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Good vs. Evil in Beowulf
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Transcript
Citations:
Shmoop Editorial Team. "Beowulf Theme of Good vs. Evil." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann. Chin, and Jacqueline Jones. Royster. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
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Good vs. Evil in Beowulf
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Beowulf's most important conflicts are with demons and monsters, emphasizing that he is a heroic defender of humanity, rather than just one more strong-armed medieval warrior.
- Beowulf fights monsters because it they are innately bad and evil.
- He fights on behalf of those too weak to fight for themselves.
Is Beowulf himself completely good, or does he have flaws?
- Beowulf fights for the good side, however he displays traits which could be considered evil, such as violence.
- "...dripping with my enemy's blood, I drove/five great giants in to chains." (232-234)
God plays an extremely important role in Beowulf, as do supernatural demons and monsters, but there is no single focus of evil, such as the devil mentioned in the epic. Why do you think the poet chose to make the conflict between good and evil somewhat one sided.
- God is referenced in Beowulf multiple times.
- "...help/ our glorious king, by Almighty God." (157-158)
- The writer decided to make the dialog between the good and evil as transparent as possible.
Why is it important that Beowulf has depicted fighting demons and monsters, instead of rival tribes or men ? How do the kinds of antagonists keep the conflict black and white?
- The Danes, Geats, and Swedes all appear as inherently good.
- As readers, we do not side against or for the Danes, Geats, and Swedes.
- However, we side against the monsters and demons that terrorize the innocent people in the story.
By: Barrett D. Cappetto
Connor Pulford
and Eric Whitley
Fall 2014
Beowulf's Antagonists
- Beowulf's antagonists are physically described as evil, for example, Grendel is described as a gross monster.
- The antagonists always directly or indirectly terrorize innocent people, which is a trait of Anglo-Saxon Literature.
- The basics of what is commonly accepted of good and bad helps the reader understand the 'black and white' factor.
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