The Significance of The Pardoners Tale and BeowulfLiterary history is a history of the major literary traditions, movements, works, and authors of a country, region, etc. (Barber 837). Understanding literary history allows us to gain insight into the past, a recognition of historical events and tensions written in the works of those who witnessed them. By including societal behaviors, political tensions, and common folklore, historical authors have indirectly provided the reader with a broader and deeper understanding of the literature and the period in which it was written. Besides insight into collective societal culture, literary history provided future writers with models of poetic device, style, and content influencing literary works and building on past literary ideas. Literary history is a vehicle for understanding the past and plays a major role in its influence on literature up to and including the present day. Knowledge of historical literature gives us insight into the traditions and societal conventions of the era in which the play was written. A remarkable example comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon era. Beowulf is a literary work that allows the reader to gain insight into not only societal customs but also the wild and seemingly uncontrollable environment of the first century. Literary historian Raymond Chambers points out that in the fight between Grendel and Beowulf, it seems that Grendel is representative of the degraded form of human life attempting to gain power through violence. In his attempt to overthrow Hrothgar and take control of Heorot, he is mortally wounded. injured by Beowulf. Beowulf is a character who exemplifies the collective societal agreement regarding the role of a hero and his duty to control a seemingly ungovernable environment (Chambers 46). The poet Beowulf describes Grendel and Beowulf as "both... enraged, filled with fury, both who wanted to control the hall." (Beowulf 36). The struggle for control of the hall could be seen as representative of the struggle between good and evil or perhaps the king's control over an uncontrollable people. Considering Mr. Chambers' explanation of Grendel, a reader may also think that the dragon symbolizes a threat from outside the human realm. We note that the dragon does not have the humanistic qualities of Grendel, he has no parents and seems to have no mortal thoughts. Due to its lack of humanistic characteristics, the reader may believe that the dragon is less representative of a human threat such as an enemy warrior, etc...