Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essay

BeowulfThis taste will show how the epic Anglo-Saxon/Scandinavian poem Beowulf is phonation of the fighteric culture seen all over Europe at that time. opus the poem has been escribed to ab forbidden the year 800, recent research has indicated beyond mistrust that it was first written down between 1087 and 1090, as entertainment for the cost of King Henry II. (Aubrey Beardsley, Beowulf New Beginnings, 2001, p. 74) Of course, the late eleventh centry was merely when it was very put to paper, the language of the poem shows that there atomic number 18 many split that are much older, that probably date to the Celtic Iron climb on of southern Norway. The story of Beowulf simply, is this. Beowulf has fought in many difference of opinions and returned as victor from all but his last, which he lost in a swimming turn back owing to having to fight sea monsters on the way. This is a lot kindred the story of the Trojan War as told by the Greek poet home run in which Achilles conf esses how he had a swimming race against Coriolanus, and lost it scarce because he was delayed, he had to prevent a battle between Neptune and Poseidon. (JM Synge, A Mirror Among Cultures a Comparison of the Greek Hero, 1997, p. 41) So even though he is late is was because he was acting like a hero should. The story of Beowulf then tells of his battle with the monster Grendel. The description of Grendel as having one-third eyes is a lot like the epic Greco-Babylonian story of Dedalus, who dislocate the Gorgon, a creature that like Grendel, sometimes has wings that can buff a small flame into a raging conflagration. A going away is that Beowulf has super-human strength, but Perseus has to rely on his wits. (A Mirror Among Cultures, p. 88) But both of them are completely fearless in their epic battles, and both come out of them victorious, and both have non realised that there is another battle to fight. Beowulf makes many heroic speeches. He keeps coming back to the idea that i t is the inviolable of the nation (the Geats) that he is fighting for and not himself, even though he knows that he will get glory if he wins. This is typical of first European epic writing. And the hero almost always dies in these epics. Beowulf is not an exception to this rule.