Richard Machowicz once stated, “Being a warrior is not about the act of fighting. It’s about the ability, courage, and commitment to end the war within oneself and not quit until the job is done”. This quote from Machowicz reflects what the poem, 'Beowulf', is based on. 'Beowulf' is an epic poem written during the Anglo-Saxon time period which is a period that requires courage, loyalty, and devotion from a king, which is mirrored in the poem. Throughout the epic, Beowulf, the main character of the poem, mentally progresses from a strong, greedy, and selfish who neglects/abuses his gifts to obtain the ultimate boasts. Then after the time to a gracious, gentle, and selfless leader of the Geats, who devoted the final chapters of his life to establishing a clear understanding of his religious task on Earth and reflects that by protecting his people from a grotesque dragon and having a stable and 'wealth-worth' future once he passes. The strength that Beowulf composes is a gift given by God, and as the poem progresses, Beowulf becomes a clear resemblance to the Christian knight. The way religion is influenced in his life helps enhance Beowulf’s understanding of the importance of his gift. A critical character in the book named Hrothgar, who is the king of the Danes, recognized that Beowulf was once gifted and his religious duty is to not abuse his gift, comparing him to a detrimental character in the poem Hermond to show the effects of greed and temptations with his religious duty and also displaying characters who comply with their religious duty, such as Hrothgar and Siegmund, and ultimately how his religious duty is that now he is the king of the Geats.
Throughout 'Beowulf', religion is a relatively current theme that is successfully used. Beowulf, throughout the poem, exemplifies “God’s given gift of strength”. As made aware, Beowulf is the receiver of God’s impeccable gift of strength, Author Margaret Goldsmith composed a literary article that she believes Beowulf is given a more Christian interpretation rather than a secular one. Goldsmith states, “The poem 'Beowulf' as we have it contains indisputably Christian sentiments and vocabulary, and handles familiarly and allusively certain Biblical stories”. This notation from the article explains how 'Beowulf' contains a tone that would generally be detected in Christian texts. Goldsmith also points out how the poem describes Grendel and the dragon’s physical makeup, and how the text characterizes him to be a 'descendant of Cain'. In the article, Goldsmith states, “To such a man, Cain, the giants, the dragons, would be historical realities and at the same time symbols of spiritual strife continually existing”. This quote shows how relatively similar the dragon and Grendel are to Cain. Cain is known as an evil person in the Bible who committed the first murder of his brother in cold blood, and in the story, Grendel murders the Danes in cold blood for the 'thrill' of it and ultimately receives the biggest punishment from God by getting killed by God’s soldier on Earth, Beowulf. This helps broaden the reader’s view of how much religion is practiced in 'Beowulf' and it helps show how the Anglo-Saxon time period reflects Christian views. Discussing religion is an important accolade within the poem because discussing religion in Beowulf’s life shows the extent it is influenced.
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An important character that helped Beowulf, for one, to recognize his worth and his relationship with God, is Hrothgar. Hrothgar, who is the king of the Danes, is a 'model hero' who guides Beowulf on his journey to finding his religious identity. As seen in chapters 23-25, Hrothgar recites a speech to Beowulf that ultimately gives charge to Beowulf changing his identity. The author states in section 24 of the epic, “Belovèd Beowulf, best of warriors, And choose, instead, eternal happiness; Push away pride! Your strength, your power, are yours for how many years? Soon you’ll return them where they came from, sickness or a sword’s edge will end them, or a grasping fire; or the terror of old age, or eyes darkening over. It will come, death comes faster than you think, no one can flee it”. Hrothgar shows how pride is like a monster that can overtake you, like how it has partially taken over Beowulf’s mental state. Hrothgar, by incorporating this end piece in his poem, shows the importance of building the foundation of Beowulf recognizing his gift because it shows him to be a model hero for Beowulf and gives him a warning that if he continues his attitude and the way he acts, his promised future just won’t be what he is expecting. Hrothgar is an important figure in the poem and shows how his influence on Beowulf helps him appreciate the gift that was granted to him, not promised. When Hrothgar states “It will come, death comes faster than you think, no one can flee it”, this identifies Beowulf’s fear of failure. Hrothgar believes that because Beowulf is acting prideful, he is trying to hide the fact that he fears death and disappointment.
