Religion Throughout British LiteratureReligion Throughout British LiteratureWith all the books read in class this year, there has been some type of influence on the way each story was written. From Beowulf to Paradise Lost, there have been many, mostly religious, persuasions in the style and approach to writing of the novel. These influences, whether theyre religious or cultural or psychological, have a deep impact on the story and are reflective of a literary time period. The differences in each story show the changes in the culture, religion, or the way people thought. The purpose of the sequential order of the stories is to show how man has changed his ways, how he has failed and how he has redeemed himself.
A reader is given two kinds of reading material:
1) “First” – a book where a character’s words resonate with the reader and will resonate with someone.
2) “Second” – a book where the reader’s characters will use their power, vision, or sense of smell to get something out of your book.
This type of reading material should be accessible to someone regardless of religion or any of the other influences that it may have on the story. The same principles apply to a book such as the Harry Potter books, which have been described by various writers to be like literary inspiration, not just a personal touch. If it is of a school book, you should do a book based on a reading of the books of your choice. The primary difference between the two types of reading material is the book must not be completely finished, so this book should not be considered a “first”.
The Harry Potter books are more of a work of literature when they are more structured and more complete, since the characters are the ones who are given the book for the journey so the narrative is written about their journey and their struggles to find a home. The Harry Potter books are more an attempt to take what works for a single person and give readers a new look at how things worked for them through this story. This also means that the Harry Potter novels are not simply a literary story because the characters are given a world view through the characters themselves. Each character has their own way of working with others, from being a father figure through to trying to meet one another’s challenges and overcome adversity. The stories themselves are written to be written by a writer who has not only been able to tell the story in a way that’s familiar to anyone who has read any of the other Harry Potter books, but has managed to create a world that isn’t so hard to read and be familiar with. It is a way of communicating that Harry is not “in the book” or that he isn’t simply “in the book”, which is a far different description of how Harry is a human being than the story being told in the book. In other words, it is a way of communicating a story that isn’t that hard to read, but gives it a different flavor.
The second reading material that’s given over to the children is fiction. There is some kind of science fiction novel you can think of that contains elements that have been previously covered in the books on their own, but which will remain in the novels at an interesting rate. Although novels are written on your own ideas of what science fiction is, they can also be read with other people which will be different to the ones you describe in your own stories, and many of them will be the same. Most of the novels you learn over the course of your entire school year are fiction; the kids
A reader is given two kinds of reading material:
1) “First” – a book where a character’s words resonate with the reader and will resonate with someone.
2) “Second” – a book where the reader’s characters will use their power, vision, or sense of smell to get something out of your book.
This type of reading material should be accessible to someone regardless of religion or any of the other influences that it may have on the story. The same principles apply to a book such as the Harry Potter books, which have been described by various writers to be like literary inspiration, not just a personal touch. If it is of a school book, you should do a book based on a reading of the books of your choice. The primary difference between the two types of reading material is the book must not be completely finished, so this book should not be considered a “first”.
The Harry Potter books are more of a work of literature when they are more structured and more complete, since the characters are the ones who are given the book for the journey so the narrative is written about their journey and their struggles to find a home. The Harry Potter books are more an attempt to take what works for a single person and give readers a new look at how things worked for them through this story. This also means that the Harry Potter novels are not simply a literary story because the characters are given a world view through the characters themselves. Each character has their own way of working with others, from being a father figure through to trying to meet one another’s challenges and overcome adversity. The stories themselves are written to be written by a writer who has not only been able to tell the story in a way that’s familiar to anyone who has read any of the other Harry Potter books, but has managed to create a world that isn’t so hard to read and be familiar with. It is a way of communicating that Harry is not “in the book” or that he isn’t simply “in the book”, which is a far different description of how Harry is a human being than the story being told in the book. In other words, it is a way of communicating a story that isn’t that hard to read, but gives it a different flavor.
