Unfortunately, I was added to this English class a little too late to write about Beowulf in the first week, So I thought I'd re-read it and write about my opinions about certain parts of it. As I'm sure you all know, in Beowulf, we follow the exploits of the titular character as he uses his supernatural strength to combat unholy beings like Grendal and a Dragon. He gains fame for himself, his people, and for his God as he uses the strength he was born with to combat and eventually defeats all three monsters he is faced with. Despite the great strength he has that is praised throughout the epic, an important fact remains is that Other people, both living and dead, were there to help him in his battles.
When Beowulf fought against Grendal, he had a group of warriors with him. While it is true that they could do nothing to harm Grendal himself, One of them still lost his life in Grendal's attack as he was eaten, and likely lulled Grendal into a false sense of security and pride in his demonic strength. One life was given to take the life of Grendal, and if that warrior hadn't given Beowulf a chance to see the strength and speed of Grendal, he might have underestimated his foe.
Later, in the his fight with Grendal's mother, Beowulf once again receives help, this time from a long forgotten sword of Giant from ancient times and the armor he was wearing. In the epic, it says "The son of Ecgtheow would have surely perished and the Geats lost their warrior under the wide earth had the strong links and locks of his war-gear not helped save him."(lines 1550-1552) The armor he wore, and thus the smith who forged it were given praise for the help they gave. As for the Gaint's sword, whose owner was likely long gone, also seems instrumental in Beowulf's victory with the lines "It was easy for the Lord, the Ruler of Heaven, to redress the balance" (1554-1555) as Beowulf found the sword and slew Grendal's mother.
The poem makes it seem as though without the work put into his armor, and the sword of the long-deceased giant just happening to be there, Beowulf would have stood little chance of defeating his foe.
"Next thing, they say, the noble son of Weohstan
saw the king in danger at his side
and displayed his inborn bravery and strength.
He left the head alone, but his fighting hand
was burned when he came to his kinsman's aid.
He lunged at the enemy lower down
so that his decorated sword sank into its belly
and the flames grew weaker. " (2694-2701)
The final example comes much further along in the epic as Beowulf and Wiglaf fought the dragon. Here in this part of the poem, the epic makes it clear that Beowulf would have lost and the dragon lived, despite his great strength, if Wiglaf hadn't managed to injure their foe. In the end, the dragon's final stroke still ended Beowulf's life.
The poem's depiction of Beowful's battles show how even with great strength gifted by god, one person can only do so much. The gift of making great armor and weapons, superhuman strength, and even the unholy powers that Beowulf's enemies had can only do so much if the being given that gift chooses to work by them-self. Grendal's Mother, Grendal, and the dragon all tried to cause havoc alone and lost when the combined strengths of metal smith's, god-given strength, and the bonds that tie people together are used against them. Perhaps Beowulf's story is more a tale of what humans can do when they work together with the gifts they are born with, than what one well gifted man can do alone, as it seems at first.
I find it interesting that you attribute the dead warrior with a portion of Beowulf's success. I find it interesting that the characters in the story (as well as the storyline itself) does not dwell more on the death of this character. Instead, they describe his death as gruesome yet quick but make little mention of who he was as a person. Additionally, they do not honor him for his help in the attack on Grendel. Your rumination offers a nice perspective on the story-line, one that gives credit where credit is due.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out Beowulf may not only be a story of a singular hero but of a group people that came together to accomplish a goal. I commented on during Week 1 that Beowulf may not have been able to defeat the dragon if it had not been Wiglaf. I really enjoyed how you highlighted other times that Beowulf needed to rely on someone other than himself in order to defeat his obstacle. Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this rumination, maybe in part because of that sick human urge to see people who are glorified by everyone be torn down from their perch. After reading this rumination, I have gone back and rethought about the story of Beowulf, trying to downplay the glory aspect and see the main character for what he is/was - a human being. He certainly did have help with everything, and as your rumination suggests, I think there was definitely an element of luck in his great accomplishments. He was in the right place at the right time, but as they say, the third time's the charm, and the dragon wound up killing him!
ReplyDeleteeven after reading all of your comments, i have a hard time thinking of Beowulf as a glorious tale about a number of great men. to me it is a shameless glorification of a single ruthless and violent man. They frequently compared him to the Gods in the text and if it weren't for Beowulf's strength and bravery, the monsters would not have been defeated. i think the men who die at the hands of the monsters (Beowulf's men as well as the ancient giant in Grendel's Mom's cavern) were great warriors as well, but that only serves as a testament to how much better Beowulf is. he succeeds where other great warriors have failed. To me the text was a team effort to immortalize one, particularly exceptional man, and to an extent they have.
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