Religion Throughout British Literature

With all the books read in class this year, there has been some type of influence on the way each story was written. From Beowulf to Paradise Lost, there have been many, mostly religious, persuasions in the style and approach to writing of the novel. These influences, whether they're religious or cultural or psychological, have a deep impact on the story and are reflective of a literary time period. The differences in each story show the changes in the culture, religion, or the way people thought. The purpose of the sequential order of the stories is to show how man has changed his ways, how he has failed and how he has redeemed himself.

The first piece of literature to be analyzed is Beowulf, which was written in approximately the late 800's A.D. Now, the author of Beowulf who is unknown to this day, "was believed to be a Christian. Beowulf reflects well-established Christian traditions" (Abrams 29). And there are many references in the epic poem that suggest Christian beliefs. Beowulf only slightly mentions the pagan beliefs. For example, the author refers to the warriors as pagan warriors, and revenge and battle are pagan oriented. Other than that, the entire poem is all based upon Christian beliefs. In the story, it is stated that Grendel, the flesh devouring, man-eating brute, is a descendant of Cain, the first man to slay his own kind. The story of Cain and how he killed his brother is a Christian belief. Later in Beowulf, Beowulf, the hero, and Hrothgar, Beowulf's king, are referred to as being monotheistic (Abrams 30), which means believing in only

one god. This a Christian value. Throughout the story, Beowulf is referred to as being supernatural. He is just that. This is a pagan idea. But the Danes, the victims of Grendel's attacks, pray to God for help. This is a Christian practice. At the end of the poem, Beowulf sacrifices himself to save his people. He is responsible for defending his countrymen; and to do so, he must slay a dragon. At an old age, he heroically steps up to the challenge. He boldly conquered his opponent, but not before his foe laid a deadly blow into him. Beowulf had executed the dragon, and the dragon snatched Beowulf's life. Beowulf surrendered his life to liberate his people from a terrifying menace. This sacrifice is very similar to the way Jesus Christ sacrificed his life to save the people of the world from the horrific sins. His own followers had persecuted and crucified him. In Beowulf's case his people had abused the privilege of having a supernatural ruler with superhuman strength; and they constantly sent him to bail them out of crisis. This is a vague representation of the religious influence. After Beowulf's life was taken, his kingdom laid him to rest. His funeral was very immaculate. The corpse was laid upon a raised wooden platform, called a pyre, heavily decorated with warrior's chain mail and helmets. It was then set ablaze. The fire was "the hugest of all funeral fires." The ceremony was astonishing and magnificent. This type of funeral is a pagan ritual. The supernatural implication is also of pagan beliefs. In the middle of the story, Beowulf must fight a monster, known as Grendel's Mother. This beast lives in a nearby swamp. To fight her, Beowulf must dive into the fiend infested water and fight her, all while holding his breath. Beowulf's supernatural strength, supernatural physical ability, and the fact that there are monsters in this poem show the paganistic indications left by the author, in spite of his apparent Christianity. These examples all prove that there is a religious influence on this piece of literature.

In tracing literary influence, the next story is "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". This story was written in about 1375-1400 A.D. and the author is unknown. "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" indicates and reflects how Christian values, like courage, honesty, chivalry, and loyalty, should be followed. In the story, a group of noble knights sit around a supernatural table called King Arthur's Round Table. The knights seated around this table are all dignified and respected. One knight in particular, Sir Gawain, is the "preeminent knight and represents young Arthur's court, and its reputation rest on Sir Gawain's shoulders" (Abrams 156). While all the knights are sitting around this table, a Green Knight enters asking all of the knights in the court if they would like to play a game. The game consists of the knight, who accepts the challenge of the supernatural Green Knight, to take one swing at the Green Knight's head with an axe. But he must agree to come to the green chapel one year later. The only one willing to accept this challenge at first is King Arthur. But bravely, Sir Gawain takes his place. This motion demonstrates the Christian values of courage and loyalty. He was the only knight willing to stand up to the Green Knight. He also exhibits chivalry. After a year has passed, Gawain begins his journey to find the green chapel. He stays true to the agreement, revealing bravery and honor. He then arrives at a castle in which a lord welcomes him to stay for several days, as is needed. The next morning, the lord makes an agreement to share everything while hunting and any other possession obtained he gets during these three days with Gawain, but Gawain must agree to do the same. During the first two days, the lord's wife tries to seduce Gawain, but he resists only allowing her to give him a few kisses. This shows that he is loyal to the hospitable lord. After the first two days, Gawain shares what he got with the lord for what he has hunted those days. Gawain is honest in sharing with the lord. On the third day, Gawain finally gives into the lord's wife and accepts a present form her, but he doesn't share it with the lord. This is one of the few points in which the noble Sir Gawain disappoints his fellow knights and himself.

After the third day, Gawain meets with the Green Knight. The present, a magic girdle, helps Gawain in his stance against the Green Knight's attempts to chop off his head. The first two swings, the Green Knight missed. The third barely leaves a cut in his neck. After Gawain endures these three swings at his neck, the Green Knight reveals his identity. He explains that he is the lord of the castle, and the three days were all a test for the knight. The three blows were taken at him in relation to the three days of their agreement. The first two days he was honest and shared what he received, hence the first two swings missed. On the third day when he received the magic girdle, he should have returned to the lord, but he did not in fear of being thrown out by the lord. The action is not very honest of Sir Gawain, and he's upset with himself. Consequently, he got hacked in the neck on the third swing.