Essays on Beowulf

Essays on Beowulf

Being one of the most famous first written monuments of Anglo-Saxon epic poems, Beowulf draws the attention of scholars and teachers even now, which is why there are a lot of tasks to write a Beowulf essay. Some of them are focused on the themes, characters, and topics that are Beowulf only, while others may ask you to compare the Medieval epic texts or even find the echoes of this poem in contemporary culture and fantasy literature. Yet, even this isn't the whole list of Beowulf essay examples you can come across. What should you do if you need a well-written one now and can't write it yourself?

First of all, read any free Beowulf essay on our website - you'll learn a lot about the poem, even if this is the first time you hear about it. Second, if it still looks like it's not enough for writing it yourself, you can always ask our writers to do the job for you. Check out our samples below.

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We've found 502 essays on Beowulf

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Beowulf as an Epic Hero

An epic hero is the central figure who has superior qualities and risks personal danger to pursue a grand quest. Beowulf is a great epic hero because he performs many brave deeds such as risking his life for the greater good of society, and is …

BeowulfCourageGrendelHeroes
Words 2773
Pages 11
Beowulf and the Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell’s term monomyth can be described as a hero’s journey. Many heroic characters follow the monomyth, no matter the time period or culture the literature was created in. The poem Beowulf is known to follow the adventure of the hero described in Campbell’s monomyth. …

BeowulfGrendelHero Journey
Words 1060
Pages 4
Beowulf and Spider-Man Compare and Contrast

Beowulf is an ancient hero who became a king in pursuit of doing his majestic role in protecting the people against monsters that might harm them. On the other hand, Spider-Man is a modern-day hero, who not more than a newspaper photographer in a person …

BeowulfCourage
Words 651
Pages 3
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Beowulf Good vs. Evil

Reading the poem ‘Beowulf’, many ideas, related to the forces of good fighting those of evil, are present within its structure and within its events. The main character in this story is Beowulf who stands for all that is good in a epic battle against …

BeowulfCourageGood and EvilGrendel
Words 83
Pages 1
What is a Monster? Are We Monsters? Are Humans Monsters?

When we become envious of our friend’s belongings, vengeful toward those who hate, or selfish when we have plenty. Monsters strike fear within our hearts because they are giant, monstrous, ugly and uncontrollable beings. Humans strike fear in their peers because of their vengeance, race …

BeowulfFrankensteinGrendelMonster
Words 1264
Pages 5
Anglo Saxon Culture as Reflected in Beowulf

Every culture has its own set of beliefs values and customs. Cultural beliefs, values, and assumptions are directly and indirectly acquired throughout a lifetime. A culture is the sum of a group’s way of life and this is no different with the ancient Anglo Saxon …

Anglo SaxonBeowulfCulture
Words 913
Pages 4
Redcrosse Knight

Nurgul Zhanabayeva Alva Robinson Survey of English Literature 9 November, 2012 A Comparison between Beowulf and Redcrosse Knight At all times both history and people wanted heroes, who would be ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a nation. As the history changed …

BeowulfCourageEssay ExamplesGrendelNight
Words 1159
Pages 5
Beowulf Movie Review

In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements In English MOVIE REVIEW Of BEOWULF Merry Anjela M. MendozaSeptember 16, 2011 Ms. Maria Dolores Fiao-ag Introduction Beowulf is an epic from England. It is a story of a brave man who killed many monsters and died defending from a …

BeowulfMovie Review
Words 2272
Pages 9
The Role of Violence in Beowulf

It is clear that violence, or at least military action plays an important role in the world of Beowulf. The events in Beowulf’s life are strongly connected to combat: he saves the Kingdom of Denmark by defeating both Grendel and his mother; he serves as …

BeowulfGrendelViolence
Words 84
Pages 1
Beowulf Literary Analysis

Nick Paine 3/11/13 Beowulf Literary Analysis In the poem Beowulf, the issue of whether or not this particular period is more barbaric or is more civilized. The author of Beowulf is trying to present a certain message in the poem. The message that can be …

BeowulfGrendel
Words 462
Pages 2
Conflict and Beowulf

Ashley Ruhl 9/14/11 Honors British Literature Grendel Essay In the story Beowulf, there are three major conflicts. One of these is the domination of Mead Hall by Grendel. The second one is the revenge of Grendel’s mother after Grendel’s been killed. Last but not least …

