Kevin O’Connor
Rumination # 1
Throughout the poem, the narrator offers detailed accounts of Beowulf’s exploits, providing particular emphasis to the character traits the hero possesses. When describing the heroic adventures of the Geats, the narrator speaks of the royal line that Beowulf is from to describe his reasoning behind his efforts to help the Danes. After his defeat of Grendel, Beowulf is awarded treasures by the many Danish citizens, but the prince seems to be more concerned with the opinion of the people as they begin to heap their praise upon him. To him the testaments of the Danish citizens are measures of his worth, as the opinion of the people are the definitions of his character. Beowulf’s goal is to live up to the needs of the people, as he feels these duties fall in line with the traits worthy of royalty. This concern for his character is evident when Beowulf refuses to fight the unarmed Grendel, as he feels that fighting an opponent with a disadvantage would be a slight against his own character. In this moment Beowulf realizes that he must endure some matter of trials to know whether or not he is worthy of the praise of the Danish people.
When Grendel’s mother seeks revenge on the Danes for the slaughter of her son, Beowulf jumps at the chance to avenge the death of AEschere. This responsibility Beowulf feels towards the Danish people is that of protector, a duty he feels is synonymous with his royal blood. When Beowulf ventures into the water to fight Grendel’s mother he does so because he feels it his responsibility. He justifies his daring descent into battle by highlighting his kingly attributes. Instead of noting his own character traits, Beowulf recognizes the armor that he wears as being the armor worthy of royalty. The instance where Beowulf is almost struck a devastating blow only to be saved by this armor, offers the audience validation as why Beowulf is worthy of being a king.
Towards the end the narrative the narrator recalls the period of prosperity the Geats owe to Beowulf being their king. Yet at this point it is also brought to the attention of the audience that Beowulf has grown feeble in comparison to his glory days, highlighting the courageousness of the old man for choosing to battle the dragon. Even in his old age Beowulf puts the safety of his citizens before the safety of himself, choosing to venture into the cave to battle the dragon (although Wiglaf chooses to stay behind and help). When Beowulf dies he warns Wiglaf to ensure the dragon’s treasure be buried with him, so that the curse brings no harm on his people after he is gone. Beowulf’s actions throughout the course of the narrative convey a sense of heroism, yet for Beowulf his exploits are simply the social responsibilities of the king. When asked about his exploits as a boy, when he kills the sea-monster, Beowulf downplays this as something foolish. Instead, he chooses to focus on the task of protecting his people.
I completely agree with your statement that Beowulf is concerned with his responsibility to protect the Danish people, but I do not know how truly heroic Beowulf's actions are. I think that throughout the story Beowulf was able to prove himself through some of his battle scenes that the poet describes for us, but there are still the discrepancies about past heroic Beowulf accomplishments. Also, I found that Beowulf LOVED talking about himself and what he had done. Yes, he does find it necessary to protect society, but he also loves hearing that he is the protector and spreading what "truly" happened, like in the swimming race with the sea monsters, to the men in the mead hall. Overall, I think you nailed Beowulf on the head though. No matter what, the person who destroyed Grendel, avenges a death and kills a dragon is a hero because those acts require a courageous and strong character to complete them.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading Beowulf, I had the same reaction that both of you did - he believes it is a social responsibiliy to protect the people of his land. Even though Beowulf loves talking about himself and the accomplishments he has made, I did not see him as arrogant or cocky. I saw Beowulf as a hero from the very beginning of his life. Throughout the entire poem, the fate and destiny of Beowulf was left in God's hands. God planned for Beowulf to be a hero for his people and for his kingdom. Beowulf is aware of this path and therefore, lives up to his expectations. He knows that he is a hero and continuously is the only warrior that can defeat the monsters that the Danish people are exposed to. I found that throughout the entire poem, I was cheering for Beowulf in hopes that he would come out victorious. Even at the end of the poem, when Beowulf's death is foreshadowed, I was crossing my fingers for a turn of events - hoping that Beowulf would slay the dragon unexpectedly. In the end, Beowulf dies because he wanted to protect his people for the very last time, which is certainly seen as a noble act.
ReplyDeleteI’m going to have to partially disagree with you on this one. I don’t believe Beowulf is a hero until the very end when he faces the dragon. The first two fights are undertaken, not to defend those who cannot defend themselves, but to win Beowulf personal glory. He is saved from his cockiness by blind luck in that he did not attempt to strike Grendel with his sword, as the beast was protected from steel. His reasons for finding out and destroying Grendel’s mother are similarly selfish. Her attack on the Hall while Beowulf slept emasculated him and the fact that the attacks would have continued if nothing were done about Grendel’s mother take a back seat to pride. The end of the story shows Beowulf as a true hero. Far past his prime, the king puts his life on the line not for glory, but for his people. Though his narcissism (dulled with time) is still present in that he believes only he can defeat the dragon, he still undertakes the task as a reluctant defender, not a conqueror. I have heard it argued that the last fight was not a part of the original story and was added later on to give the character of Beowulf some much needed depth. It would not surprise me at all if the last section really was not part of the original work because it is quite a departure from the young Beowulf and turns the story from one of glory and revenge to one of human growth.
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