Many of the characters in Beowulf are, like in most epics, defined by their status. But, in addition to status, the Anglo-Saxon culture also adds an element of honor. To the Anglo-Saxons, a character’s importance, as well as their wealth and status, where measured not only in monetary terms, but was also measured in terms of honor, fame, and accomplishments. Hrothgar, king of the Danes, is one example of the Anglo-Saxon measurement of importance in Beowulf. In Stanza 1, the storyteller describes his wealth and importance, not as mounds of gold or jewels, but instead as his ability to “[lead] the Danes to such glory.” and as his tendency to “In

wealth and status through his deeds, as defender of the Danes. Beowulf to me is a great hero, because when God gives him the strength to defend the Danes, he praises God instead of himself like most other heroes. And when he fights and defeats Grendel, Beowulf earns fame and wealth from his companions, and from the Danes, but more importantly, he earns honor raising him to the level of an archetypal hero. Grendel, on the other hand, is the total opposite of Beowulf. He has no wealth, no honor, and he in infamous as an evil killer. This lack of wealth and honor defines Grendel as a symbol of evil and corruption. In addition to using Honor and wealth to define a character’s character, the story-teller(s) have incorporated alternating Biblical and Paganistic motifs in the epic-poem.

Apart from Wealth, Honor, and Paganistic vs. Biblical themes and motifs, character is also shown through a certain Man vs. Wild motif. This motif shows the difference between mankind’s ways (good), and evil’s wild nature (evil). Grendel for one, is totally wild and is therefore shown as evil. In this quote, “[Grendel] will run with [Beowulf’s] raw corpse and feed on it alone, in a cruel frenzy fouling his moor-nest.” Grendel shows his wild, untamed, and therefore evil nature in which he carries within himself, having no mercy on his victims Grendel’s wilderness is countered in mankind’s ways, especially Beowulf’s. Beowulf is tame and civilized, the epitome of goodness and purity. Beowulf doesn’t fight evil in a wild manner, rather, as shown in his first battle with Grendel. First off, Beowulf is pure and shows this before his battle when he removes his armor and vows not to use a weapon to defeat Grendel. Defeating Grendel, he shows that man, without armor and wea!

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Some topics in this essay:
Eternal Lord, Biblical Paganistic, Grendel Beowulf, Honor Paganistic, Beowulf Stanza, Goodness Beowulf, Including Christian, Grendel Grendel, Beowulf West-Danes, Beowulf English, wealth honor, wealth status, biblical reference, christian characteristics, depth characters, looked god, anglo-saxon culture, god strength, believe beowulf, grendel beowulf,