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The article that I chose explores the relationship between the very pagan values of Beowulf with the few references to Christianity in the poem. Beowulf was written in almost entirely Old English with few words borrowed from other languages, likely by a Christian Englishman. While the poem was written by a Christian, it was written shortly after Christianity became popular in the area, so it is set in a time period when most people were still pagan and pagan values were very common. There is no mention of Christ or salvation as the characters in the poem are not Christian, based on the time the poem is set in. The pagan nature of the poem may be derailed by the author at the end, when Beowulf dies. The author wrote that Beowulf's soul go "to seek judgement of those firm in truth," which could mean that his honor and power on earth saved him, or that he goes to be judged by God. Based on when Beowulf was written, it is very likely that the author's family may have been pagan, so this may be why he did not directly condemn Beowulf to hell , even thought that is what his Christian faith dictates. Christianity trumps paganism in the general "problem" of the poem. The monsters that Beowulf faces and that bring about his death are physical, more short term problems, while the main root of the problem is the culture of endemic violence in the time period. The monsters are the pagan side of the issue while the society needs to be saved from endemic violence by Christianity and salvation.

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The Old English epic must be one of the most-translated poems in world literature. Some years ago more than a hundred complete versions were listed, and the flow shows no sign of stopping. The one which currently dominates the market is Seamus Heaney's of 1999, but since then we have seen Roy Liuzza's (2000), Thomas Kennedy's (2001), Dick Ringler's (2007), Craig Williamson's (2011), and now Douglas Wilson's, under review here. A natural question must be, why take the trouble to repeat a project done many times already?

Wilson's motive is clear. He thinks the poem was trying to tell its original and far-off audience something which they needed to know, and something which we still need to know: and his translation, with its accompanying introduction and appended essays, is there to make that obvious to us. The reason it has not been obvious from the start is the poem's bafflingly enigmatic nature. Not only is the poem one of the most-translated in world literature, it is also-to judge from the number of scholarly books and articles about it-quite definitely the most-studied work in English literature. But still there is no consensus about it.

Problems were always there, even on the most basic level of what was happening. The poem's first editor, Grimur Thorkelin, operated on the assumption that his own native Icelandic was a good enough guide for reading archaic English, but this turned out to be completely wrong. The most famous of his misunderstandings was not to realize that the poem opens with a ship-burial: he thought it was describing the preparations for a Viking raid. Two hundred years of study have cleared up that and many other issues, but in a way, better understanding of surface difficulties has only revealed enigmas deeper down.

Of these the greatest is the issue of total contradiction between the poem's internal and external contexts. Nothing is certain in Beowulf studies, but on the whole most scholars would agree that the poem was written ...

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The Old English epic must be one of the most-translated poems in world literature. Some years ago more than a hundred complete versions were listed, and the flow shows no sign of stopping.

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I am posting the link to Alyssa Westberry's post on the unit 2 page. Alyssa is in eighth period, and her post is of a quote about how darkness is ever present. The quote states that "no matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it," which relates to what we studied in unit 2. In class, we looked at examples of darkness in everyday life as well as in literature. The quote from Alyssa's post sums up the idea studied in class that darkness is an ever present part of life.

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Grendel is unable to find happiness in his life, so I feel that he would identify with angry music, such as the song "Murder Was The Case That They Gave Me" by LeATHERMOUTH. Grendel would identify with this song because it is about ruthlessly killing someone, just as Grendel often ruthlessly kills Hrothgar's men. Grendel feels no remorse about his attacks on Hrothgar's men; to him, their "cries mean nothing" and their "tears mean nothing." The fear that Grendel strikes into the Danes is what he lives for. He takes pride in being their "nightmare," their "shape in the dark." In the song, the speaker tells the victim that he or she "did this to yourself." Grendel may share that sentiment when it comes to the Danes, as they brought Grendel's wrath upon themselves in exiling his family.

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LeATHERMOUTH - Murder Was The Case That They Gave Me

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5th track off LM's debut album XØ. Lyrics direct from band website: i've tried so hard to keep it together. my blood runs cold, i clench my fists. i'll seize the day by the throat and watch it die. the last thing you'll see will be my face...remember this face.

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Grendel is a creature born of demons, so I feel that his physical form would be undefined to fit his supernatural origin. Grendel mainly exists in the form of shadow to "haunt the moors, the wild marshes" around Herot, waiting for his chance to attack the people. When Grendel chooses to attack, he takes a solid physical form in order to "snatch up" men and crush them with "his claws." This physical form is more stereotypical of a fantasy monster, with huge claws, powerful muscles, and gnashing teeth. As Grendel is not a human, he is not bound to a singular physical form.