Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Analysis Of The Poem The Anglo Saxons - 1493 Words

The Anglo-Saxons believed that when a man was injured or killed wrongfully, he should be avenged by his kinsmen. One form of atonement for a wrongful death was the wer-gild, which means â€Å"man gold† where the family of the deceased was paid a sum to compensate them. Given that the Anglo-Saxons believed heavily in honor and leaving a legacy, since they had no afterlife, not paying the wer-gild was an extremely disrespectful action. This is displayed in Beowolf narrated as â€Å"†¦long against Hrothgar / Grendel struggled: his grudges he cherished, / murderous malice, many a winter, / strife unremitting, and peacefully wished he / life-woe to lift from no liegeman at all of the men of / the Dane-folk, for money to settle, / no counsellor needed count for a moment / on handsome amends at the hands of the murderer;† (Beowolf), meaning that Grendel was brutally murdering Hrothgar’s men for many winters and would give no money to settle the wer-gild, bringing d ishonor to the lord’s name. 3. Green Belt/ Girdle As he tries to be a good, chivalrous knight, Sir Gawain must flatter the lord’s wife while not insulting her or breaking his vows or promises to the lord. So when the lord’s wife appears in his room and gets in his bed in attempt to sleep with him, he has to flatter her and declare his undying love for her without sinning and actually having sex with her. After he successfully avoids her temptation, she offers him â€Å"a rich ring of red gold work, / with a sparking stone glitteringShow MoreRelated An Analysis of the Epic Poem, Beowulf - Anglo-Saxon Customs and Values Reflected in Beowulf1791 Words   |  8 PagesAnglo-Saxon Customs and Values Reflected in Beowulf      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Readers today approach the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf with cultural preconceptions very different from those expressed by the author of this poem. This essay hopes to enlighten the modern reader regarding the customs and values from the time of the poem’s composition.      Beowulf makes reference to Ingeld and his wife and the coming Heathobard feud:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   inRead MoreBeowulf And The Anglo Saxon Period1740 Words   |  7 PagesBeowulf The original poem, Beowulf, goes back to the Anglo-Saxon period in c. 650 and c.1100. Authors translated Beowulf many times in the Anglo-Saxon period to present day. It displays how a hero should be in the real world. He helps the people in the village and slays monsters. Everyone in the village looks up to him as he acts as if he were a role model. 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But what is the Anglo Saxon code? What is a code? A code is something to live by, often an unwritten pledge and standard to live by as one resides or partakes in a team with unity. Code is defined simply as â€Å"program instructions.† For instance, if one participates in a school sport activity, such as cross country, there is an unwrittenRead MoreBeowulf Character Analysis942 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Motivator (An analysis of Beowulf’s Motivations) Are everyones motivations to become a hero pure? This question can be hard to answer depending on the hero. Spidermans motivations for saving an innocent child were pure, but what about people suffering from hero syndrome? A syndrome, that has become a recent phenomenon. This syndrome makes people seek heroism or recognition by creating desperate situations that they resolve in order to become a hero. 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