The Cultural Connotation Of Beowulf And Its Contemporary Transformation

Beowulf reflected an epoch when the Christianism was gradually accepted in Angles -Saxon region. Because of such special historical background, this work reflected the collision as well as the amalgamation between the ancient paganish culture and the emerging Christian culture, forming a style that two kinds of culture coexisted, which also provided wide room for the later scholars to re-think.The evidence that the paganish culture remains in Beowulf is apparent. The epic, Northern European myth and Northern Europe legend of hero share many similarities. Up to now, it has been difficult for us to determine that who influences whom, but at least we can be sure that there is a profound relationship between Beowulf and the German culture. On the other hand, the three cruel monsters are full of paganism, reflecting a binary opposition between the opposing tribe or the tribe itself and the deserted nature which existed in the ancient epics. Besides, the three funeral rites which play key roles and account for large space in the epic undoubtedly have the distinct paganish characteristics. And in the epic, these simple and coarse funeral rituals were not condemned by the God, instead, they were appropriate behaviors for commemorating heroes, which is enough to prove that these three funerals were not fabricated by the later writers.Although the paganish factors appear in Beowulf in a direct and evident way, it can not prove that Beowulf is a paganish epic. The course from the initial completion to the later transcribing was all in the time when the Christianism gradually spread to the British Isles, which made the Christian factors inevitably be added into the epic. The scenario in the epic showed a direct relationship with Bible for more than once, with many Christian-style metaphors appearing, and also displayed a parallel structural relationship with Bible. In the terms of structure, Beowulf tried to be close to the Bible but not Saga. All the evidence demonstrated that the Bible imposed deep influence on Beowulf.Beowulf combined two totally different cultures, and such unique characteristic made it have profound effect on the literature in 20th century. As the initial works of fantasy, The Lord of the Rings series share many similarities with this epic, demonstrating that Beowulf influenced the fantasy in 20th century both in the aspects of scenarios and structure. Meanwhile, the characters and plots of the epic are not invariable, and the adaptation in the movies and computer games shows how the modern culture accepts the epic written more than 1,000 years ago.In Beowulf, the thick Christian atmosphere didn't entirely cover the paganish flavor. The collision between these two cultures, to some extent, makes Beowulf become a historical portrayal of the growth of the Christianism in Europe, which further increases the mystery and charm of the epic.