Beowulf There are two clearly different interpretations of the poem Beowulf, one being that of a fundamentally Christian nature and the other being a distorted superficial Christian nature. As one would think, these inverse ideas should be easily justifiable or dismissed. However, upon first read, this is not the case. Beowulf has a confusing balance of both pagan and Christian concepts. It is a sort of battle between pride and humility, sacrifice and selfishness. “…The …showed first 75 words of 889 total…

…showed last 75 words of 889 total…foes’, appears to be governed by the God Almighty. Also, the idea of fate sometime mentioned, seems to be countered by the idea of God ultimately controlling the outcome of everything. The author of Beowulf seems to have a primarily Christian audience and I believe this is why the values are seen strewn throughout the poem. The fundamental Christian values far outweigh the pre-Christian superficial human flaws. “Past and present, God’s will prevails.” (pg. 71)