BEOWULF AND THE BRITISH CULTURE

BEOWULF AND THE BRITISH CULTURE

The movie we saw last class, was quite interesting due to the fact that the content was so impressive in my opinion, I cannot believe how this people from that age were able to imagine those type of  stories, including monsters, dragons and some other things that caught my attention like the different gods that these Anglo-Saxo people use to worshipped, and also made me realize that religion has been a dilemma since the beginning of the history.  

I want to share my thoughts about the monster. It was said in the movie that Grendel was the descendant of Cain. Therefore, his mother was related to Cain as well, in other words, they were created from the sin and they will never meet God's love and it is important for me since even though the Anglo-Saxons worshipped lots of Gods, the author of the poem showed some knowledge of Christianity which is really impressive in terms of wisdom. In addition, we have seen during the semester that these people didn't know very well how to write because they have an oral tradition where everything was transmitted from one to another by speaking. So, the fact that the author of the poem introduces pieces of evidence of Jesus, Cain and the Devil, demonstrate the power of persuasion that Christianity had over people from that era. Although, it's important to say as well that nowadays Christianity still has the power to control people. I believe that the author tried to evoke the endless battle between God and the Devil. I see Beowulf as a god and the monster as the devil.

On the other hand, the relationship between the movie and today's British culture is really close, since during the Anglo Saxons' age the monarchy, the language, the taxes and the political system which lasted in Britain for many years has its roots. In the movie, it was shown some evidence of it. For instance; Alfred the King and then Beowulf were the supreme authority back there, they had the knowledge and the experience to run these people lives, a step under them was the army, then the common people and finally the slaves. For me, that's why feudalism began. This king established the language (this language is known as old English) and traditions that are still alive in that country. As a case in point we have alcoholic drinks (the soldiers shown used to drink, dance and celebrate after battles), the ability to tell long tales (according to Quora.com), they also left temples and many words that can be found today.

In a nutshell, the Anglo Saxons were the pioneers of today's Britain, even though that country has suffered many changes through history, I could realize after watching the movie that their legacy will last forever.

CHRISTIAN MEDINA

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