Characteristics from the beowulf poem essay

English language 2050. 65L

3 July 1995

Characteristics of the Beowulf Poem

There are numerous characteristics in the Beowulf poem that make it an important part of the great literature. It is a perfect portrayal of how those in eighth century Britain communicated, what their thoughts were, and the culture. It offers us vital information about Old English interpersonal life approximately Old British politics and about many things that scholars would want to have far more information on. (Raffel ix) One other characteristic is usually that the Beowulf poem was passed down orally. The poem contains aspects of Christianity what type it takes inside the story. It is additionally sort of as well as of how the English terminology has changed inside the many years coming from then until now. The poem also includes many mythological references and it contains an excellent hero.

Beowulf is considered an artifact by many because it is the oldest from the English extended poems and could have been composed more than 12 hundred years in the past. (Beowulf 19) It deals with events in the early sixth century and is also believed to have been completely composed between 700 and 750. No-one knows whom composed Beowulf, or so why. A single manuscript (Cotton Vitellius A XV) managed to make it through Henry VIIIs dissolution of the monasteries, plus the destruction with their great your local library, since his name is crafted on one from the folios, Lawrence Nowell, the sixteenth-century college student, may have been accountable for Beowulfs upkeep. (Raffel ix) An interesting fact that is unique about the composition is that it’s the sole survivor of what may have been a thriving impressive tradition, in fact it is great poetry. (Raffel ix)

The poem was made up and performed orally. Outdated English civière, or scops, most likely began by piecing together traditional short songs, called heroic lays, then they gradually put into that foundation until the poem grew to its present size. The verse contact form is the common Old The english language isochronic: every line contains for challenges, there is a strong caesura in the middle of the lines and the resulting half lines are sure together by alliteration. Though little Outdated English poetry survives, Beowulfs polished sentirse and reflecting, allusive expansion suggest that it can be part of a rich poetic tradition. (Foster 501)

An element of the poem is the part and features of religion in the story. Christianity enters in the poem, plus the society, although more an Old Testament range, stressing justice rather than love. There is controversy about whether the Christian factors are intrinsic or are interpolations by a tenth century austere scribe. Regardless, the Christianity does not very much resemble that of the Substantial Middle Ages or perhaps of the modern day world. Frequently the composition seems a mirrored image of the classic pagan benefit system from your moral perspective of the new, incompletely assimilated Christianity. (Foster 502) In Britannica it says that critics have observed the composition as a Christian allegory, with Beowulf the champion of goodness and lightweight against the forces of evil and darkness. His sacrificial death can be not seen as tragic but since the fitted end of the good (some would declare too good) heros your life.

The composition contains words that people today might not understand or understand because the phrases have improved over the years. These are generally words like mead(Beowulf 34), mead hall(Beowulf 34), and mead bench(Beowulf 53) which in turn we know since beer, tavern, and bar respectively. An additional word is definitely mere(Beowulf 37), which is a lake. The word wyrd mentioned in Britannica is definitely an old word meaning destiny.

The author was very innovative in many with the words and phrases that he utilized that were not traditionally found in regular speaking. One example is using the word earth-hall(Beowulf 60), the industry cave underneath the ground. One more example is using the expression sea-cloth(Beowulf 53), which is the sail of the ship. A couple of others happen to be: soul-slayer(Beowulf 28), which means satan and water-monsters(Beowulf 46) will be the beasts in the sea.

There are a few incidents in the Beowulf poem that mention genuine historic occurrences. The story explains to about the raid around the Franks created by Hygelac, the king with the Geats at the time Beowulf was obviously a young man, in the year 520. (Beowulf 19) This

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