On a side we have an old sailor who tells the hardships to be faced on the sea. ... The old sailor represents the sea; he says that the sea is a place of isolation and insecurity. ... Relate the contrast between the seasons to the conflict of opinion between the old sailor and the young man. ... The feelings of the old sailor are common of old age: insecurity, fear of death, loneliness; they are within the mind of an old man. The feelings of the youth are present within the mind of an young man. ...

• Word Count: 446
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Beowulf, a strong leader, a man with a great deal of deeds under his belt, seeking revenge for lives lost. ... "Your Beowulf, are you- the same who boastful fool who fought a swimming match with Brecca both of you daring and young and proud, exploring the deepest Seas, risking your lives for no reason but the danger?" ... Beowulf kills the man-eating monster that killed a lot of Hrothgar men not only that but kills the monster Grendel's mother all single handedly. ... "Fifty winters pass, Beowulf, now an old man, faces his final task:"(that was not my Quote). " Togethe...

• Word Count: 477
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Even in his old age, his code of honor still obligates him to fight against an evil fiery dragon. ... "The fiery dragon had destroyed the people's stronghold, the land along the sea, the heart of the country." ... Hrothgar had a younger stronger man take his place in battle so that he could continue being king. ... The dragon also dies, and its body is pushed over the edge of the sea cliff. ... After they burn my body, tell the warriors to build a great burial or mound on the cliffs that stick out into the sea. ...

• Word Count: 843
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Beowulf Within the first piece of written literature known to man during the early Middle Ages comes a character which exemplifies the characteristics of a hero. ... The monster runs back to the sea to die, and Beowulf hangs his arm in the hall to show that they have won. ... Beowulf goes into the deep sea, finds Grendel's mother and with superhuman strength, bravery, and courage he kills her. ... When he is an old man, his land is ruined by a fire dragon. ... Beowulf goes out to fight this dragon to protect his people even though he is too old. ...

• Word Count: 925
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

While fighting, the monstrous Grendel is surprised and: "Knew at once that nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder nothing could take his talons and himself from that tight hard grip."... While conversing, a swimming match Beowulf and Brecca, one of Beowulf's old friends, had comes up. ... "No man swims in the sea as I can, no strength is a match for mine,"(line 266) is how Beowulf describes his actual abilities. ... When he comes to fight Grendel's mother, the sea hag, the Danes tell him: "Save us, once more, and again the twisted gold, heaped-up ancient treasu...

• Word Count: 897
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

And Beowulf drew His battle-sharp dagger: the blood-stained old king Still knew what he was doing. ... But fate let me Find its heart with my sword, hack myself Free; I fought that beast's last battle, Left it floating lifeless in the sea... Although he does give some credit to fate, he talks about his battle with the raging sea and how he overcame many obstacles such as this monster. ... And so Beowulf's followers Rhode, mourning their beloved leader, Crying that no better king had ever Lived, no prince so mild, no man So open to his people, so deserving of prais...

• Word Count: 654
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The ancient values of Beowulf and his time coincide more with the precepts of the Old Testament (e.g. eye for an eye), than with the teachings of Christ within the New Testament. ... It is evident that the poet always picks opportune moments to attempt to fuse Christian elements into the story where they might serve to give a lesson such as upon the death of Grendel: the almighty has always moved men;/but man must forever strive to discern/good from evil, evil from good,/while drunk with days he dwells in this world (927-930). ... Fate is what is mentioned as the deciding factor in who s...

• Word Count: 1090
• Approx Pages: 4

The poem says, "they shouldered him out to the sea's flood,"" and this is also said to be how he was found when he was a child. ... One of the most important qualities in any man of this time was who your father was. ... As the other characters are happy and singing Grendel is living in no mans land. ... She only changed her ways when she found a man to marry, Offa. ... When he goes into battle with the dragon he is a fifty year old King and is skeptical about the outcome of the battle. ...

• Word Count: 2142
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Many Old English poems glorified a real or imaginary hero, and tried to teach the values of bravery. ... Beowulf was written in Old English as an epic poem. ... At this point however, Beowulf is old and tired but still manages to defeat the dragon in order to protect his people. ... Not only can Beowulf battle with the biggest of monsters, but he can also swim for as much as seven nights, and stop to kill nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean. ... His reputation grew as an honest and loyal man. ...

• Word Count: 1723
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Beowulf "Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror and quickly commanded a boat fitted out, proclaiming that he'd go to that famous king would sail across the sea to Hrothgar" (Beowulf 112-115) It was Beowulf's loyalty to the Danes that conveyed him to Hrothgar to overcome Grendel. ... In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful" (Beowulf, 196-198). ... This same notion is again when Beowulf is depicted as, "the man who of all men was foremost and strongest in the days of his life" (Heaney 788). This passage demonstrates the idea of...

• Word Count: 1028
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

"[Beowulf,] the Anglo-Saxon epic is the most important work of Old English literature" (Brittany). ... In Beowulf, evil can be broadly defined as the beginnings or principals opposing the well-being of mankind; malignancy threatens the social fabric of the human community, the moral code of heroic society, and man's relationship with the Drihten God" (Evil in Beowulf). ... After this vicious attack Hrothgar begged Beowulf to come once more to aid him in bringing peace to the Danes and Beowulf agrees saying, "It is better for a man to avenge his friend than much mourn." ... The ware-str...

• Word Count: 2051
• Approx Pages: 8

When Beowulf is informed that the Danes are constantly being attacked by a monster known as Grendel, he takes it upon himself to travel across the sea to the land of Shieldings. ... He will also gain an alliance with Hrothgar and his people, but most importantly he will be repaying an old debt. ... The fact that he wants to level the playing field while fighting Grendel shows a lot about Beowulf as a man, and as a warrior. ... Just as it would be for any other man, it was hard for Gawain to resist the temptation to sleep with the Lords wife. ... What Sir Gawain, and King Arthur, and the rest o...

• Word Count: 2583
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

When Beowulf is informed that the Danes are constantly being attacked by a monster known as Grendel, he takes it upon himself to travel across the sea to the land of Shieldings. ... He was the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful" (lines 196-198), that he agrees to challenge Grendel. ... He will also gain an alliance with Hrothgar and his people, but most importantly he will be repaying an old debt. ... The fact that he wants to level the playing field while fighting Grendel shows a lot about Beowulf as a man, and as a warrior. ... Just as it would be for any other man, it was ha...

• Word Count: 2599
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School