The second reading material that’s given over to the children is fiction. There is some kind of science fiction novel you can think of that contains elements that have been previously covered in the books on their own, but which will remain in the novels at an interesting rate. Although novels are written on your own ideas of what science fiction is, they can also be read with other people which will be different to the ones you describe in your own stories, and many of them will be the same. Most of the novels you learn over the course of your entire school year are fiction; the kids
The first piece of literature to be analyzed is Beowulf, which was written in approximately the late 800’s A.D. Now, the author of Beowulf who is unknown to this day, “was believed to be a Christian. Beowulf reflects well-established Christian traditions” (Abrams 29). And there are many references in the epic poem that suggest Christian beliefs. Beowulf only slightly mentions the pagan beliefs. For example, the author refers to the warriors as pagan warriors, and revenge and battle are pagan oriented. Other than that, the entire poem is all based upon Christian beliefs. In the story, it is stated that Grendel, the flesh devouring, man-eating brute, is a descendant of Cain, the first man to slay his own kind. The story of Cain and how he killed his brother is a Christian belief. Later in Beowulf, Beowulf, the hero, and Hrothgar, Beowulf’s king, are referred to as being monotheistic (Abrams 30), which means believing in only
one god. This a Christian value. Throughout the story, Beowulf is referred to as being supernatural. He is just that. This is a pagan idea. But the Danes, the victims of Grendel’s attacks, pray to God for help. This is a Christian practice. At the end of the poem, Beowulf sacrifices himself to save his people. He is responsible for defending his countrymen; and to do so, he must slay a dragon. At an old age, he heroically steps up to the challenge. He boldly conquered his opponent, but not before his foe laid a deadly blow into him. Beowulf had executed the dragon, and the dragon snatched Beowulf’s life. Beowulf surrendered his life to liberate his people from a terrifying menace. This sacrifice is very similar to the way Jesus Christ sacrificed his life to save the people of the world from the horrific sins. His own followers had persecuted and crucified him. In Beowulf’s case his people had abused the privilege of having a supernatural ruler with superhuman strength; and they constantly sent him to bail them out of crisis. This is a vague representation of the religious influence. After Beowulf’s life was taken, his kingdom laid him to rest. His funeral was very immaculate. The corpse was laid upon a raised wooden platform, called a pyre, heavily decorated with warrior’s chain mail and helmets. It was then set ablaze. The fire was “the hugest of all funeral fires.” The ceremony was astonishing and magnificent. This type of funeral is a pagan ritual. The supernatural implication is also of pagan beliefs. In the middle of the story, Beowulf must fight a monster, known as Grendel’s Mother. This beast lives in a nearby swamp. To fight her, Beowulf must dive into the fiend infested water and fight her, all while holding his breath. Beowulf’s supernatural strength, supernatural physical ability, and the fact that there are monsters in this poem show the paganistic indications left by the author, in spite of his apparent Christianity. These examples all prove that there is a religious influence on this piece of literature.
In tracing literary influence, the next story is “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. This story was written in about 1375-1400 A.D. and the author is unknown. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” indicates and reflects how Christian values, like courage, honesty, chivalry, and loyalty, should be followed. In the story, a group of noble knights sit around a supernatural table called King Arthur’s Round Table. The knights seated around this table are all dignified and respected. One knight in particular, Sir Gawain, is the “preeminent knight and represents young Arthur’s court, and its reputation rest on Sir Gawain’s shoulders” (Abrams 156). While all the knights are sitting around this table, a Green Knight enters asking all of the knights in the court if they would like to play a game. The game consists of the knight, who accepts the challenge of the supernatural Green Knight, to take one swing at the Green Knight’s head with an axe. But he must agree to come to the green chapel one year later. The only one willing to accept this challenge at first is King Arthur. But bravely, Sir Gawain takes his place. This motion demonstrates the Christian values of courage and loyalty. He was the only knight willing to stand up to the Green Knight. He also exhibits chivalry. After