Christian Sybolism in Beowulf Essay -- Christianity epic Poem Beowulf

Christian Sybolism in Beowulf Within the poem Beowulf, the poet utilizes the Christian religion to symbolize the elements of good and evil and enlightenment and Hell. Beowulf is the oldest known English epic poem. The manuscripts date back to virtually 1000 A.D., when two scribes wrote it down for posterity. The poem was handed down from the Anglo-Saxon period, and through the retelling of the poem, it changed a little each time. The poem creates an oral depiction of an epic hero who strived to fight against the forces of evil. There really was a historical Beowulf who helped the Geats and Danes fight off pirates, yet he was neither King of the Geats nor Danish hero at any time. In fact, he was not considered a man of any extraordinary qualities, more than different than the Beowulf in the poem. Christianity influenced much of the literature during this period of time. Although the poem never mentions Christ, the poet did use various characters and references to the Old Tes tament. The poet uses them sparingly, but the references to biblical events and characters are clearly evident. defend by God, King Hrothgar became a mighty ruler over the lands surrounding Herot. When Grendel, an epitome of sin, comes into the poem, Hrothgar was probably less worried about himself, and more worried about his people. He was not an old pathetic king, incapable of protecting his people(Bloom 47). He was described as being a famous hero because of his uprightness and great wisdom. Made of earthen walls covered by gold and ivory, Herots beauty and reverence reigned throughout the land. Herot, the great hall becomes an emblem for Gods word itself (Chickering 271). Fire has and probably always will be a representation of evil. I... ..., Beowulfs sacrificial death is not seen as tragic, but as the capable end of a good ( some would say too good) heros life (Bolton 1).BibliographyBeowulf. Elements in Literature. Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston. Harcourt Brace an d Company, 1997.Bloom, Harold. Beowulf. Blooms Reviews Beowulf. Broomall, PA Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. 46-47.Bolton, W.F., The unsanded History of Literature The Middle Ages. New York Peter Bedrick Books, 1986.Chickering Jr., Harold D. Beowulf A Dual Language Edition. New York Doubleday, 1977, 267-277 Gardner, John. Grendel. New York Random House, Inc., 1971.Price, Martin, et al. The Oxford Anthology of English Literature. New York Oxford University Press, 1973. 24-26.The Student Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.