Within Hrothgar’s speech, he mentions two significant warriors: Hermond and Siegmund. As Hermond's disgracefulness and Siegmund exemplifies chivalry, the show shows how Beowulf should resemble such as Siegmund and Hrothgar, who complied with their respective duties, and also mentions Hermond to show the effects of greed and temptations. Chapter 13 reveals Siegmund’s tale. It is mentioned: “His courage and strength had earned him a kinglike; no prince, no protector of his warriors knew power and fame and glory like Siegmund’s, his name and his treasures grew great. Hermond could have hoped”. Siegmund represents one of how Beowulf should aspire to be rather than Hermond because Siegmund is very humble rather than Hermond who leads his people to tragedy due to his greed and boasts. Within his speech, Hrothgar states Hermond’s tale and how his downfall path of pride overtakes his soul. Section 24 states: “Be not as Hermond once was to my people, too proud to care what their hearts hid, bringing them only destruction and slaughter. In his mad rages, he killed them himself comrades and followers who ate at his table. At the end he was alone, knew none of the joys of life; Alive in his day but dark and bloodthirsty in spirit. He shared out no treasure, and showed his soldiers, no road to riches and fame. And then that affliction on his people’s face suffered horribly for his crimes”. These lines state how if Beowulf looks to be king in the future, he should not rule as Hermond did. Hermond resembles the downfall of pride and shows how greedy pride is. When pride took over Hermond, he led the Danes to destruction. He demonstrates how one abuses God’s gift of strength and his spirit is filled with demons, and how his flesh is alive, but his spirit, from God, is dead.
Beowulf’s journey to find and embrace his gift from God is reflected in his rule of the Geats. Section 31 states: “If glory is what he seeks: not killing his comrades in drunken rages, his heart not savage, but guarding God’s gracious gift, his strength, using it only in war, and then using it bravely”. He shows that he finally grasped an understanding of his gift and he should use it only when he needs to and use it 'bravely'. When he is hit with the 'dragon’s spit', he begins to give a speech to Wiglaf that was emotional and impactful. Section 38 says, “For this, this gold, these jewels, I thank Our Father in Heaven, Ruler of the Earth—For all of this, that his grace has given me, allowed me to bring to my people while breath still came to my lips. I sold my life for this treasure, and I sold it well”. He demonstrates how he progresses from a prideful and boastful soldier to a brave guardian of God’s gift. He fought the fight for his people to show his bravery and establish a safe and fortune-filled future for his people once he passed. Before the time jump through Hrothgar, Beowulf acknowledged his fear of death, but after he accepts it. Lines 2585-2586 state that “Edgetho’s famous son stared at death”, then lines 2819-2820 state how “his soul left his flesh, flew to glory”, showing how he fulfilled his mission on Earth. He finally understands that death is real and he will face it eventually. Once he is called into God’s glory, he accepts death and his soul is taken to be with the Lord, which ultimately showed how humble he was for his people because he accurately resembles a soldier of Christ. Having Beowulf ultimately reach his purpose: recognizing that Beowulf is a noble warrior and a recipient of Christ’s gift.
Within the epic poem, Beowulf’s journey of finding his purpose is revealed to us, as he receives God’s gracious gift, seeing how he adapted, recognized, and protected his gift until the end. Incorporating how Hrothgar warns Beowulf that he has a gift and he should protect it rather than abuse it. Stating how he shouldn’t act as Hermond, but rather be reflective of Siegmund, but also displaying himself to act like both Siegmund and Hrothgar, who followed their royal duties. Demonstrating how much religion is influenced by the epic. And finally, him as a king, the advice he was given to reflect that towards his people. Beowulf shows his growth of maturity throughout the poem and that when a gift is bestowed upon us, we should act accordingly with it.
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