Hell in Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings

Among the many forces that shaped the Western world Christianity holds a unique position as one that has existed and that has exerted its influence for over two millennia. The concept of hell as such is a uniquely Christian one – it is a place ruled by the Devil from which (and from whom) evil originates, but it also symbolizes God’s ability to contain and exert his will over evil. Despite the fact that hell is an invention of Christianity, the idea of eternally malign entities has existed for much longer. Thus, one can find tales of various mythological evils that have, as legends tell, corrupted both Earth and men, trying to bring about some sort of destruction and chaos. Nordic mythology, for example, weaves a story of Ragnarök, an inevitable event by their accounts that marks the ultimate victory of forces of chaos. This apocalyptical occurrence, among other things, signifies the final defeat of Nordic gods, displaying their failure of defending mankind from evil forces. These two seemingly juxtaposed views of evil, one that is under God’s control and the other that completely escapes the control of an entire council of gods, came into contact when Christianity began to spread onto British Isles. From that merger of traditions, Beowulf was born: it exemplifies the monstrous terrors of the old world that are combated by the values of a world that is yet to come. This tale of the waning Anglo-Saxon world has had a large influence one author in particular. J. R. R. Tolkien wrote his The Lord of the Rings inspired by both Nordic mythology and by Beowulf itself. A Christian author, Tolkien does not shy away from also incorporating certain beliefs of his own religion, and in doing so creates an ideological amalgam akin to Beowulf. Thus, an analysis of Beowulf reveals much about LotR: if one were to ascertain how hellish landscape and beings are created and constructed in the epic poem, one would have an excellent foundation from which to begin an analysis of hell in Tolkien’s epic fantasy. Therefore, the paper’s end goal is to discuss the varied imagery of hell in both works, while simultaneously offering an insight into how (and if) those malign forces of hell are kept at bay