Beowulf- The Primordial Struggle of the Good against the Evil - Literature review Example

of the English Literature ic and Modern of the Concerned April, Beowulf- The Primordial Struggle of the Goodagainst the Evil Since times immemorial, human consciousness has been deeply influenced and troubled by the primordial battle of the good against the evil. The human mind has resorted to varied genres and forms to narrate symbolize and pass on the battle of the forces of the good and the evil. It goes without saying that almost every extinct and existent culture and civilization has its stories of creation in the backdrop of which are waged the battles of the light against the darkness. Literature being a salient form of human expression has always been concerned with this engrossing theme. The writers in English literature have always resorted to varied methods to symbolize the fundamental concerns of the human intellect and the pivotal realities of human concern. In that context, Beowulf, which stands to be one of the earliest Old English works of verse, tends to be a symbolic presentation of the struggle of the good against the evil, in which the poet has adhered to a range of literary and thematic devices to turn out the work to be amazingly illustrative, interestingly engrossing and shockingly interesting and intimidating at one and the same time. For a work of literature to present the battles fought between the good and the evil, it is imperative to have a hero who is not only goodness incarnate, but also one happens to be larger than life, having the requisite strength, character and worth to be able to be the personification of the forces of the good. In that sense, Beowulf comes out as being a really perfect hero. Going by the fact that Beowulf is presented to the readers as a fighter, he not only comes out as being a skilled and astute warrior, but is also shown to be endowed with immense character and virtue, so as to be always loyal and concerned about the people to whom he owes his allegiance. The story is replete with instances and incidents that glorify Beowulf’s courage and warrior like ferocity. Time and again Beowulf is shown to challenge sea monsters, the embodiments of evil and filth and come out victorious against them. The other noticeable thing attributed to the character of Beowulf is that he staunchly believes in a fair fight and scarcely resorts to guile and cunning to scale over his enemies. The other thing essential for a super hero to appear and seem viable is that one needs to be endowed with enough of raw strength and courage to be able to come out as a force from which the evil shrinks. Beowulf dexterously fits into this ancient mould, which is timeless and ever fresh and is shown to be skilled and worthy enough to be able to stand against any evil. While engaging in a fight with Grendel, a monster that stands to be the embodiment of all evil lurking in the heaths and swamps, strictly inimical of all goodness and justice, Beowulf is shown to shun all armor and weapons and he engages with Grendel in a hand to hand fight. Surely this feat required much strength and confidence. This brings out Beowulf as an embodiment and representative of the forces of the good, who is bold and worthy enough to annihilate evil, while still being just and fair. The question that engages human curiosity is that in a work of literature elaborating on the struggle between the good and the evil, as to what makes such a work timeless and every fresh. It goes without saying that it is the demonization of the evil and the vulnerability of the good that makes a work of literature eternal, being able to wrench out enough fear and pity from its readers. It is the demonization of the forces of the evil in Beowulf that act as a foil against which emerges and stand out the awe inspiring and reverential character of Beowulf. The writer has engaged in immense creativity and foreplay of imagination to bring out the evil residing in the evil characters like Grendel and his mother. Both Grendel and his mother are shown not only to be evil incarnates residing in the infested bogs and mires, given to man-eating, possessed with shattering and intimidating strength and guile, but they as characters come out as being representative of the primordial evil, the fear and caution against which resides in the inner recesses of the human mind. Thereby, Beowulf comes out as an apt answer to the need for faith and redemption residing in the minds of the characters and the readers. Everything said and done, in a large context, evil does play some kind of role in balancing the equanimity of this universe. When a hero becomes larger than life, capable of wrestling against evil in all its forms and types, it makes a work of literature quiet boring and mundane. The readers not only expect a hero to be bold and courageous, but they also expect the one to be vulnerable and human. It is the eventual vulnerability and humanness of a hero that actually make one inspiring and something to be cherished. Hence, as expected, by the end of the story, Beowulf, irrespective of one’s integrity and sportsmanship, is shown to be open to the ravages of time and age. This vulnerability when set aside the meekness and cowardice of the helpers and friends of Beowulf, as Beowulf fights with the dragon near the end of the story amply brings out the feelings of fear and pity from the reader’s heart, making the story timeless and ever inspiring. Beowulf is indeed an inspiring work of literature that represents the primordial struggle between the good and the evil. It is actually the strength and courage of Beowulf accompanied by an appropriate demonization of the characters representing evil and the vulnerability of Beowulf to age and time that make the story so engrossing and timeless. Read More