“Beowulf”, “The Odyssey” and Other Related Epics Essay

An heroic is go around described by the Merriam-Webster lexicon as a long chronicle poem in raised(a) style recounting the deeds of a legendary or diachronic booster. Epics like Beowulf and The Odyssey atomic number 18 perfect examples of this definition they are distributively(prenominal) bear on on the deeds and triumphs of their milles, Beowulf and Odysseus. All epics are akin in a counselling that they are made up of factors. One major element of the epic is its thoughts. In on the whole epics, the ancestors are what make and m senescent these narrative poems, they descriptively surfaceline the story. Most epics, like Beowulf and The Odyssey, pick up alkalis like strifes, replication, identicalness element, cite etc. Through compositions like these, morals, values and traditions relating to the main characters customs and agriculture stick out be introduced to the reader. The setup and purpose of the story, through the theme(s), washbowl too be in troduced. Not that are the themes identity, battles, wisdom and proceeds cerebrate to Beowulf and The Odyssey, scarcely they are as wholesome linked to otherwisewise epics as well. The Odyssey is best described as a guide to the Greeks, a guide to publications and a guide to the complexities of society, identity, and home.There were cosmosy themes, both ordinary and cadenceless that thoroughly giveed the main desires and issues of this legendary epic. The first and more distressed theme in The Odyssey is identity. In Grecian times, the identities of human beings were associated with their properties, their name and their hereditary pattern or past. A Greeks household was the foundation of his or her identity. world that Odysseus was lost in search of his seized home, until he found it, he was considered a nobody, or as he c in every(prenominal)ed himself, a no-man. equal his home, Odysseus has to chasten his immense name as well. Without a name a man has no me aning or value. Not only does Odysseus search for his identity, hardly his son, Telemachus searches as well. Without issueing anything about his past (his father, Odysseus) Telemachus feels that he doesnt know who he is or what hes truly worth. Odysseus and Telemachus battle with their identities for the legal age of the epic, which further explains why identity is peerless of the main themes. Next, the theme that relates to the theme of identity is homecoming.This theme supports Odysseuss long journey home. In Greek, the tales of re trolling(a) home were c totall(a)yed Nostoi. To the Greeks, homecoming meant reclaiming heritage, identity and loved wizards . There were many obstacles (Gods, volume etc.) in the epic that tried to deter Odysseus from glide bying his home at one time again. In the epic, bulls eye faces the reader how Odysseus feels by saying this, sitting on the seashore and his eyes were never wiped dry of tears, and the sweet lifetime was exhausting out o f him, as he wept for a way home. By including the ideas of loneliness and longing to be home, Homer creates the theme of homecoming. A nonher heavy theme in The Odyssey is battles. As well as searching for his identity and home all throughout the epic, Odysseus also had to defend himself throughout the epic. The battles in epics help build the character. They almost always result in victories and turn the main character(s) into legendary hoagyes. In The Odyssey there was non a battle that Odysseus lost, he plain defeated the almighty Poseidon, god of the sea, by locomote home. He had a lot of help from the goddess of wisdom, Athena. Without the main idea of scrapperes along with battles and villains, epics would be undefined. Battles, as a major theme in all epics, are needed to keep the story moving.Like all the themes in The Odyssey each is linked to the other. The theme that is linked to the most important one in this epic, identity, is recognition. learning in this epic contractes on Odysseus and his disguise (an old man) that is given to him by Athena to help him reclaim his kingdom and his wife. Homer shows how Odysseus plots and schemes to take back everything he erstwhile owned. The whole idea of this theme is as he goes about with his disguise, only several of those closest to him contend something familiar about him and look at that he, the old man, is Odysseus. Although, his wife Penelope did not know until he turns back to his original being. Also, recognition is gained when Telemachus doubts that Odysseus is his father. But, Odysseus eventually persuades Telemachus to convey him as his father. As stated before, in Homers epic, an identity cannot be claimed until recognition of that identity from others is claimed first.Like The Odyssey, Beowulf is also a legendary epic that includes the themes identity, homecoming, battles and recognition as its primary focus. In Beowulf, the themes homecoming and recognition are very most related. W hen Beowulf returns to Geatland, he is enceintely re contendded for his works. He reunites with King Hygelac and tells of his great adventures. Recognition is shown by Beowulf giving most of his jewel received to the King, and in return is awarded with treasure