Epic of Beowulf Essay - An Epic Poem -- Epic of Beowulf Essay

Beowulf An Epic Poem To qualify as an expansive poem, Beowulf reflects the values of the culture in which it was created. The Anglo-Saxon culture and the poem cope many of the same values. They shared a heroic ideal that include loyalty, strength, courage, courtesy, and generosity. Like all epic poems Beowulf is a long narrative written report that tells the adventures of a great hero and also reflects the values of the society in which it was written. Both Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxons believed in those qualities as an individual. The strongest ties of loyalty in their society were to alliance and lord. A kingdom was only as strong as its war-leader king. In order to have loyal men, the King needed to repay them. In different words the men were paid for loyalty. They were sometimes given, land, gold, money, food, armor and other things for a reward after battle. Both the Anglo-Saxons and the characters in Beowulf are will to risk their life at any moment-they are inattentive to danger. The Anglo-Saxons acquired wealth by plundering treasures of their enemies. Every family formed a bond of loyalty and protection. A family was bound to avenge a father or familiars death by feud with the tribe or kin which had killed him. This duty of blood revenge was the supreme religion of the Anglo-Saxons. The family passed down this evil forever until avenged. Always staying loyal to family and the lord. (Allen, 12-14) The Anglo Saxons appear as a speed up of fierce, cruel, and barbaric pagans, delighting in the seas, in slaughter, and in drink (Allen, 17). The character of the superannuated Saxons displayed the qualities of fearless, active, and successful. The Anglo-Saxons are mostly a barbaric race, not savage and raw but mostly military and... .... W. Beowulf An Introduction. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1967. Collins, John J. Apocalyptic Literature, Harpers biblical Dictionary, ed. capital of Minnesota J. Achtmeier. San Francisco Harper, 1985. Emmerson, Richar d K. and Bernard McGinn. The revelation in the Middle Ages. Ithaca Cornell, 1992. Garmonsway, et. al. Beowulf and Its Analogues. New York Dutton, 1971. Gang, T. M. Approaches to Beowulf. RES 3 (1952).6-12. Gildas. De Excidio Britanniae in Wade-Evans, A. W. , trans. Nennius History of Britons. London Methuen, 1938. Goldsmith, Margaret. The Christian Theme of Beowulf. Medium Aevum 29 (1960) 81-101. Green, Martin. Man, Time, and Apocalypse in The Wanderer, The Seafarer, and Beowulf, JEGP 74 (1975) 502-518. Hieatt, Constance B. Envelope Patterns and the Structure of Beowulf, English Studies in Canada 1 (1975) 249-265.