Beowulf

Beowulf, an epic poem, was written around the ninth century A.D., and was also written in Old English. Beowulf was authorized by a Roman Catholic Priest, which is acknowledged due to numerous references to the Bible. Beowulf, the main character is a mighty warrior with great pride and concern for his fellow comrades and The Land of the Geats. Throughout the poem there are several challenges that Beowulf has to confront. The first is the battle with Grendel, a horrific monster, because he has been terrorizing the Geats. Beowulf defeats Grendel in the battle but has to face another one with Grendel’s mother who wants to get revenge for the death of her son. Beowulf finally defeats Grendel’s mother. In the third battle Beowulf has to fight a dragon that has wreaked havoc on the Geats society due to a servant that had stolen a golden goblet from his home. The dragon was defeated with the help of a young kinsman, Wiglaf, but not before biting Beowulf in the neck and eventually destroying him. Although dying, Beowulf was glad that he had won the treasure for his people. The second poem is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is a romance written about six hundred years ago. The author is known as the Pearl Poet. This poem is a

is a moral allegory, which means that the poem is glorified in a way, but also represents a moral idea. This poem is about a knight that has to go and find the Green Chapel where a Green Knight lives and respectfully get his head cut off just like he did to him. This called the ‘Beheading Game”.

The consequences that Gawain suffered for living right was when he was tempted by Bercilak’s wife to take the girdle. She told him that it would protect him because it was magical but not tell her husband. He gladly accepted the girdle and she then kissed him three times. When Gawain goes to find the Green Knight he finds out that he is actually Bercilak and that he knew about everything that went on at his castle. Gawain came to find out that the girdle represented sin, because on the third day Gawain did not give him the girdle, which he promised to the Lord that whatever he won that day he must exchange it to him. This illustrates a consequence of living right.

Sir Gawain in the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” also shows several ways on how to live rightly. The first is when he stepped up to the Green Knight and accepted his “Beheading Game”. He did this so that his king would not have to go into the battle and risk his head being cut off and never returning to his kingdom. He also did it because he thought he would be at no great loss. Another way Gawain illustrates right living is shown on his shield with the Virgin Mary, which represents his belief in Christ. He believes in God and turns to him when he is in need. Having her on his shield shows that God protects him and that God