Maxwell Brennan CH 201 - 1109 November 20, 2014 Essay #2 Prompt #4 The Symbolism of Evil in Beowulf and The Odyssey One constantly recurring archetype in literature are monsters. Ancient literature has a slew of stories containing monster who terrorize, manipulate, and kill men. What gets overlooked in these stories is the importance of these evil figures that when juxtaposed with the heroes, make the protagonists look so heroic. Heroes usually follow a formula too which lessens their uniqueness
of Grendel’s Mother To the Anglo-Saxons, the most important figure was the ring-giver, followed by his warriors. Fighting was a great honor and the ability to fight well was highly prized. Yet, women could not fight nor were they expected to, and because women were restricted from the most universal form of honor, they were relegated to lesser roles in society. Women lived away from the battlefield, obtaining roles such as, but not limited to, peace-weavers, mistresses, and mothers. Beowulf is commonly
Through the epic Beowulf and the novel Grendel we can look at the world, we can look at the world with a larger view. While reading, we can see two extremely different perspectives on life, on where you do what people want you too and live by “the code” and a life where you have to create your own code because society will not accept you in theirs’. In continuation, through comparing the two, we can see how there are two sides to every story and how society wants you to think and the reality. To
background in the 1930’s included a series of lectures about Beowulf, and he became very well known for them. According to Colin Duriez (author of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making of a Legend), undergraduate and postgraduate students were entertained and influenced by Tolkien’s reading of Beowulf. According to a letter sent to Tolkien in his later years, “the voice was the voice of Gandolf” (Duriez 135). Tolkien was able to communicate Beowulf in a way that made a profound impact on students. The