essay on beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

In Beowulf, both pagan and Christian elements are present which add religious contrast to the poem. The poem begins with the king, Hrothgar, taking the quite a little of the Danes. During his reign, one of Hrothgars accomplishments included the building of the great Mead h completely which served as a place of relaxation for his troops. Years passed and an evil monster came and terrorized the Hall. Then the great warrior, Beowulf, a foreigner offered to help rid the town of the monster. In the end, good triumphed over evil as he defeated the monster and returned the city to its people. ease up in this poem are certain forms of evil. The greatest of these is the descendent of Cains evil against his brother Abel. After Cain killed Abel God punished him by exiling him from the kingdom of God. From Cains soul came evil monsters, one in particular, Grendel. He was a demon a fiend who haunted the moors, the wild marshes and made his home in funny farm (actually earth). King Hrothgar fin ished a great mead hall for his warriors to relax and reside in when away from war. Grendel, amused by the sound of drunkenness coming from the hall, kills all who reside there. This punishment and evil went on for twelve years. The people turned to the worship of pagan Gods, hoping they would take the demon back to the pits from whence it derived.After the hardship of paganism Hrothgar searched for warriors that could defeat the beast. A decorated warrior, Beowulf, sailed from the land of the Geats to help. This shows how God works in mysterious ways. Grendel keeps on attacking the great mead hall but refuses to go after the kings throne. God protected the throne. This is saying that God will defeat any evil that stands in his path. An example that God controls bread and butter and death is the line God must decide who will be given to deaths cold grip. Death is not the stand firm part of life. The mead halls gargantuan size symbolizes the peoples desire to be closer to God. Its reason for construction, so the people could pull in the heavens.Throughout the poem good clashes with evil. One example would be Grendel taking over the Mead hall. In this instance the mead hall would symbolize safeness and good harmony. One major important clash was when the townspeople gave up on Christianity and went back to paganism to get rid of the monster.