Archetypal Symbols In Beowulf

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In the epic “Beowulf”, the protagonist Beowulf faces many challenges that are representative of the struggles that the Anglo-Saxons dealt with, as well as challenges we still fight today. As common in most epics, Beowulf has many archetypal symbols, such as an epic hero, dragons, darkness, which allow it to relate to the lives of the audience. In Beowulf, Beowulf is an epic hero who is glorified through battle, as was common in the society of the Anglo-Saxons. He fights invading dragons and protects the innocents. Just as Beowulf himself is representative of the ideals in which the Anglo-Saxons strived to meet, the challenges he faced are also symbolic to the challenges the Anglo-Saxons faced. The monster Grendel, the dragon which invaded
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