Issues of Religion in the Works of Beowulf and Paradise Lost Essay Example

and reveals religion as defined by the passage of time and political reign rather than the existence of faith.

Environments and character inspire the two texts. The communications of the authors depict beliefs and history as affected by exposure. Therefore, the works “Beowulf” and “Paradise Lost” can be viewed as depictions of the authors’ experiences and exposure to religion. Considering the time difference between the period when “Beowulf” was written and when “Paradise Lost” was composed, it is right to assume that such is the reason for the disparity. The author of Beowulf is not well known; however, his work can be used to study his traits. The poem’s architect must have lived between 700-1000 AD; the age of the poem offers a hint about the creator’s age. “Beowulf” was originally presented in West Saxon dialect; such can be a coincidence but could better be explained through consideration of political era when Saxons dominated the western world. Saxon religious beliefs may have influenced the book since depiction of mythological characters in the form of beasts is a popular eventuality in Saxon mythology.

Therefore, the chances that the author was a Saxon are high. Another time revelation emerges in “Beowulf’s” presentation on a cotton medium. Preference of depictions about battle communicates an Author’s living during a time when the war was seen as the ultimate solution to social challenges. On the other hand, the author of “Paradise Lost” (Milton) has his work revolving around religion in a contrasting manner. He adopts a modern approach to religion and appreciates the power of controversy in inspiring fame. His book is a masterpiece because of its antagonist and unparalleled symbolism. Being

a literary work of the 18th century, it reflects familiarity with the Christian religion. Milton lived during a time when Christianity was popular, and leadership was strict about religion.

The two works are a depiction of the popular political and religious realities in Britain during the time of composition. Beowulf reveals the situation during Anglo-Saxon leadership. The poem was composed at a time when a lot of the religious contextualization was viewed as a mythological occurrence. The British were under the Anglo-Saxon leadership, and their religious beliefs as well as practices equally reflected the same. Beowulf was composed at a time when British were influenced by pagan aspects. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Christianity was overrated and they mocked the doctrines of the religion as well as arguing that Christians followed an illusion of divine leadership. Characters such as the god of child sacrifice, Moloch plays a role in the development of the theme.

Paradise Lost depicts an era of Christian leadership and exposes the author’s bias to Christianity. It exploits a contextual set up where the audience gains two opinions about Satan. Though the church strongly insisted that Satan and demons' purpose to destroy the human race, Milton inspires the thinking that Satan played a crucial role in starting a process where God’s liking would be achieved. An interpretation that Milton was rebellious in matters concerning popular religion can be derived from such situation.

The texts serve as models of Christian living in that they show how people related within religion. The Anglo-Saxon way of life is revealed as influencing the attachment to Christianity in Beowulf. The legend revolves around the story of divine context with much focus

on the actions of monsters in defining life and outcomes of the relation between people and gods. The overall situation is that war between warriors defined Christianity during the Anglo-Saxon period. The time of the composition involved endless wars and leadership was defined by the events and outcomes of the struggle. Due to such factors, religion is greatly influenced by war.

The most relevant aspect of the text is that it holds some historical meaning. Beowulf speaks to the audience and reveals the Anglo-Saxon culture. It communicates the way of living and lets known the valued virtues of the community. The community placed much emphasis on the lives of its members, and the symbols of warriors went to war with a purpose. Characters such as Moloch are borrowed from biblical texts so as to facilitate the communication of religious messages. Milton’s text observes biblical titles and contextualization alike. It even goes as far as to borrow the conclusions of wars. Moloch goes to a war that cannot succeed in winning but only emerges as a failure. The setting is fashioned to support the biblical events as affirmed in Christian doctrine.

In another instance, religious messages are communicated to the audience to speak about the processes that followed after creation. Satan emerges as a cunning character in paradise lost, in a manner similar to what is observed in the bible, Satan persuades Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. In such context, the text preaches the Christian doctrine.

The representation of characters takes up similar and differing mannerisms. Both works have a representation of villain characters. Beowulf involves the purpose of monsters in a troubled world while Paradise Lost has

a villain character, Satan. The monsters reign terror on the society and murder other subjects. In a similar position the prime subject is Satan; however, Satan takes the character of a cunning being determined to inspire the fall of humanity. He persuades Eve to take the forbidden fruit and ultimately causes the subsequent failure of Adam. Beowulf’s approach to antagonism involves violence while Paradise Lost’s approach is more about trickery.

The villain, Satan is able to manipulate other characters to do as he aspires; his persuasive character does not require violence to realize objectives. The popular similarity is that both events involve characters whose roles serve a greater purpose in the portrayal of religion. The monsters in Beowulf help to reveal a religious paradigm where power and influences were a reserve of the physically powerful individuals. The contrary occurs in Milton’s work as war removes characters like Moloch from power.

In conclusion, Beowulf and Paradise Lost have several points of convergence and equally relevant disparities. The popularity of Anglo-Saxon leadership founded the society’s culture and the passage into a Christianity dominated era meant an equal change. The thematic communications of the texts reveal the popular religions and political reigns of Britain. Beowulf was composed during the Anglo-Saxon era and revealed a setup where paganism was popular. There were monsters and multiple gods as opposed to having a single God. Monsters play a key role in the successes and failures of humanity. The disparity also emerges in the mannerisms of achieving objectives. Beowulf involved the use of force while Paradise Lost was more about cunning persuasion. The character of the authors emerges in that Beowulf seems to communicate

without inspiring opinions against religious paradigm while Paradise Lost reveals some antagonism; Milton might have been opposed to the demonization of Satan.