of his home from King Hygelac. Beowulf was praised and praise for his homecoming(s) to Geatland and his return from his victories over Grendel and his mother. He was have a go at itd as a true hero, an Anglo-Saxon hero to be exact. In Beowulf, Kingdoms acknowledged Beowulf by showering him with treasures, feasts and celebrations. Like God, to the Geats and Danes, he was worthy of all praises. He earned his recognition. Thats what the homecoming of a hero is all about, heroes being rewarded for their works and receiving the uttermost respect. Recognition is the actual reward received from the heroine act, whether its treasures or shouts and chants of the heroes name. Just as the themes homecoming and recognition in Beowulf are related, the themes battles and identity relate as well. The battles that Beowulf fight, in a way, reveals the person he really is and what hes all about.His triumph in each battle shows the reader that he is a true hero and that hes willing to fight to be recognized and to gain a sense of self and national pride. Beowulf begins with a battle and ends with a final battle against the dragon. Being that he fights for the legal age of the epic, and his adventures are molded from his battles, this must be included as one of the main themes. Yes, Beowulf and The Odyssey do share standardised themes but each theme has a antithetic significance for each epic. Each theme stands for something different between the two. The significance of the theme identity in Beowulf is that his battles help to reveal who he is all throughout the epic. Beowulf knows that hes a hero and that hes brave. He defeats all of the villains and saves the day, he just wants other to realize this too. But, in T he Odyssey, Odysseus and his son Telemachus have to search for their identity. The theme recognition in Beowulf has the significance of Beowulf being rewarded and recognized for his great works. On the other hand, the significance of recognition in The Odyssey is for Odysseus to keep himself hidden as a tool to help him reclaim his kingdom.The significance of the theme battles is very similar in each epic except Beowulf fights because he wants to be the hero (and he is), but Odysseus fights because he has to, although he too becomes a hero like Beowulf. Odysseus is trying to return home to his family and regain his identity but Beowulf is trying to gain recognition. As far as the theme homecoming, they each get the kindred response upon their return. The people that respect and love them are happy to empathize them once again. Both Beowulf and Odysseus return home with adventures and stories to tell. in addition they each receive treasures. Beowulf receives gifts and Odysseus rec eives a gift thats more cherished than gold or treasures to him, his family and his kingdom are once again in his arms. During the melody of my research, I realized that the themes of Beowulf and The Odyssey relates to other epics also. These epics are The Iliad by Homer, The Aeneid by Virgil, Gil farinaceoussh by an unknown author and The snipe of the pursue by black lovage pontiff.These epics are noteworthy as of proving my thesis because first, they are all epics and second, they all share at least one theme with Beowulf and The Odyssey. The Iliad, a Homeric epic like The Odyssey is very popular and well known by many. Also it is very similar to The Odyssey. It has most, if not all the same themes and was scripted by Homer as well so it basically has the same setup as The Odyssey but more so focuses on war. This epic can best be described as a story within a story. Along with the Iliad, The Aeneid, an epic by Virgil, greatly focuses on identity and homecoming. this too is also a popular epic. Next, The Rape of the dispose is a mock epic by Alexander Pope think to lampoon or make fun of epics. He presents the whole idea of battles, homecoming, recognition and identity like the usual epics but in a comical way. And last but not least, Gilgamesh, an epic by an anonymous author is one that takes the reader through a world of adventure.Although all four puts of literature I selected are epics chequering more than one theme, my focus is on one specific theme for each that relates to Beowulf and The Odyssey. The theme that Ill most focus on for The Iliad is the theme recognition. This theme in The Iliad is closely related to the corona and celebration of war and is the predominance of military glory over family. As far as recognition goes, the characters more so recognize the pursuit of glory and honor than anything else. True, like every regular person the characters love their families but they honor the pursuit of kleos, glory or renown that one g ains in the eyes of others by performing great deeds. War and recognition are the key factors in this piece of literature. The characters in this story focus so much on war and recognition because Homer wants the reader to see that he suggests that the characters (mortals) try to hold water their lives as horribly as possible so that they can be remembered well. For if mortals physical bodies and material creations cannot survive them, perhaps their words and deeds can.Homer is trying to stress the fact that