Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Beowulfs Symbolism - College Essays

Beowulfs Symbolism

Authors often use events and things to symbolize stages in someone's life. Symbolism is the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing meaning of significance to objects, events, or relationships. In Beowulf, Beowulf fights Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. In the anonymous epic Beowulf, Beowulf's battles symbolize the youth, adulthood, and old age of Beowulf's life. First, the battle with Grendel represents the youth of Beowulf's life. The typical youth is very brave and fights for fame. Beowulf shows how the battle with Grendel is a representation of the youth of Beowulf's life by going to Hrothgar and asking him if he can fight Grendel ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

hears that Grendel does not use any weapons to fight and so Beowulf says that he will not use any weapons because he wants Higlac to think worthy of him. Beowulf shows this trait when he says, "I have heard, too, that the monster's scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Now will I. My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid behind some broad linden shield: my hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster." Third, the typical youth likes to brag about what they have done. Beowulf shows this third trait when he brags to Hrothgar about how he swam all the way over and killed all the monsters in the ocean. This is seen when Beowulf says, "I swam in the Blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned." I have shown you how the battle with Grendel represents the youth of Beowulf's life. First, the ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.

Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE:

APA
MLA
Chicago
Turabian

Beowulfs Symbolism. (2005, April 9). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Beowulfs-Symbolism/25044

"Beowulfs Symbolism." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 9 Apr. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Beowulfs-Symbolism/25044>

"Beowulfs Symbolism." Essayworld.com. April 9, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Beowulfs-Symbolism/25044.

JOIN NOW

Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays

PAPER DETAILS

Added: 4/9/2005 03:04:44 AM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Free Paper
Words: 543
Pages: 2

Save |