(Holman, 1394-95) It is not by his own strength or his own strategy that the beast has come into such a position of world eminence. It is none other than Satan himself who has given him his great might and his throne and preeminent rulership over the other nations. How he will acquire such authority, humanly speaking, is only intimated in Scripture. Probably, he will seize the advantage of the leadership void left by the catastrophic defeat of Russia in Israel and the insipid response of the western nations to the Russian invasion. In any case, it is his dark league with Satan that really opens the way for him, the Devil making him appear so attractive as a world leader that other kings and presidents willingly submit to his authority in the stressful times just before and during the first half of the tribulation period.
John Milton, however, provokes conflicting tensions by playing with the character traits of Satan. Milton engages the reader to examine Satan in a heroic light by allowing the reader to identify with Satan’s shortcomings and desires. Milton also portrays God as wrathful, unattached, and distanced, allowing Satan to seem more appealing to the reader. When examining Satan through these lenses, it is possible to view Satan as a hero who is flawed and imperfect. The initial images of a hero are traditionally of a man, perhaps with super powers, facing obstacles, dangers, and challenges and triumphing over them even when the odds are stacked against them.
Ben Parker, a character on Spiderman, once said, “With great powers, comes great responsibilities.” As a leader, Beowulf has a lot of expectations to live up and fulfill. However, he fails as one because he does many stupid things. He puts himself at risk many times when it is completely unnecessary. When the scholar Renoir said: “…the ideal union of wisdom and action which is a necessary component of leadership,” he concludes that Beowulf commits every action wisely. However, I truly disagree with Renoir because, in my opinion, Beowulf is merely an egocentric loser.
“Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgment by God. (440-441)” The poet of Beowulf constantly emphasizes that death comes to everyone whenever God decides it’s time; there is nothing mortal man can do to avoid this eventual fate. Beowulf doesn't enter into his battle with Grendel expecting to triumph over the demon. Instead, he is able to fight Grendel with courage because he's already accepted that he will most likely die in the attempt. This morose attitude releases him from the fear of death.
Virgil’s influence on Dante’s Inferno Virgil’s influence on Dante’s Inferno An excellent poet in his own right Dante greatly admired the success and personal character of Virgil. Virgil is an interesting character greatly influences Dante as a poet and as the main character in the Inferno. In the Inferno, Dante turned the poet Virgil into the guiding character that was to be responsible for teaching and leading him along his pilgrimage through hell. Throughout the Inferno there are specific situations that demonstrates Virgil’s influence among Dante, as a poet and, as the main character. There are also other specific situations that demonstrate Virgil’s ignorance of Catholicism, which relates to his placement in hell.
Assess the view that the most important reason for the downfall of Henry VI in 1461 was his personality. In order to assess this view we need to examine his personality throughout his reign and how it affected his judging and his reign. As the son of such a great king, Henry VI was expected to be as successful as his father however this was not the case. Henry’s failure as a king has a lot to do with the fact that he was overthrown, which was mainly due to his personality. He wasn’t suited to being a king at all mostly because of his primary interest lying within religion.
Destroying humanity to create a more moral and respectful humanity is what Zeus was trying to accomplish. Deucalion and Pyrrah are choosen to start humanity again because of what they represent. In lines 324-325 they are described as, “You’d never find a better or more right-minded man than Deucalion, neither a more god-fearing woman than Pyrrah” The gods are after respect and loyalty, moral men who can live in peace and harmony. So they are spared and start the human race again. The gods want moral men, but they themselves represent the total opposite, immoral.
This continued for twelve years until the courageous Beowulf arrived to protect Hrothgar’s people and defeat Grendel. Much of the Anglo-Saxon lifestyle revolved around religion and the belief in fate and that God was always watching and protecting. Grendel, being born with demonic qualities, got very frustrated when he heard individuals enjoying themselves and worshiping their God. Grendel’s hate toward religion was in complete contrast to the Anglo-Saxon values and made him appear as the antithesis of a what a respected Anglo-Saxon should have been. Another occurrence which made Grendel appear as a foil to an Anglo-Saxon warrior was how he not only killed individuals for no reason (such as revenge), but he didn’t pay any wer-gild afterwards.
He represents Jesus and the vibrant, joyful mead-halls are representative of heaven. The monsters and their shadowy and dark lairs in Beowulf represent evil; they represent the devil and hell. Beowulf’s first battle, with Grendel, shows a battle between good and pure evil. His final battle, with the dragon, is more than a battle between good and evil; the embodies the idea of wyrd, or fate. The battle is a sign that even though good has the advantage, good can never have an ultimate victory over evil.
They are not merely now: they were and shall be, operative forever, beyond man utterly (Sophocles).” Antigone defied the laws of man because she believed in the higher law of Gods that she had the right to bury her brother. She believes the laws of the Gods are higher than the laws of the King. The King’s laws are strong, but they are weak against the laws of the Gods. The laws of the Gods are eternal; they will always be higher than the laws of