"I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth. I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned" (lines 153-159)

Monday, March 14, 2011

Journal 2


Values of Anglo-Saxon society that Beowulf reveals are generosity, loyalty, and bravery. In Beowulf, Beowulf reveals generosity by travelling to the land of the Danes to offer his strength to defeat Grendel. He goes beyond what is asked of him and helps the Danes in a time of need. In Beowulf, loyalty was a major character trait in each of the warriors. They were each loyal to their king. An example of this is when Wiglaf made his speech to the men of Beowulf about being loyal to their king when he fought the dragon. One line from this speech that highlighted loyalty starts on line 778, “Let us go to him, help our leader through the hot flame and dread of the fire.” To get the whole essence of this speech, it is lines 763 – 790 in Beowulf. Beowulf portrays bravery because he stood up to any creature that he had to face in order to protect his people no matter how large it is. The universal theme that this reveals is heroism. Beowulf was an epic hero, and he craved being at a higher status than others.

No comments:

Post a Comment