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Beowulf contains a myriad of different heroic ethical and social
values. Most of these values are ingeniously rooted within, or made evident
by the opposing forces of the poem. The initial opposing force arrives in
the form of Grendel, a vile creature who's rampages mirror that of a modern
serial killer. As the poem draws toward the conclusion, it focuses on the
dragon, a creature developed by the poet to solidify the rise and fall of
the archetypal hero.
After Adolf Hitler failed in his artistic studies at Vienna, he
began to develop what would become a reign of terror on those who were not
like him. His backlash towards a society that rejected him as an artist
spawned his anti-Semitic and political beliefs. The same anti-societal
anger has found its way into the minds of countless other killers, both
past and present. Take for example Theodore (Ted) Bundy, who in 1978, after
watching students drink and dance in a college bar, witnessed "a healthy
ritual of joy from which we know he forever felt exiled". Shortly
thereafter, Bundy left the bar and traveled to the Chi Omega sorority
house where he watched from outside, entered, and then killed two girls and
wounded two others.
Just as Bundy had done, Grendel watched and surveyed from the
distance. He waited outside the great hall, listening to the mirth and
celebration from within. He hated them. The revelers inside felt no "misery
of men." They were not uninvited, outcast, and below the social class of
Hrothgar's company. These feelings of inadequacy propel Grendel to
slaughter those who oppress him. For "twelve winters" he smashes bodies
and eats his victims, creating a bloody rampage and a dire need for a
savior.
The question of Grendel's origin is difficult to trace. The author
remains ambiguous throughout the poem, referring to Grendel as biblical,
but also suggesting that he is human. The original manuscript often refers
to Grendel as "man", but man" with a long vowel meant evil, whereas "man"
with a short vowel literally meant a man. It cannot be certain which
pronunciation the author intended, what has been butchered in the
translation, or whether this was meant ...
is a beautiful poem by William Wordsworth. In this poem Wordsworth describes how he feels and uses nature in doing so. This poem is very inspiring and gives one a different way to look at loneliness and depression. The speaker, at the beginning of this poem, thinks of himself as a cloud. He tries to express his loneliness, solitude, and isola...
"" Worksheet Key 40 points Name: Maggie Palumbo Instructions: Complete the worksheet after reading Maya Angelou's poem "." 1. List 3 similes from the poem: But still, like dust, I'll rise. Shoulders falling down like teardrops But still, like air, I'll rise 2. List 2 metaphors from the poem: I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide Ou...
Introduction The poems `Mending Wall' and `New year' written by Robert Frost and Edward Thomas are both similar in the idea that they both revolve around encounters. Both poems have many similarities in their presentation and ideas but are also very contrasting. Both have encounters, presented in different ways, some of the key ideas however remai...
In this poem, Booth teaches his young daughter a lesson about life. At the beginning he tells her to put her faith in someone she can trust, whether that person is him, (her earthly father), a mentor (a coach or teacher), or her Heavenly Father for support. He tells her to 'Spread your arms wide,' to open herself to all she can be; to set her goa...
The human institutions of nobility and dignity are often criticized by satirists. These satirists see these as arbitrary rules that man has placed on himself that do not help, and may even hurt them, in the long run. This point is capitalized upon by Stoddard Malarkey in his poem "The Princess, the Knight, and the Dragon". In the poem Malarkey's...
