Comparing Religion In Macbeth And Beowulf

Religion in Macbeth and Beowulf

Whether it be a play or a poem religion will influence how the author writes their story. Some writings might hold more religious standing than others, for example Macbeth and Beowulf. While both Macbeth and Beowulf express Christian views, Macbeth’s Christian standing is stronger because it doesn’t use paganistic views like Beowulf, and the characters express a more biblical background. Shakespeare 's biblical imagery in Macbeth is far greater than Beowulf’s biblical standing.

Macbeth was written during a time where religion was an important aspect most people’s lives and it was meant to please King James who was on the throne at this point. The main religion during the time Macbeth was written was Christianity and you can see this through Shakespeare 's writing. They believed that if you had faith in God, and

Even though they were portrayed as being evil, they were able to prophecies about the future just as God is able to see our future. For example the sisters told Banquo that his descendants will become great and will increase in number. You can also compare this with Noah in the bible when God told him that his descendants will amount to the number of stars in the sky. “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2. Another example would be when the three witches prophesied that Macbeth will become king just as it was prophesied in the bible that Jesus will become the true king (Wiliam). Even though the witches prophecies all came true, Macbeth still tried to prevent them from being fulfilled. This relates to how we are unable to change what God has in mind for us no matter what we do on earth. For example, in act 3 scene 1 Macbeth tries to stop Banquo from becoming the father of kings, but ultimately fails because in the end Banquo’s descendants still become