Beowulf Response

My fellow group members posted some very interesting questions on Beowulf. Jake posed the interesting question on whether Beowulf was meant to be taken for fact or if it was just another story made up for entertainment. David understandably made the assumption that Beowulf was a crazy individual. I agree with Jake that much of Beowulf is fictional and the creatures and events that take place in the text our that of fiction. I believe that the story could in fact be based on actual events and people. The supernatural creatures and events were probably incorporated into the story to make it exciting and "theatrical.". Beowulf after all was a story passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. I imagine that with each new generation the story of Beowulf got slightly altered based on that persons interpretation.

I respectfully disagree with David on the idea that Beowulf was crazy. I believe Beowulf was interpreted as nuts only because he had the power to be so "Super". Beowulf acted so carelessly, arrogantly, and negligently because he had the power and skills to do so. Beowulf seemed to be quite the warrior and was able to conquer any threat of evil that came his way. The end result of the battle of with the Dragon which resulted with Beowulf's death proved that Beowulf wasn't "all powerful" and he was at least part human. The story of Beowulf reminds me much of the of Achilles and the siege of Troy. Achilles was considered invincible for the most part but a weakness was eventually discovered.    

Beowulf certainly has it's many inspirations but I think that the story was mainly made for entertainment. The inclusion of such works from Christianity could have been included to prevent the survival and acceptance of the story at a time when such works were forbidden. There certainly is a moral to the story of Beowulf which tells of a king to many good deeds for his people and country. Beowulf seems to be very different from our past readings where religion was a major influence. Beowulf is still nevertheless a great story that is remissant of Greek mythology which I find very interesting and enjoy. I look foward to my other classmates discussions and interprutations of the story during Fridays group discussion.