William Shakespeare s Beowulf Essay - 4217 Words

Tuttle 1 Beowulf- Unfit to be King of the Geats For 1000 years we have been reading of the adventures of Beowulf, and his story was told for hundreds of years before. The tale is full of trials, tribulations, adventure, great loss, great victory, and wonderful battles. But, what do we make of it? Is it a tale told to illustrate the virtues of the epic hero himself, or is it a cautionary tale, told to warn the readers of the dangers of allowing unqualified men (or women) to ascend to a position of leadership and the inevitable results of such an event? The author of Beowulf takes great care to describe the hero in detail, and we, as readers, learn about his abundant courage and strength. We are taken on a tour through his early struggles, his successes against the great monster Grendel and Grendel’s mother, and his ultimate demise during his battle with a dragon. But one needs to analyze the unstated theme in order to fully appreciate the effect that Beowulf has had on readers for generations. Stanley Greenfield, in his article â€Å"Beowulf and Epic Tragedy† writes that, in the end, â€Å"For all of Beowulf’s efforts, he is reaped only with useless gold, for a nation soon to perish† (104). This is representative of the core issue at hand in this epic. Beowulf is unfit to be a great king, despite his physical prowess. Because of his early and continuing history of foolishly taking unnecessary risks, his excessive pride and lack of humility, the diminishing quality of his personalShow MoreRelatedWilliam S hakespeare s Beowulf 793 Words   |  4 Pagesselflessness, valor, fairness, and moxie. Beowulf embodies these attributes, and they can be seen through his actions and words. Beowulf shows more care for his companions and people than for himself throughout the story, from his dive into the mere to his final battle. Before diving into the mere to fight with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf requests of Hrothgar, that â€Å"If he came to harm, his gifts should remain with the Geats and his friends should be protected.† Beowulf has no self-interest in the wealthRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Beowulf And The Genesis Of The Beowulf1321 Words   |  6 Pageswhich is a recurring theme throughout in Beowulf. In the epic, not only did Beowulf seeks wergild for the death of his friend, but Grendel’s mother looks to avenge her son’s death. The need for wergild is a constant theme in the epic. In order to understand the poem Beowulf and the importance of wergild, one must understand the time period it was written and its purpose. Leonard Neidorf discusses in the article, â€Å"VII Ethelred and the Genesis of the Beowulf Manuscript† that the English leaders inRead MoreComparing Beowulf And William Shakespeare s Macbeth1554 Words   |  7 Pagescultures, and is also corroborated in famous literary works such as Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Key characters in these epics often rose to the occasion and made a positive impact on the society with their exceptional bravery, selflessness, moral courage, and steadfastness of character. There were also instances where the same characters didn’t exercise the best judgement. Although Beowulf had many more heroic moments than Macbeth and Macduff, each of them had their virtuesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Beowulf - Noble Or Narcissistic1002 Words   |  5 Pagescourage, outst anding achievements, or noble qualities. Beowulf lacks noble qualities. Noble qualities show what he will fight for what they believe in no matter the cost or the benefits. A true hero fights for the good in the world and what they believe in their heart. In the epic poem Beowulf, fighting for glory and honor shows noble qualities, but for the wrong reasons. Beowulf has an idealistic background which provides glory for him. â€Å"Beowulf, strong and courageous, is the prince of Geats. OnceRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Beowulf And Grendel s Mother, And The Dragon 854 Words   |  4 Pagesopposing forces. These opposing forces allow for a need to choose between right or wrong. In the text presented in this course, there are villains presented in multiple text, but within one text there are three antagonists. Found in the text of Beowulf, there are three monsters Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Grendel and his mother both were driven by inward desire that was created by an exterior force, but this does not excuse the fact they also differed from one another. Though theyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Dream Of The Rood, Beowulf, And The Canterbury Tales Essay1414 Words   |  6 Pagesreflects such rich history and customs packed into its literature. The foundation of much British literature that integrated the convention of British civilization came during the Medieval Period. The Medieval stories of â€Å"The Dream of the Rood,† Beowulf, and The Canterbury Tales contained some of the British culture concerning gender, religion, and the view of heroes. One aspect of British culture of the Medieval times was the stereotypes of gender and certain expectations in gender roles. For exampleRead MoreWhat Central Theme Can Be Found Throughout All The Literature We Read This Semester?1088 Words   |  5 Pages1. What central theme(s) can be found in all the literature we read this semester? Throughout the stories from this semester one key interesting theme as an adult was sex. Almost all stories had some type of sexual intercourse. In the website Merriam-Webster sex is define as a physical activity in which people touch each other’s bodies, kiss each other, etc. : physical that is related to and often includes sexual intercourse. Sex its not a excellent essay to write about, but as an adult its beingRead MoreMacbeth vs Beowulf874 Words   |  4 PagesBeowulf and Macbeth Beowulf, identified as an epic hero and Macbeth, identified as a tragic hero both are very similar and different in their own ways. The epic poem, Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney and the tragic play, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare both have heroes as the protagonist of the story. The stories written in two different time periods, still can be seen with many similarities and differences. A tragic hero is of high ranking and unfortunately has a flaw that they possessRead MoreLiterary Foils Of Beowulf, Julius Caesar, And Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde889 Words   |  4 Pagesin the stories of Beowulf, Julius Caesar, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Foils exist in the epic Beowulf. Beowulf is written by an unknown author and is translated by Burton Raffel in the Anglo-Saxon era. There is a force, vitality, clearness and distinctiveness in the characters, not only in Beowulf’s personality, but in all the other personalities (Brooke). Beowulf and Grendal are very contrasting characters because of their distinct personalities. Beowulf is a famous soldier s son â€Å"My father /Read MoreInfluence Of Medieval Literature On Modern Films1169 Words   |  5 Pagesin 1995’s film Judge Dredd (Simon, par. 5). Also, it shows how Macbeth was overly engaged in his desire to take over everyone, which ended with his death, as well as The Joker in the movie Dark Knight that ended with the joker being defeated (Shakespeare 379, 386, 387, â€Å"Dark Knight,† par. 8, 9). Another example of similarities influencing modern films would be in the story Beowulf when Beowulf â€Å"set sail to aid Danish King Hrothgar in his fight against the monster Grendel† (â€Å"About Beowulf†). This