BeowulfGrendel
Words 561
Pages 3
Similarities And Differences Between Beowulf And The Canterbury Tales

The similarities and differences within Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales are quite evident after reading both texts. Both authors, Beowulf, by Anonymous and The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer use literary devices to convey their message in each poem. There are similarities and differences within …

BeowulfGrendelPoetry
Words 1032
Pages 4
Beowulf characters

Author The Beowulf manuscript survives in one codex, the British Museum MS. Cotton Vitellius A. XV. In 1731 the codex was scorched, damaging the last two thousand lines of the poem. The manuscript itself seems to be scribed by two different monks, the first scribing …

BeowulfGrendel
Words 3375
Pages 13
A Civilized Society

A Civilized Society What is the meaning of a society? A historian might say a society is a group of people living in an ordered community that has a hierarchy. An adult might say that a society is a community of people that have certain …

BeowulfGrendelSociety
Words 1049
Pages 4
Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat, Order vs. Chaos

Order and Chaos If you wanted to understand order vs. chaos better, one might look into the world-renowned books of Dr. Seuss. His literature is not only clever and fun to read, but it also holds a lot of messages if you look deep enough. …

BeowulfCatGrendel
Words 379
Pages 2
Reflection Essay on Beowulf Paper

This old Chinese Proverb has stood the test of time and is true today as it was in the 1 100’s. Like the rest of us, Beowulf endured a Journey. Although filled with much more peril and hardships than the average adult, Beowulf ultimately reached …

Beowulf
Words 866
Pages 4
Beowulf’s Fame, Fate and Destiny in His Life

Beowulf was really a man who wanted to achieve a long lasting fame. The last words of the Anglo Saxon epic showed much tribute to his fame as it stated that he was the most enthusiastic man for praise. This is evidence that Beowulf did …

BeowulfFateGrendel
Words 111
Pages 1
The chaos in Part 2 of ‘Atonement’ is matched by the chaos in ‘The Crucible’

McEwan’s ‘Atonement’ throws its narration into an abject state of confusion in Part Two, with Robbie facing the horrible images of war which repeatedly return in his state of consciousness as menacing flashbacks; history has once again repeated itself in the destruction of French society …

BeowulfChaosCrucible
Words 1536
Pages 6
Beowulf – Critical Review

I believe Beowulf was written with an Anglo-Saxon foundation, but there was an attempt at relating Christian beliefs to the Anglo-Saxon ways. The main character of the poem, Beowulf, is portrayed as an Anglo-Saxon warrior. Beowulf’s values and the way that other characters in the …

Beowulf
Words 1484
Pages 6
Comitatus: Anglo Saxon

The phrase comitatus is exceedingly important in Anglo-Saxon culture, and is demonstrated profoundly in Anglo-Saxon texts. Comitatus means fellowship, particularly an allegiance between a chieftain and his men. This phrase refers to a very important tradition during the times of the Anglo-Saxons. It was so …

Anglo SaxonBeowulfGrendel
Words 699
Pages 3
Grendel, the Outsider

To be an outsider is to be someone who does not belong to the general population of society. Someone who does not follow the same principles, morals, or ideals as the majority. Whether by choice, or by being forced out of the inner circle, anyone …

BeowulfGrendelThe Outsider
Words 520
Pages 2
Compare and Contrast Essay Between Beowulf and the Hobbit

I just this day finished reading A COMPANION TO BEOWULF by my friend and classmate Ruth Johnson. It was remarkably clear, well written, concise, and chock full of fascinating insights and observations. Let me in particular remark on her last chapter, which concerned Tolkien and …

BeowulfChristianityDragonFantasyGrendel
Words 1856
Pages 7
The Hero vs Villian Dichotomy in Beowulf

Casey Kerins AP English Literature 10/1/12 In the Epic Beowulf, composed in the 8th century, the reader follows the protagonist, Beowulf, on a series of adventures to defeat three key monsters. This old English poem uses a series of motifs to help develop its themes, …

BeowulfDragonGrendelHeroes
Words 926
Pages 4
Judith- Compare and Contrast

Judith – Old English and Vulgate Versions Upon looking closely at the Old English and Vulgate versions of Judith, one can catch a glimpse of how culture was during the time they were written by comparing and contrasting the elements of the story that are …

