OPPapers.com

An Analysis Of British Literature

An Analysis of British Literature


Death is inevitable and what happens after death will always be a
mystery to the living. For this reason, the afterlife has always been a topic
which artists have chosen to explore in their works. Throughout the chronology
of British literature, artists have used society's views as a basis to examine
the afterlife, and look at it in new ways. The afterlife has been a theme in
British Literature from the Anglo-Saxon period of Beowulf to the twentieth
century writings of Dylan Thomas. The mysteriousness of the afterlife makes it
a topic which artists will always be eager to analyze.
During the Anglo-Saxon Period which lasted from 449 AD to 1066 AD, the
popular belief of the times was that a person's life was predetermined by Wyrd,
the Old English word for fate, and there was nothing which the individual could
do to change his destiny. The most famous writing from this epoch is the epic
poem Beowulf. Beowulf, the main character, had no fear of the evil monster
Grendel because he believed "Grendel and I are called/ Together," by fate. He
also displayed his faith in the beliefs of society when he told Hrogthgar "Fate
will unwind as it must." When Grendel died, the soldiers "had no semse of
sorrow, felt no regret for his sufferings," because they believed Grendel was
destined to die, and there was no way to defy destiny. They also did not pity
Grendel because they considered him to be entirely evil because it was his fate.
The Anglo-Saxon's strong belief in fate led to them not fearing death as much as
during other times periods in British Literature. Beowulf's strong belief in
fate was a reflection in the society's pagan belief in fate. Due to the fact
that the society at the time of Beowulf was pagan, they did not believe in the
afterlife.
The Christian revision to Beowulf illustrated a different outlook on
death and the afterlife. When monks were copying the story, they realized it
dealt with pagan ideals, and they...