Beowulf

22 January 2015

HOW DOES CHRISTIANITY WORK IN BEOWULF?

In order for Beowulf to represent good there has to be evil to complete the balance. The monster, Grendel and his mother represent that evil. The mere look of them leaves you with an impression of fear and sin. "He strode quickly across the inlaid floor, snarling and fierce: His eyes gleamed in darkness, burned with a gruesome light." (P. 1, L. 15-18)

Their evilness spreads to their home and infects the lake in which they live. "A deer, hunted through the woods by packs of hounds, a stag with great horns, though driven through the forest from faraway places, prefers to die on those shores, refuses to save its life in that water." (P.1, L. 63-68)

Like most heroes, Beowulf defeats the monsters. With each of the characters representing good and evil, Grendel's defeat shows Beowulf and his goodness winning the beasts' wickedness, just as we would view Christ defeating Satan!

As shown through history and fairytales, good can be seen coming out on top, over evil. For example, the white knight always defeats the dragon. Although the poem ends in his passing, Beowulf will be remembered for being his peoples' savior from the evils of their world.

Even though Beowulf is full of references about religion and faith, there are a lot of discrepancies throughout the story that suggest Beowulf is not a Christian. Beowulf speaks to God often and believes that God exist.

Also, Beowulf speaks of another being other than the Christian God. A pagan reference is the word Wyrd. Christians clearly state the existence of only one supreme. It also states anyone worshiping false idols will be punished.