Beowolf Essay

Christian Beowulf

"The Almighty making the earth, shaping these beautiful plains marked off by oceans, then proudly setting the sun and moon to glow across the land and light it;" (Ll.92-95) Here it is stated that God created the earth and all of its beauty. This is a belief from the Christian religion; Burton Raffel has embellished many lines like the previous one, in order for Christians to relate more to it. Beowulf is originally a Pagan oral epic, which was translated by a Christian priest. However, it is not a precise translation because of the adjustments made to fit Christian beliefs.

There are many stories in the Christian religion and in Burton Raffel's translation of Beowulf; some of the stories were incorporated into the translated version. The epic tells of Beowulf, a Geat from Sweden who crosses the sea to Denmark in a quest to rescue King Hrothgar's people from the demonic monster Grendel. Like Beowulf ridding people of Grendel, Christ rid people of evil. Many people see Christ as a heroic figure; much like the Danes and Geats saw Beowulf. This is not the only part in the story that is similar or has something to do with the Christian religion. In many other parts of the book, there are references to God or Christianity.

"To build a hall that would hold his mighty band and reach higher toward Heaven than anything that had ever been known to the sons of men." (Ll.68-70) In this quotation there is a reference made about how Herot is the closest thing to heaven. King Hrothgar is seen as a noble and kind King, he is almost seen as a holy figure that is why he builds a castle that is the closest to God anyone could ever be. Another example is "...when the night hid [Grendel], he never dared to touch king Hrothgar's glorious throne, protected by God..." (Ll.167-169) This suggests that Herot is a holy place and thus is protected by God; therefore, evil such as Grendel cannot touch it.

The monsters in this epic represent evil, and like Christ, Beowulf rids the town of evil. "Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend, Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in a hell" (Ll.101-103) Once again we see the references to Heaven and Hell. Grendel is said to live in a hell, like the devil in the Christian religion, while King Hrothgar lives in Herot, the closest thing to Heaven. "Murderous creatures