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Essay / Dreams and Reality in Beowulf
Beowulf is an anonymously written heroic poem that involved many conflicting characters in which the main character, Beowulf, felt inspired to challenge. During the Anglo-Saxon period, many written texts were published anonymously. This was a period in which it was normal to leave impersonal poems or works of art as a source of wisdom and is described by stating: "The fact that all of these come from various Latin sources suggests that the poets anonymous were likely to have been clerics with a strong, if bookish, historical sense of their romantic "importance". They were each written for a specific purpose but wanted to leave it nameless to society. "...an Old English version written by an anonymous glossary, gives a fascinating insight into the Anglo-Saxon monastic class." In this particular poem, the aim was to show the values of strength, loyalty and courage. Beowulf faced different monsters with different levels of struggle each time. This poem is considered as follows: "Breaking oath and the murder of relatives, although clearly cardinal sins of tribal societies...themes of the epic, seem rather distant from the remarkable Beowulf himself." During the Anglo-Saxon period, heroes and warriors were important, so Beowulf was highly regarded and they were happy with his choices of actions. The poem Beowulf incorporates the dreams, reality, and expectations of certain characters as a source of confidence and courage used in the intriguing battles and deaths that took place there. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Beowulf received his call to adventure in hopes of defeating the demon Grendel, who was terrorizing King Hrothgar's Heorot Hall . When he arrived at the Danes, Beowulf offered to defeat Grendel and after King Hrothgar's approval, they had a feast to celebrate. He had enough confidence to defeat Grendel saying, “So it won't be a cutting edge tool that I use | to mow him down, as easily as I could” (Beowulf lines 679-680). After the party, Beowulf goes to observe the room and watches Grendel break in and kill a man. Grendel then attempts to confront Beowulf, quickly realizing that he was not strong enough. Soon, Grendel is overcome with pain, then his arm is torn off and he flees home where he dies. Beowulf is a hero and was throwing a party ordered by the king to receive many gifts as reward. Then, one night, Grendel's mother, grieving over the death of her son, decided to take matters into her own hands and attack Heorot Hall. Beowulf then goes to find Grendel's mother to kill her. He feels obligated to ensure the safety of his people, but "in reality, only the fight against Grendel is absolutely necessary to protect a people, to save lives." Beowulf realizes that he must go to her lair which is considered a very petrifying place if he wants to get rid of her as well. He was aware of his strength and during the fight he was confident in his fight saying: “The monster tore and wrestled with him, | but Beowulf was conscious of his great strength...he counted on the help of the Lord of all” (Beowulf lines 1269-1272). After a somewhat difficult fight, he finally defeats her using the sword he found. It was necessary to include this part even though it could have ended with Grendel's death, "...the fight against Grendel's mother as a demonstration of the hero's water power [sic], to balance his earthly power against Grendel and his air and firepower against thedragon...'. Beowulf is praised and given many treasures before returning home. "Grendel and his mother feel, react and suffer in an unmistakably human way... although he is a hero, who only needs to meet them and trust in God and his own strength". Shortly after returning home, a dragon watched over Geatland, ready to take back his treasure that someone had stolen. The dragon began to reveal its presence setting Beowulf's hall on fire. “When the dragon begins its ravages, Beowulf fears that he has angered God; before confronting the dragon, he tells his men of the death of the first...puts his life in the hands of fate” (John Tanke 368). Beowulf realizes the risk of facing the dragon and prepares himself. 'He wished good luck to all the Geats who had shared | his home and his gold. He had a sad heart, | unsteady but ready, sensing his death” (Beowulf lines 2418-2420). Beowulf realizes that the fight will not be easy and takes on the challenge. He finally stabs the dragon and thinks of victory, then realizes that the dragon's bite is venomous and he slowly begins to die. Before his death, he gave Wiglaf his necklace which declares him as the new hero to take charge. “A different perspective operates here, for the grace and courage of the hero are shown, not in the present context, but in the glory that Heorot once had and could have again” (Calder 25). All three feuding characters died because of Beowulf's courageous actions, but unfortunately, he also fell to his death during his last stand. Beowulf and Grendel's fight specifically includes the plan to destroy each other. The only reason Beowulf went to the Danes was his plan to defeat Grendel. He had ambitions to protect people, which meant he had to rid Grendel from Earth. It seems crazy to fight a demon, but Beowulf had strength and proved to be an honorable warrior. Grendel was a bit like a level 1 Satan, strong and demonic but nevertheless easy to defeat. Grendel represented the devil quite well with his little triggers, his constant slaughter of Danes, and his rabid attitude. Brodeur emphasized this by saying, "These evidences of Grendel's awesome strength... both stimulate the listener's allayed fear and add to the glory of Beowulf's feat" (Broudre 507). With Heorot Hall and Grendel, it was strange that he continually raided this hall and never changed its location. He obviously knew he would eventually get caught going back to the same place, meaning he knew he was going to die, but he did it for his own pleasure and satisfaction. This is similar to suicide with hostile content, like the 9/11 plane drivers who were trying to cause damage and make their point, but also proudly committed suicide while doing so. Grendel never exactly changed character since he started as a demon and ended up as one as well. He had the journey of constantly traveling to Heorot Hall to persecute and devour the humans there. They exhibited pathological behavior and seemed to have a strong love of violence. The fight between Grendel's mother and Beowulf involves weapons and lasted longer in a more vile environment. Grendel's mother had plans of revenge for the death of her son, but she was a woman of little strength and did not live up to his expectations. She could be considered a level two Satan because while she was no more of a burden than Grendel himself, she was in his horrible lair which was a more hostile environment and weapons were used, making him more aggressive. When Beowulf.