Beowulf: Christianity and Paganism

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at lines 175 through 188 of the epic "Beowulf" in order to examine the author's views of paganism and Christianity. It is also important to look at when and where this was written in order to understand the conflict surrounding the lines discussed. The author's choice of words, structure and cadence of the passage in question are also examined.

From the Paper:

"The speaker seems to be creating a degradation of the people involved since the progression goes from heathenish hope, to the back of the heart, and then to hell. The line following this uses the same alliteration, but all words beginning with "h" are capitalized: Head, Heavens, High. These words all refer to a memory of God who rules all, which takes the previous line's degradation into a new perspective regarding the goodness of Christianity. Another interesting method used by the speaker in Beowulf is the placement of the phrases "cursed is he" and "blessed is he," considering they appear at the ends of their respective lines, which creates a stronger emphasis on these two bold statements. The final line of this passage states "find friendship in the Father's embrace." This shifts the alliteration to a new sound, while at the same time reveals the fact that these people are indeed Christian at heart whether they struggle to show it or not."

More papers on Beowulf: Christianity and Paganism:

• Essay # 62939 : "Beowulf" and Christian Influence"
• Poem Review # 110871 : "An Archetypal Approach to Beowulf"
• Analytical Essay # 23966 : "The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost"

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