Beowulf: Geoguo

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Osolo Burton 11/25/13 Dr. Hanz Johnson History A101 Term Paper: Beowulf In a time where religious Pagan beliefs were beginning to shift into the new religion of Christianity, a new oral poem by the name of Beowulf arose and planted itself somewhere between the 8th-11th centuries. Beowulf is a poem or short story of a heroic warrior from the land of Geats that saves a ravaged village from the abomination Grendel that constantly terrorizes them. When Grendel is slain by the hero Beowulf, Grendel’s mother seeks revenge on Beowulf and attempts to kill him. Beowulf evades death and slays Grendel’s mother and eventually becomes King of a great land. Fifty years into the future Beowulf is faced with a horrendous dragon and gets into an epic battle with it. Beowulf slays the dragon but pays for his victory with his own life from a life threatening injury caused by the battle. He is then buried gracefully. Beowulf displays a hero that has to fight for his right of reputation and glory. It displays cultural ties between these early Anglo-Saxon periods; when glory in battle was of the up-most respect. From my interpretation, Beowulf is a poem on how one achieves ultimate glory through battle and reputation that appeals to most young warriors during the time known as geoguo. Beowulf comes to the aid of Hrothgar despite the infamous reputation of Grendel. Hrothgar knows Beowulf from his father and the rumour that he has great strength. However, these rumours gave him no real reputation and he would have to prove his accolades in his battle with Grendel. Young geoguo warriors hearing the story during this time frame would relate to Beowulf who at one time had no reputation as a warrior. This is a key factor in early Anglo-Saxon life where gaining a reputation and honourably dying on the battle field were held very important, thus giving the geoguo the ability to easily

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