Rocco D’Ambrosca: 09/26/2005
Just about all ancient civilizations had epics. The Greeks had The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Sumerians had The Epic of Gilgamesh. The same is for the Anglo-Saxons who had Beowulf. All of these epics shared the same characteristics and all of them made references to the times and cultures that they came from. Beowulf is the best representation of an Anglo-Saxon epic because of its references to the ideals of the time and use of the characteristics of an epic.
In Beowulf there are several references to Anglo-Saxon times. The story gives a reference to both Anglo-Saxon times and makes use of a characteristic of an epic by making reference to the social custom of showing honor to a ruler. From lines 871-876, the Geats built a tower to honor Beowulf and sealed his ashes inside so that he could live on forever as the lighthouse. This shows great honor to their ruler and gives a great example of Anglo-Saxon customs.
The story also gives a view of Anglo-Saxon religion. On line 19, “He was spawned in that slime” (Beowulf p.34) gives an example of an alliteration or repetition of consonant sounds to describe how Grendel was born. From lines 20-24 Grendel’s birth is continued to be described as being, “Conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel’s death. The Almighty drove those demons out, and their exile was biter” (Beowulf p. 34). This allusion or reference to the Bible shows us that the Anglo-Saxons who wrote Beowulf knew of the Bible and were familiar with it and possibly Christian themselves.
A characteristic of an epic is to have supernatural beings, such as monsters. Grendel is a supernatural being and lines 34-37 describe Grendel’s attack on the Danes. “The monster’s thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: he slipped through the door and there in the silence. Snatched up thirty men, smashed them” (Beowulf p. 34). This monster Grendel is definitely supernatural and is also exaggerated with a hyperbole or figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated in emphasis to show how ferocious Grendel is.
During Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother there is mention of Anglo-Saxon technology. On lines 459-462, “Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him, tried to work her fingers through the tight ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore and scratched in vain.” (Beowulf p.47). This quote gives reference to chain mail that protected Beowulf and gives us a glimpse at what technology the Anglo-Saxons had. With Beowulf’s victory over both Grendel and his mother, he shows enormous courage and superhuman deeds, which is also another characteristic of an epic.
In conclusion, Beowulf is the best representation of an Anglo-Saxon epic because of its references to the ideals of the time and use of the characteristics of an epic. All ancient societies had epics. Even today in America, we’ve had the Star Wars trilogy and now even more recently the Matrix trilogy. The Anglo-Saxons are the same, and Beowulf is a perfect example of this.
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