Beowulf

Beowulf

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is considered the most important piece of Old English literature. Written somewhat twelve hundred years ago, poet Geoffrey Chaucer uses Christian influences in Pagan characters to symbolize the elements of good and evil. Through the three battles fought between Beowulf and the representatives of evil, one is able to identify the biblical references made throughout the poem. Furthermore, one is able to recognize Beowulf as a messiah or Christ figure through his sacrificial endeavor.
In Beowulf, the theme of Christianity is clearly evident throughout the poem’s entirety. Many Chaucerian critics have spoken of the Christian allusions woven in the story including FR. Klaeber who wrote,
“The Christian elements are almost without exception so deeply engrained in the very fabric of the poem that they cannot be explained away as the work of a reviser or interpolator” (Klaeber 1). These engrained elements Klaeber speaks of are strongly f...