compare and contrast of beowulf
... In Beowulf we see the joy of the mead hall and the evils of Grendel, we see prosperity followed by grief, and the grim story of Finn is told in the midst of merriment in the mead hall. ... In Beowulf, Beowulf represents good and fights evil throughout the poem. ... In the introduction to Beowulf we see that the greatest virtue is courage, a man is judged by his valor; and generosity, as in the generosity of the ring-giver. ... (Beowulf, p. ... The introduction to Beowulf emphasizes only men--telling us only men were worth mentioning for a grand tale. ... In the last lines of Beowulf, there is elaborate mention of honor and mourning their noble leader, and the only mention of a female is: "A gnarled old Woman, hair wound tight and gray on her head, groaned a song of misery, of infinite sadness." Did a King as great as Beowulf die without a wife, daughters, women to mourn him--doubtful. ... While in Beowulf women enter the story to carry the mead cup to visitors, or as pawns in peace treaties; Tristan says of Iseult: She is no longer his. ... The Romance of Tristan and Iseult is solidly Christian, and while Beowulf expounds on Christian values throughout, it begins and ends with pagan funerals, and there are numerous occurrences of a mingling of Christian and pagan, like the reference that the ancient spell on the treasure hoard could only be broken with Gods help. Though Beowulf focuses more on the loyalty between a vassal and his Lord, loyalty is also expressed in Tristan. ... Beowulf was deserted by all but one of his men, and Tristan, by way of the black sail, was rejected by Iseult the Fair.