
Beowulf is intending to do the same. It is important to him to do something to
repay the debt he owes to Hrothgar because of his father.
When he speaks to Wealhtheow, Beowulf explains that he will fight Grendel, and
he intends to defeat him, even if it means his own death. He is letting her know
that he is loyal to the end. He says,
''And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death
here in the mead-hall.''
After the successful battle, during the feast to celebrate Beowulf's triumph and
loyalty, Wealhtheow sits between Hrothgar and Beowulf. She has a request of
Beowulf. She says,
''Treat my sons with tender care, be strong and kind. Here each comrade is true
to the other, loyal to lord, loving in spirit.''
The importance of loyalty is critical in Anglo-Saxon society. It is one of the most
important qualities a person can have. Wealhtheow is asking Beowulf to take care
of her sons, to protect them when she cannot.