Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Beowulf
So since no one has really started blogging on Beowulf, I guess I will blog now since there is no one else to comment on. So I can't say that I enjoyed Beowulf, the first or second time, but I think I might have understood it better this time around, which is a good thing I guess. I'm not sure that I got some of the little stuff throughout the book, but I am pretty sure I got the overall idea, I hope. So here goes nothing. Lineage played a major role in the Anglo-Saxon culture. People were mainly known by who their father was. If your father was a heroic figure in society, then it was almost expected of you to also be a heroic figure. For Grendel, lineage did not help him. Since his lineage went back to Cain, he was thought to be unloyal and could not be trusted. The mead halls in Beowulf represent a place for gathering, a place for stories to be told. This plays into how Beowulf was passed down through oral tradition. It shows how the mead halls was a central key on how Beowulf is still able to be told/read today. I think that the Christians values were dominant because there were more of them expressed. The monk writing these letter for letter played a role in this because they had a more Christian based thinking. Well i guess thats all I got folks. Hope it makes some sense and not just random thoughts jumbled into one blog. See y'all tomorrow!
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10 comments:
Yeah, for Grendel, the phrase "sins of the father" really takes meaning. The whole "descended from Cain" thing kinda screwed him over from the start.
Of course, the killing everybody in the hall thing really didn't help him, either.
I agree, Amanda! Lineage is a HUGE thing in this epic poem. Good and bad.
I agree also that the Christian themes really just seemed to be almost afterthoughts. It didn't really work for me. It is such a stark contrast with the viking values... although, lineage is also important in the Bible, especially with Judaism.
Thanks Amanda, that really cleared alot of things up for me. I really liked how you eplained the Christian influences in the story. AWESOME JOB
I definitely agree about the monks playing a huge role in adding Christian beliefs!! They seemed to just stick them in,,,
I agree with you on the Christian themes being add-ins, they don't really seem to fit. And awesome job on the lineage explanation, that was really good! I like the mead hall explanation too, really great job! Thanks for posting before midnight tonight, also, by the way.
I totally agree, lineage influence almost every aspect of who you were in their society!!!!
yea like you told me at your house earlier its like "and Beowulf kills Grendel and Jesus loves you". but the lineage stands oout really well. its kind of like now with like well to do people like if you don't come from the high up families then they won't like associate with you
So I agree about the whole understanding more this time. :)
And that lineage is very important. If your relatives were awesome then your life would probably be pretty good too. But if you're like Grendel and your relatives "get in trouble" then you're probably pretty much screwed, especially in his case.
Great job with the lineage stuff Amanda. I'm really glad you mentioned it. It does play a pretty important role in the story huh?
I have to agree that lineage is spread out. It seems everyone knows someone who knows someone that knows that person that that someone knew at one point, and has some relation with that distant someone. Having good connections and lineage can come in handy
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