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Benjamin Burton
Jayci Jackson
AP English Literature and Composition
19 December 2014

Black and white. Fire and ice. Many famous couplings are dichotomousmutually
exclusive, where one cannot become the other nor the other become the one. Dichotomies are
useful literary devices that allow authors to reveal the binary nature of opposing ideas, often
within morality or philosophy. Perhaps the most commonly examined dichotomy is that of Good
and Evil, two famous examples of which are John Miltons Paradise Lost and the anonymously
created Beowulf. Both of these poems revolve around Good and Eviltheir battle, their
opposition, and their polarized natures. The dichotomy is present in both, but one of the authors
uses it to great effect, while the other author appreciates the device from a distance without ever
truly developing it. That is to say, Anonymous crafts Beowulf simply, creating an effective
dichotomy of Good and Evil through the use of clear polarizations; in contrast, Miltons
Paradise Lost investigates the complexities of Good and Evil, creating a less distinctand
therefore less effectivedichotomy.
To create their dichotomies, both Anonymous and Milton personify the concepts of Good
and Evil. In Beowulf, the title hero is the incarnation of Good, and the monster Grendel, of Evil;
in Paradise Lost, God and Satan, respectively, are used instead. The simplicity in Beowulfs
characters brings clarity to the morals they represent: humans, like Beowulf, are Good, while

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monsters, such as Grendel, are Evil. Grendel was Conceived by a pair of monsters [],
punished forever for the crime of Abels death, while Beowulf, the son of Ecgtheow, is most
decidedly human (Anonymous, 20; 22-23). This difference via metaphor to isolate Good and
Evil as separate entities; just as humans and monsters have fundamental dissimilarity, so too
must Good and Evil. Anonymous clear line between human and monster dictates polarization
and leaves nothing to imagination or chance. Miltons metaphor, on the other hand, is bogged
down by ambiguity. The divine and the damned, Miltons representatives for Good and Evil, are,
admittedly, dissimilar, and they do function to create a dichotomy: divinity loves where
damnation hates, divinity creates where damnation devastates, divinity abides in orderly heaven
and damnation in chaotic Pandemonium, etc. However, the creation story of damnation
undermines the dichotomys intended effect. SatanEvilonce lived in heaven among the
angels of God. However, his pride Had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host Of rebel
angels, and he became the devil (Milton, 1.36-38). Satans fall implies that fluctuation between
Good and Evil is possible, blurring the line between the two. Additionally, Milton speaks of
how, being made of heavenly essences, demons cannot truly perish, for [its] mind and spirit
remains Invincible, and vigor soon returns (Milton, 1.138-140). Satan and his companions
composition of heavenly essence weakens Miltons dichotomy, as similarity is then easily found
between the heavenly host and hellish swarm. Miltons dichotomy still stands, as the divine and
the damned are distinctly opposed, but its effect is diminished by the nuances of The Fall.
Continuing his exploration of divinity vs. damnation, Milton organizes Heaven and Hell
into hierarchies of Good and Evil. God/Satan top their chains of command, and Satan is
described as the Arch-Enemy of God (Milton 1.81). They are followed by the Son of
God/Beelzebub. Beelzebub is introduced as One next [Satan] in power, and next in crime,