BeowulfCultureLiterature
Words 1412
Pages 6
Aeneas and Beowulf

Aeneas was the son of Anchises out of Venus (Hamilton 208), prince of Troy, a vagabond exile who became consort to a Queen and father of Rome. No other hero of antiquity had the piety so treasured by the Roman people. For his part, Beowulf …

AeneidBeowulf
Words 1911
Pages 7
Seamus Heaney and the Translation of Beowulf

The poem Beowulf, edited by Daniel Donoghue and translated by Seamus Heaney, is a masterful piece of poetry. By looking at the roles that women played back in Anglo-Saxon times, one can get a better understanding into the function of Grendel’s mother in the poem. …

BeowulfGrendelPoetry
Words 1458
Pages 6
Beowulf Biblical Allusions Essay

Therefore, taking Christ and comparing him to the equally gallant and exciting ere Beowulf from the poem “Beowulf,” demonstrates the ways that the two figures share numerous similar qualities. In many ways, “Beowulf” has countless connections to the well-known Christian bible. The most obvious relation …

BeowulfBibleJesus
Words 482
Pages 2
Comparing Beowulf with the Green Knight

When it comes to groundbreaking, classical literature, not many works can trump what Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have done. Although similar through importance, readers would be hard pressed to discover any more similarities between the two. Beowulf is an epic poem …

BeowulfChivalryGawainGrendelNight
Words 1975
Pages 8
Grendel’s Mother and Beowulf

Not Just an Ordinary Person In order to establish Beowulf as an epic hero in the piece of literature Beowulf, he must possess all or most of the characteristics of an epic hero. An epic hero is the central figure in an epic who has …

BeowulfGrendelMother
Words 1015
Pages 4
Chaos/complexity theory

Chaos/complexity theory can contribute in bringing about self-organisation in the midst of change, turbulence, fluxed environment both inside and outside the modern-day organisation. Loose, disorganised systems can spontaneously acquire organisation, just as a shapeless liquid mass can, upon cooling, solidify into an exquisite crystal. Complexity …

BeowulfMathematicsMetaphysicsPhysicsTheories
Words 892
Pages 4
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Find extra essay topics on Essays on Beowulf by our writers.

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature.
Genre

Epic heroic writing

Language

Old English

Information

Length: c. 3182 lines

Text: Beowulf at Wikisource

Original language: Old English

Subject

The battles of Beowulf , the Geatish hero, in youth and old age

Father

Edgetheow

Frequently asked questions

How do you write a Beowulf essay?
When writing a Beowulf essay, it is important to first understand the epic poem and its historical context. Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem that tells the story of a brave warrior who fights against monsters and dragons. The poem is set in Scandinavia and is thought to have been written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries.While there are many different ways to approach writing a Beowulf essay, it is important to focus on the main themes of the poem, such as courage, strength, and loyalty. Other important elements to consider include the poem's setting and the characters' motivations.When developing a thesis statement and argument for a Beowulf essay, it is important to remember that the poem is meant to be read as a story, not just as a historical document. As such, it is important to focus on the literary elements of the poem, such as the use of imagery and symbolism, in order to make your argument.While there is no one right way to write a Beowulf essay, following these tips will help you create a well-argued and well-written essay that will engage your reader and provide them with a new understanding of this classic epic poem.
Is Beowulf an epic hero essay?
Beowulf is an epic poem that was written in Old English. The poem tells the story of a hero, Beowulf, who goes on a quest to kill a dragon. Beowulf is considered an epic hero because he embodies the values of bravery, strength, and honor. He is also a selfless leader who puts others before himself.
What is the main summary of Beowulf?
The main summary of Beowulf is that it is an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature, and has been highly influential in the development of the English language. The date of composition is unknown, but most scholars believe it was written between the 8th and the early 11th century.
What are 3 themes in Beowulf?
The three themes in Beowulf are the dangers of greed, the power of words, and the importance of reputation.The dangers of greed are illustrated in the character of Grendel, who is driven by his envy and desire for power to terrorize those around him. The power of words is seen in the way Beowulf uses his eloquence to persuade others to help him fight Grendel, and also in the way Grendel’s mother is able to use her magic to deceive Beowulf. The importance of reputation is evident in the way that Beowulf’s reputation as a great warrior precedes him, and in the way that he is more concerned with maintaining his good name than with his own safety.

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