Nabeel Syed

Mrs. Bradley
AP English 12
Beowulf Analysis
The ancient epic poem Beowulf tells the story of the Geatish hero Beowulf and his
encounters while fighting monstrous beasts to protect the Danes. While having its own unique
story, characters, and symbolic elements, further investigation using How to Read Literature
Like a Professor shows similarities between Beowulf and many other famous pieces of literature
such as plot structure, Christian influences, political implications, and hidden symbols.
At first, when reading Beowulf it may seem like something new but after reading How to Read
Literature Like a Professor one can see that it falls into the category of the typical types of
stories where there is a powerful hero who fights evil and saves lives. This can be seen in the
story as Beowulf is eager to show his strength and display his capabilities when he steps up to
fight Grendel when he hears that this monster has been terrorizing the Danes in a kingdom ruled
by Hrothgar. The fact that Beowulf is seen as the most powerful by his people, his heroic
characteristics such as bravery and extreme strength, and the good vs evil concept that is pushed
throughout the story, puts the poem alongside other superhero type pieces of literature. In How to
Read Literature Like a Professor it talks about how after reading many pieces of literature one
may start to see recurring patterns and archetypes. However, the ability to see these recurring
characteristics usually comes with experience so while someone who doesnt read a large variety
of literature could read Beowulf and not see any similarities but a seasoned literature professor
could potentially see a plethora of similarities.

Throughout Beowulf although it may not seem obvious or upfront there are subtle
political characteristics. In the story, it is shown through many different ways such as diplomatic
relations between kingdoms such as Beowulf's voluntary offer to come and take care of Grendel
for the Danes. This could have been because he wanted to strengthen the diplomatic relations
between the Geats and the Danes and let them know that they are welcome to deal with them.
Also in a way Beowulf felt obligated to repay a debt to Hrothgar by stopping Grendel because
Hrothgar saved his father's life. Beowulf's warrior code is also a big part of how makes his
decisions when he fights Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon guarding the treasure. These
fights can be seen as examples of him upholding the code. It is also prevalent when looking at
who has power in the kingdom and how it is passed down and inherited. The Danes seem to have
a monarchy as Hrothgar and his wife Welthow rule the Danes together.
Because of Christianitys dominance in society many Christian themes seem to be
prevalent in literature. These references could be subtle or very obvious. According to How to
Read Literature Like a Professor we live in a Christian culture and even if one is not Christian it
is important to have some basic knowledge on the Old and New Testaments to get more out of
reading European and American literature. Throughout the story Beowulf is described as a being
figure with the strength of thirty men in each arm and the other heroic battles he fought such as
his fight with Grendel and Grendels Mother. This portrays him almost as a Jesus figure because
he is shown as someone who is fighting for his people and in this case it would be for the Danes.
If Beowulf can be thought of as the Jesus figure one could also picture Grendel as the Satanic
figure because Grendel is the evil being fighting against Beowulf. Also in the story Beowulf
constantly references God and says his success in battles was because of Gods protection.

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor he talks about how it is important to not have
tunnel vision when reading literature and to have a more broad view to see things that otherwise
would have been hidden. He makes an interesting point saying dont read with your eyes
which means that it is essential to look at literature from different perspectives to find deeper
meanings and not only look at it from ones own point of view. In the poem when Beowulf is
fighting Grendels mother the description seems to be depicting a vicious fight between them but
can also be thought of to have more of a sexual tone to appeal to the male demographic at the
time.
Beowulf is its own unique epic poem but after peeling back some layers it can be seen
that with trained eyes many parallels can be drawn to other stories. How to Read Literature Like
a Professor does a good job of giving tips when reading literature and when applied to Beowulf it
revealed many interesting details.