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while the Son of God sits at the right hand of his Father (Milton, 1.79). At the bottom of the
hierarchies are the Angel/Demon armies, which faithfully serve and follow their respective
commanders. The parallel structure of Good and Evil allows for direct comparisons between the
two. Because dichotomies revolve around direct comparison, Miltons hierarchies do help
establish polarizationhowever, fault is again present in Miltons approach. In establishing a
chain of command, Milton sacrifices the clarity of his dichotomy for magnitude: he magnifies
the differences between God and Satan while smudging the differences between the Angels and
Demons. This is because hierarchies must rely on degrees: degrees of power, degrees of
experience, or, in this case, degrees of morality. In having a pecking order, it becomes inevitable
that those at the bottom of the pecking order have the measured quality to a lesser degree than
those at the top. Accordingly, Satan/God must be more Evil/Good than those beneath them. This
creates a sort of moral spectrum. Unfortunately for Milton, spectrums oppose dichotomy
through their beliefs in middle-ground and moderation, as dichotomies must be strictly binary.
Having correlations between analogous characters provides Milton with more examples of Good
vs. Evil, but those examples lose some of their potency. In contrast, Anonymous decision to use
discrete individuals in Beowulf causes Good and Evil to become more dichotomous and less
scalar. Using fewer characters allows for a clearer, more concise contrast of Good and Evil, and
also eliminates the confusion of greater vs. lesser Good and greater vs. lesser Evil. Beowulf and
his actions can be prescribed entirely to Good, with no question as to whether Beowulf is the
greatest Good, or whether his actions may not emulate true Goodness. Similarly, Grendel is not
provided with shred of Goodness, and his characterizations make him entirely Evil. These strict,
unforgiving generalizations create a more effective dichotomy, as they are more polarizing than
the exceptions and provisions contained within Miltons moral hierarchy.

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Anonymous, continuing his trend of simple, effective storytelling, chooses a physical

confrontation for his hero and villain. Grendel, at the end of the battle, is described as hells
captive caught in the arms Of him who of all men on earth Was the strongest (Anonymous, 470472). Literally up in arms, Beowulf and Grendel fight without anything, even armor, to detract
attention from the stark contrast of Good and Evil. Juxtaposing these antonymous forces is much
the same as placing opposing magnets in close proximityrepulsion between the two makes
their mutual exclusivity all the more obvious. Milton takes a different approach, with his cosmic
confrontation undertoning the more nebulous nature of morality. In Paradise Lost, God and
Satan clash not personally, but through a third party: man. Their battle becomes that of
consecration vs. desecration, each vying for the possession of mans eternal soul. Speaking of
Satan and his Hell-dwellers, Milton writes:
Through Gods high sufferance for the tryal of man,
By falsities and lyes the greatest part
Of Mankind they corrupted to forsake
God thir Creator [sic] (Milton, 1.366-369).
In this style of conflict, the symptoms of Good and Evil are dichotomized effectively, and their
implications are demonstrated with clarity. However, such guerilla warfare reveals little about
the central qualities of our moral extremities, making the contrast of Good and Evil themselves
harder to pinpoint with certainty. Dichotomies live and breathe disparity; thus, when compared
to the stark juxtaposition of Beowulf and Grendels battle, the nebulous insinuations of God and
Satans tug-of-war match fall short.

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By any of the standards discussed above, the dichotomy presented in Paradise Lost pales
in comparison to that in Beowulf. Anonymous epic clearly presents the polarization of good and
evil, and by the end there is no question as to what is good and what is evil. Apart from clarity,
though, the focus on humanity and its strugglesrather than the immortal and their warsgives
Beowulf the ability to connect with its human audience. Stories of demons and angels are lofty
and intriguing, but when it comes down to it, are hard to relate to. Paradise Lost is crafted
magnanimously, and its deep philosophical commentary is like fog surrounding its dichotomy.
Where Anonymous explores good and evil from the human perspective, Miltons lofty spiritual
explanations look down upon humanity. Suppose the ceaseless sparring of good and evil were a
chess match: Milton would explain to us the movement each piece is allowed, the strategies
being employed by either side, and the maneuvers necessary for one to win over the other;
Anonymous, however, would be content to tell us what color each of the pieces were, and where
they were on the board. This is to say that Milton, perhaps, provides us with more information,
but Anonymous has given us a much clearer picture of how Good and Evil are different, how
they are opposed.
Paradise Lost is renowned for its depiction of Good and Evil. It does an excellent job of
iterating the distinct differences between the two, while not denying that their boundaries are
messy, and anything but linear. Beowulf, too, examines morality and its various territories, but
does so on a less grandiose scale, which allows for beefier and more binary categorizations of
Good and Evil.

In aligning more precisely with the traditional qualities of a dichotomy,

Anonymous Beowulf evaluates the dichotomy of Good and Evil more effectively than the lesstraditional complexity of Miltons Paradise Lost.