Beowulf
...o Denmark on a quest to save Herot.The story of Beowulf began "en medias res," or the middle of a conflict. Grendel had been stalking the Danes before the story began. He was already known for killing men and eating them. Everyone feared him. In the opening section of the story, Grendel was described in detail, but the actual story began with man singing in the Herot. Grendel gets mad with the men singing of God and the creation of the earth. The men were drinking and soon they were all sleep. Grendel kills them all and eats them, "delighted with the night's slaughter." It never said where the men were coming from or why they were celebrating. There were two grand speeches in the story. Beowulf made both. The first speech was made when he first arrived at Denmark. He spoke of who he was, where he was from and why he was there. Beowulf boasted about himself in this speech to Hrothgar, saying that he killed so many and was great warrior. Everyone already knew about him, but he had the right to brag. He was there to serve and defeat Grendel for the king of Danes. Beowulf made the next speech also. This was made at the dinning table in Herot. In this speech, Beowulf spoke of his destiny and fate. During this period, all true warriors believed in fate and felt that there destiny was already determined. Beowulf did not care whether he died in battle or not, it was all under God's control. "And if death does take me, sent the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac, return the inheritance I had from Hrethel and he from Wayland. Fate will unwind as it must!" The warriors in the story were Beowulf himself and Beowulf's army. In a way, you can say that Grendel was a warrior also in the way that he fought and destroyed his enemies for the common purpose of self-satisfaction. Beowulf's men all came to Herot to help Beowulf defeat Grendel. There were two main battles. In the first, Grendel was uncontested and killed and ate 30 men. In the final battle Grendel was killed. No warriors in Beowulf's army actually assisted Beowulf in destroying Grendel, but one was killed before he had a chance to fight for himself. Beowulf, the good warrior, and was victorious in the final battle between he and Grendel. Beowulf, with only his strong grip, ripped Grendel's shoulder and arm from his socket. Grendel escaped but died in his swamp like home. Grendel's arm was mounted on the rafters of the Meade hall, attached to his shoulder and claw for all to see. Characteristics of true heroic epics and Anglo-Saxon poetry are all present in the story of Beowulf. The society of this time is shown in this splendid piece of literature. Anglo-Saxon society was comparatively well developed, branching out from the family unit to the clan and tribe and then to the kingdom. While the Anglo-Saxons easily developed great loyalty to their chosen leaders, they had a natural tendency toward what we should call now a democratic habit of mind. That is, they liked to hold meetings in which people could openly express what they thought and felt. Tribes fought a lot, but they often helped each other out when in need. Beowulf was the strongest warrior of the Geats and with him he brought 14 strong and brave men to Denmark. There was no formal agreement between Higlac, the king of Geats and Hrothgar, the king of Danes to allow Beowulf to leave his homeland and take 14 warriors. The warriors were from Higlac's army and it wasn't his war. Beowulf left to fight Hrothgar's war. The Geats, in the story probably relied on Beowulf for protection, but this just shows the respect that the people of the Anglo-Saxon period had for each other. Little things like these in the story of Beowulf prove this work of art true, as both a heroic epic and authentic Anglo-Saxon poetry. Like a heroic epic, there are a few characteristics that define Anglo-Saxon poetry. There are three characteristics in total. Anglo-Saxon poetry has no rhyme, strong rhythm, presence of alliteration and kennings. The lines in Beowulf do not rhyme. On the hand, lines do have rhythm. Two examples of this are the 4 beats in each line and the caesuras present in the lines. A caesura is a strong pause in the middle of the line. Alliteration is repetition of constant sounds and Beowulf is full of them. One example of alliteration is in the phrase "...the proudly setting sun." The sound made by the s and the following vowel in both words is both very similar. Another example is in the phrase "So Hrothgar's men lived happy in his hall." The sound made by the h in this example and the following vowel is the same for the words happy and hall. The final example is "The seas, was told and swing in all." in which the sound made the sea and swing are similar. A kenning is a metaphorical phrase or compound. Three examples of a kenning are a "powerful monster," "Shepard of evil" and "guardian of crime," all describing Grendel. This builds excitement and accentuates action. Foreshadowing is used a number of times in Beowulf. The song of Sigmund (Lines 886- 914) suggests what Beowulf is to achieve later on. This, along with other language devices, adds to suspense. The poet mixes a use of ensanguined details to emphasize the monstrosity of Grendel and his mother while also exhibiting a lack of description of Grendel’s appearance to build fear, as Grendel is what the reader imagines him to be. Dramatic irony is another literary device used in Beowulf so that during battle scenes the reader knows who will win and is therefore more concerned with the horror of the fighting. An Anglo-Saxon hero is a person who has good leadership qualities, is able and willing to provide people with a sense of security, and is willing to go into danger despite possible harm to them. These Anglo-Saxon heroes usually were kings or thanes because they distinguished themselves above others by doing a good for the greater of everyone. This person has to be willing to put their own lives on the line for the benefit of others. There are several heroic characteristics, all of which Beowulf possesses. First of these characteristics is honor. Honor is showing a sense of integrity in one’s actions. When Beowulf went to the land of the Danes to kill Grendel, he did it not because he wanted money, but because he wanted to help out the Geats. Beowulf felt as if it was the right thing to do since he had been successful in past deeds, which he proudly says in lines 321-322, where he says, “They had in remembrance my courage and might. Many had seen me come safe from the conflict,” Beowulf expected no reward for his action, but rather just being able to “put another notch in his belt.” Another heroic characteristic, which Beowulf possesses, is bravery. Bravery is being able to go against the odds and possibly risk your life in the process. An example of Beowulf showing bravery is when he goes to slay the dragon even though all his men abandon him. He realizes that the dragon is more powerful than he is, but he will still not back down. In line 1493, he says “Not one foot’s space will I flee from the monster,” thus showing his true bravery by not giving up to the more powerful foe. One more heroic characteristic of Beowulf is his strong sense of duty. This means that he is always devoted to his people, his king, and their security. An example of this is again when he goes to slay the dragon. He has no help, he realizes that the dragon is more powerful, and most importantly, he realizes that he will probably not be returning victorious from this battle. In other words, he will die. In lines 1470-1474, it says “Sad was his spirit, restless and ready, And the march of Fate immeasurably near; Fate that would strike, seek his soul’s treasure, and deal asunder the spirit and flesh. Not long was his life encased in the body!” This basically means that Fate was soon to run its course and he would loose his life in battle. He had to and did go along with this because he was the king and it was his responsibility to provide security for his people. Even though it was his responsibility, he didn’t have to do it; he could have run away like others may have. Overall, a hero is a person with distinguished qualities who goes against adversity to commit good deeds despite what could happen to them. A hero is a person who does things out of honor, bravery, and duty, not for...