Beowulf Essay
Matt Nardo
Mr. Gallagher
English 4H
March 3rd 2013
With Your Shield, or On It As it was demonstrated by the mighty Spartans in the movie, “300”, humans really are not concerned with the concept of life and death, as long as they live the way they want to live. In the movie, the men were dedicated to battle, and they used the phrase, “I will come back with my shield, or on it.” This quote literally implies that, if the men were to come back with their shield, it would mean they fought and were victorious. To come back on it meant that they paid the ultimate sacrifice and were killed by the consequences of war, only to be carried back on their shield by their comrades. Even thought the Spartans knew their death was inevitable at the time, that sure did not hurt their confidence and determination. To elaborate on the concept of life and death, the Spartan shield was heavy and made running difficult. If a Spartan were to run from the battle, he would have to drop his shield. Therefore, to come home without your shield would mean that you fled the battle and were disgraced. (Meyers) They would rather die in battle than to live and be considered dishonorable. Failure to them was not an option. However, the Spartans were not the only people to feel this way, for example Beowulf, Pat Tillman, and Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan from, “The Thirteenth Warrior” show these same characteristics and have little care for life and death, even if it is inevitable. To start off, Beowulf shows no fear towards death, as long as he completes his task in killing Grendel. At the time Beowulf was written, the idea of religion was just beginning to switch over from Paganism to Christianity. This is why there are an abundance of Christian allusions. However, the Christian life after death was not fully understood by Pagans. The Pagans did not really believe in life after death, only the things that were accomplished while alive so there was little fear of death. He would rather come back with
Mr. Gallagher
English 4H
March 3rd 2013
With Your Shield, or On It As it was demonstrated by the mighty Spartans in the movie, “300”, humans really are not concerned with the concept of life and death, as long as they live the way they want to live. In the movie, the men were dedicated to battle, and they used the phrase, “I will come back with my shield, or on it.” This quote literally implies that, if the men were to come back with their shield, it would mean they fought and were victorious. To come back on it meant that they paid the ultimate sacrifice and were killed by the consequences of war, only to be carried back on their shield by their comrades. Even thought the Spartans knew their death was inevitable at the time, that sure did not hurt their confidence and determination. To elaborate on the concept of life and death, the Spartan shield was heavy and made running difficult. If a Spartan were to run from the battle, he would have to drop his shield. Therefore, to come home without your shield would mean that you fled the battle and were disgraced. (Meyers) They would rather die in battle than to live and be considered dishonorable. Failure to them was not an option. However, the Spartans were not the only people to feel this way, for example Beowulf, Pat Tillman, and Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan from, “The Thirteenth Warrior” show these same characteristics and have little care for life and death, even if it is inevitable. To start off, Beowulf shows no fear towards death, as long as he completes his task in killing Grendel. At the time Beowulf was written, the idea of religion was just beginning to switch over from Paganism to Christianity. This is why there are an abundance of Christian allusions. However, the Christian life after death was not fully understood by Pagans. The Pagans did not really believe in life after death, only the things that were accomplished while alive so there was little fear of death. He would rather come back with
Cited: "Pat Tillman." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Mar 03 2013, 10:03 Beowulf." Holt Literature & Language Arts. Trans. Burton Raffel. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. 18-48. Print. The 13th Warrior. Dir. John McTiernan. Perf. Antonio Banderas. Touchstone Pictures [US], 1999. DVD. 300. Dir. Zack Snyder. Perf. Gerard Butler. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006. DVD. Meyers, Taj. "With Your Shield, or On It." Fire Service Warrior. N.p., 04 Oct. 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. 2 "The 13th Warrior." Titus on Film. Word Press, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2013.