Characteristics Of Beowulf A Representation Of Anglo Saxon Literature

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Is Beowulf a Representation of Anglo-Saxon Literature? Beowulf is known as a turning point in literary history and is one of the most famous Anglo-Saxon pieces of literature. The name Beowulf brings up images of a powerful warrior battling fearsome monsters. But does the character of the fictional warrior Beowulf give us insight into the real moral values of the Anglo-Saxon people? By analyzing the traits that Beowulf shows, we can see what kind of person the Anglo-Saxons considered to be a hero. Beowulf is a very heroic character, with few flaws that are revealed until the end of the story. He is exceedingly strong, and this is shown in many ways. He possessed the raw strength needed to rip Grendel’s arm off barehanded. Grendel was a powerful monster capable of killing dozens of men in a single night and known as a horrible creature, yet its strength completely failed when faced with Beowulf. While other men had been mauled and crushed, Beowulf rather easily ripped an entire arm off of this monster, leaving it to die of its wounds. In the fight with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf was out of his element entirely. He fought at the bottom of a lake, in an ancient hall, against the mother of the previous monster. Grendel’s mother was immune to most sword attacks, but Beowulf managed to subdue her with his bare hands, and then finish her off using a gigantic sword that he found in the hall. This once again testifies to his strength. Along with these two