Beowulf - Analysis of the Epic

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is the most

important work of Old English literature, and is
well deserved of the distinction. The epic tells
the story of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named
Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster
Grendel, a descendent of Cain, and of his
exploits fighting Grendel's mother and a Dragon.
Throughout the epic, the Anglo-Saxon story
teller uses many elements to build a certain
depth to the characters. Just a few of the
important character elements in Beowulf are
Wealth & Honor, Biblical & Paganistic, and Man
vs. Wild themes. Many of the characters in
Beowulf are, like in most epics, defined by
their status. But, in addition to status, the
Anglo-Saxon culture also adds an element of
honor. To the Anglo-Saxons, a character's
importance, as well as their wealth and status,
where measured not only in monetary terms, but
it was also measured in terms of honor, fame,
and accomplishments. Hrothgar, king of the
Danes, is one example of the Anglo-Saxon
measurement of importance in Beowulf. In Canto 1
the story teller describes his wealth and
importance, not as mounds of gold or jewels, but
instead as his ability to "[lead] the Danes to
such glory." and as his tendency to "In battle,
[leave] the common pasture untouched, and taking
no lives." Through this display of compassion
for the commoner who doesn't fight in battles,
Hrothgar proves the full extent of his honor and
therefore the extent of his wealth and status.
Beowulf, the hero-prince, also proves his true
wealth and status through his deeds as defender
of the Danes.. As he fights and defeats Grendel,
Beowulf Earns Fame and wealth from his
companions, and from the Danes, but more
importantly, he earns honor raising him to the
level of an archetypal hero. Grendel, on the
other hand, is the total opposite of Beowulf. He
has no wealth, no honor, and he in infamous as
an evil killer. This lack of wealth and honor
defines Grendel as a symbol of evil and
corruption. In addition to using Honor and
wealth to define a character's character, the
story-teller(s) have incorporated alternating
Biblical and Paganistic motifs in the epic-poem.
The original Epic was obviously Paganistic due
to the time period of it's creation. But, as
time wore on, the rewriting and touching up of
the manuscripts by various sources including
religious monks, caused the characters to have
slight Christian characteristics. These
Christian themes have become very important to
the epic to add am element of depth that
wouldn't be possible in modern times due to the
lost of the Anglo-Saxon culture and beliefs. An
example of the Biblical motif in Beowulf is
Grendel. Grendel it biblically described as evil
in this excerpt: [ Grendel] was spawned in that
slime, Conceived by a pair of those monsters
born Of Cain, murderous creatures banished By
God, punished forever for the crime Of Abel's
death. The Almighty drove Those demons out, and
their exile was bitter, Shut away from men; they
split Into a thousand forms of evil--spirits And
feinds, goblins, monsters, giants, A brood
forever opposing the Lord's Will, and again and
again defeated. The Biblical reference in the
epic has become a modern day archetypal motif,
and serves to give the listener an idea of the
extent of Grendel's pure evil and gives a
logical explanation for Grendel's murderous
behavior. This example, not only shows the evil
in Grendel's nature, but also the torture in his
heart caused by his Banishment from God. It
serves to give the reader an idea of why Grendel
would kill the Danes for no reason other than
their happiness. Beowulf also has a religious
motif to his character. One example of this is
in Canto 6 line 381 in which Hrothgar states,
"Our Holy Father had sent [Beowulf] as a sign of
His grace, a mark of His favor, to help us
defeat Grendel and end that terror." This
religious description shows Beowulf as a sort of
messiah sent by god to save man from evil. But,
more than that, since Beowulf is in fact not a
messiah, this description shows the good in
Beowulf's heart and the purpose of his mission.
Another Biblical reference in Beowulf is shown
in the tower of Herot which is very similar to
the tower of Babel in the fact that it's built
as a sign of superiority and accomplishment.
Like Babel, though, Herot only serves as a
symbol of downfall more than one of glory
because it causes many deaths and the coming of
Grendel. Apart from Wealth, Honor, and
Paganistic vs. Biblical themes and motifs,
character is also shown through a certain Man
vs. Wild motif. This motif shows the difference
between mankind's ways (good), and evil's wild
nature (evil). Grendel for one, is totally wild
and is therefore shown as evil. His wild home,
"Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild
marshes, and made his home in a hell not hell
but earth." shows his wild, untamed, and
therefor evil nature. Grendel's wilderness is
countered in mankind's ways, especially
Beowulf's. Beowulf is tame and civilized, the
epitomy of goodness and purity. Beowulf doesn't
fight evil in a wild manner, rather, as shown in
his first battle with Grendel. First off,
Beowulf is pure and shows this before his battle
when he removes his armor and vows not to use a
weapon to defeat Grendel. Defeating Grendel, he
shows that man, without armor and weapons, can
defeat evil in any form including that of his
foe Grendel. This deed serves throughout the
epic serves as a symbol of Beowulf's Goodness.
Beowulf has many other such archetypal, symbolic
themes and motifs, but the most important themes
that serve to add depth to the characters are
the wealth, honor, religious, man, and wildness
themes. These themes don't only serve to define
a character, but they also factor in as a motive
for their actions.