Beowulf Is The Oldest Recorded Poem - 1328 Words

The epic poem, Beowulf, is the oldest recorded poem in English and at 3200 lines long, comprises roughly ten percent of the surviving poetry in Old English. Although written in this language, Beowulf focuses on the feats of the poem’s namesake Beowulf, a Geatish prince, and the invading Germanic tribes in Denmark. Understood early on in the poem, these tribes have a lengthy and powerful warrior culture; a culture heavily influenced by heroic virtues, blood vengeance, and paganism. Along with these values of the Germanic tribes, many aspects of Christian tradition coexist within the poem, which is most notably seen through viewing Beowulf as a Christ like figure. This depiction of Beowulf in correlation with the Christian allegories throughout Beowulf creates tension in the poem between the values of the Germanic tribes and Christian belief system. This has led to the widely supported theory that Beowulf manuscript is the work of a single, Christian poet. That is, the suggested religion of the narrator leads to conflicting ideologies within the poem because the author added many of the Christian features to the manuscript not originally found in the oral version. To explore this tension, I wish to consider in greater detail the values of the warrior societies found in the Beowulf, look at specific events in the poem, and analyze how these events relate to Christian tradition in correlation with the ideals of the Germanic tribes and affect the plot of the story overall. InShow MoreRelatedBeowulf Is The Oldest Recorded English Poem898 Words   |  4 PagesAlthough â€Å"Beowulf† is the oldest recorded English poem, it is amazing how it can still relate to life today. â€Å"Beowulf† is an Old English epic poem created by an unknown Anglo-Saxon author whose intention for this poem was that it be read aloud and passed down orally. In the epic â€Å"Beowulf,† it is easy to see how different the values of the Anglo-Saxons are compared to the values of our modern society when it comes to honor and value. In the epic poem, â€Å"Beowulf,† a major theme is the differences andRead MoreEssay On Translation Of The Movie Beowulf953 Words   |  4 PagesBeowulf is the oldest surviving epic poem in Old English literature. It is a tale as old as time, passed down through stories around the campfire, told through the ancient lips of our ancestors. There were many translations recorded as soon as writing was developed, but one was more accurate and popular than the rest. In the year 2007, the movie Beowulf was produced, and it combined many translations of the poem. There were major similarities and differences between the most accurate translationRead MoreTrace the Development of English Lit During Any One Period...as Part of Your Discussion Highlight How Significant Events in the Influence the Writing...Additionally Show How Characteristics of the Genre the Writer Uses3085 Words   |  13 Pagesplace the accent on the first syllable and to slur over subsequent syllables. The poem Beowulf, which has achieved national epic status in England and Judith, are among the most important works of this period. Other writings such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are significant to the study of the era, as it provides preserving chronology of early English history, while the poem Cà ¦dmons Hymn to date survives as the oldest extant work of literature in English. Researchers have suggested that there are