the mortals should make a spacious impact on their life, something that no one will forget and what transgress way to do it than with recognition and glory. In this epic, the characters usually end up in a situation where they have to choose between their family and their glory. And of career by most, glory is chosen. Hector, one of the great warriors in the Trojan soldiers chooses to win the great glory of his father no matter the cost, even though he could orphan his only son. Hector knows that if he fights among the apparent motion ranks then he will end his quest for kleos and receive great recognition from all. Hector willingly sacrifices his life. No other theme can best describe the entire epic, The Iliad, like recognition. Homer put so much emphasis on it that its very obvious to see that recognition honor and glory (kleos) are The Iliads main themes that overshadows all the others. Although its not one of the main themes, identity slake is considered a theme in The Aeneid. The theme identity in The Aeneid is very similar to the theme identity in The Odyssey. In this epic, the first part discusses the wanderings of the Trojans from troy to Italy. While traveling, the wanders were considered homeless.Ancient culture suggests that a homeland is ones source of identity. So being that they did not have a permanent home, like Odysseus, they were no-men. Being homeless means that one is not stable with his or her situation as well as identity, in this epic this caused the men to suffer. Like Odysseus, the Trojans were in search of their identity and for them alone, a place where they belonged. But Odysseus knew where he belonged, at home with his family. Each time they landed on a different island they would get frustrated because they were not sure if it was their place (which was Italy) . The only reason why identity is considered a theme in this epic is because the Trojans were unsure of themselves. It took them some time to reach their desired destination. It is also considered a theme because again as a part of ancient culture, to have a home is to have an identity. another(prenominal) theme that is related to Beowulf and The Odyssey and other epics is battles. The theme battles agrees with the epic The Rape of the engross. This narrative piece of literature is not the usual epic it is considered a mock epic because it lampoons the themes and oral traditions of the usual epics.Being that The Rape of the Lock is a mock ery of the usual epics, everything about it is silly and strange, yet still makes sense. For example, Cosmetics, clothing and jewelry substitute for armor and weapons. One of the battles is an intense game of cards, which of course results in the victory of the protagonist, but even still that isnt the point. The point is to take the usual themes from the usual epics and twist them around to show mockery. The majority of the great battles of this epic are related to gambling and flirtatious tiffs. Although the characters in this epic fight over silly things, Alexander Pope still gets his point across to the reader. Finally, the last epic that has a theme that relates to those of Beowulf and The Odyssey is Gilgamesh. Homecoming is the theme that best defines this epic more than the others do. Like in most epics, Gilgamesh went on a journey and like Odysseus, on his way home a goddess propositions him. When he refuses her proposition, the goddess delays his homecoming by sending enemi es out to destroy him.But of course Gilgamesh defeats them and returns to his homeland Uruk. When he gets there he praises the town walls and worships the land as he walks. This epic is a microchip different as far as homecoming than Beowulf or The Odyssey because once Gilgamesh finally reaches his home, he doesnt care about honor, glory or recognition, hes just glad to be alive, glad to see something as simple as the walls of his town once again. But of course like the other epics he does reunite with his loved ones and friends. The only task is that this theme (homecoming) for this epic isnt as solid as it could have been, there was no big feast or treasures waiting for him at home, just his precious town walls and loved ones. In conclusion, not only are the themes identity, battles, recognition and homecoming related to Beowulf and The Odyssey, but they are also linked to other epics as well.The Iliad, The Aeneid, The Rape of the Lock and Gilgamesh each contain one of the theme s that their stories concentrate on the most. The Iliad is mostly related to recognition because the characters recognize the pursuit of glory and recognition more than anything else in their lives. The Aeneid mostly relates to identity because the Trojan soldiers are homeless which leaves them searching for an identity due to their culture. The Rape of the Lock concentrates on the mockery of the usual battles of an epic as well as other themes and Gilgamesh somewhat focuses on the theme homecoming because of his pushiness to return home and all of the obstacles and villains he has to face to get there. Although each epic was surely different, they all still had something in common, they all had themes that related to those of The Odyssey and Beowulf.