Beowulf's Bravery

Claire McGlave

Ms. Peifer

English 10 IB P. 5

13 December 2008

Beowulf Commentary

“If this combat kills me, take care
of my young company, my comrades in arms.
And be sure also, my beloved Hrothgar,
to send Hygelac the treasures I received.
Let the lord of the Gears gaze on that gold,
let Hrethel’s son take note of it and see
that I found a ring-giver of rare magnificence
and enjoyed the good of his generosity.
And Unferth is to have what I inherited:
to that far-famed man I bequeath my own
sharp-honed, wave-sheened wonderblade
With Hrunting I shall gain glory or die.

After these words, the prince of the Weather Geats
was impatient to be away and plunged suddenly:
without more ado, he dived into the
heaving depths of the lake. It was the best part of the day
before he could see the solid bottom.” (Haney, lines 1480-1496).

This is a very captivating quote because most of it comes directly from Beowulf himself. This is a rare occurrence in this great story. This quote, from third section of Beowulf, occurs when he fights Grendel’s mother. It is a great demonstration of the unknown author’s consistent work. It shows Beowulf’s greatness, and utilizes many impressive literal devices. The sentiment of this selection is very melancholy, which is fitting given that this story has many aspects, sad and happy, which add to its body.

There are several prominent themes in Beowulf. The most important is that Beowulf is brave, and he dies an honorable death. Here he is about to leave for a great battle, and must make a departing speech to the people. With his words “With Hrunting I shall gain glory or die.” (Haney, line 1491) he shows how important glory is, and how the only way to die an honorable death is to die in battle. As you can see, the Geat people love Beowulf, they glorify him because he has won many battles, he is the ultimate warrior. He shows them gratitude by saying “I found a ring-giver of rare magnificence and enjoyed the good of his generosity.” (Haney, lines1486-1487). This is an essential part of the story because it brings the people to Beowulf, makes them even more loyal to him by showing he has feelings and respect as well as glory. The last main theme is bravery. Beowulf is the bravest of all, as we can see when the narrator says “with out more ado, he dived into the heaving depths of the lake” (Haney, lines1494-1495). Earlier in the story this lake is described as a marsh, bubbling with bile, stinking, and full of strange dying creatures. Not many would gladly dive in to go to battle as Beowulf did.

This section is a great demonstration of the literary devices used in Beowulf. The most prominent (throughout the story) is alliteration. A great example is “Let the lord of the Geats gaze on that gold” (line 1484). In the original text (before translation) there was alliteration in every line, but that did not completely succeed through the translations. Alliteration catches the readers’ attention, keeps them engaged. It also gives the poem rhythm and style, a fun thing to catch if one is looking for it. Another literary device used is epithets. These are common in the epic stories of ancient Greece, but they also appear throughout Beowulf. Examples include: “Lord of the Geats” (line1484), “Hrethel’s Son” (line 1485), and “Prince of the Weather-Geats” (line1892). These are all substitutes for names of characters in this story. The author uses epithets to describe and personify the characters, as well as adapt their names to fit the original literary pattern of the poem. Lastly, this author used many strong adjectives. For example: magnificence, far-famed, plunged, and heaving. These words brighten up the story, they emphasize each point the author is trying to make. Without extreme adjectives, this story would be monotonous and boring. Beowulf used to be portrayed as a song before it was put into writing. The syntax of the author brought the music up and down, adding feeling and interest to however the Bard chose to play it. All of these devices are essential to making the story of Beowulf a success.

This tale is inspirational, action packed, at times even sad. It tells much about the Geats society, and their values of bravery, glory, and gratitude. This legend has a great history; it was always a song before it was put to writing. The author, however, brilliantly designed the syntax and rhythm to make this an enjoyable read, even after several translations. What is still in question is, did the Geats people truly love and glorify Beowulf for all the great things he did? Or were they just envious? Did they only honor him because each man longed for his glory himself?

Works Cited

Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Haney. New York: W.W. Naton and Company, 2008.

Beowulf LRJ #2

1.) Values:
Thinking quickly is a value in the Geats society, as shown when Beowulf quickly decides to rid himself of his sword when fighting Grendel's mother. He drops his sword, and fights her with his bare hands. He says, "So must a man do who intends to gain enduring glory in a combat. Life doesn't cost him a thought." (Haney, lines 1533-153). This quote also shows that glory is important to the Geats society. Beowulf used his instincts and bravery to get glory- all of this was treasured by his society. Another example of glory is when Beowulf returns with Grendel's head. "In he came then, the Thane's commander, the arch warrior, to address Hrothgar: his courage was proven, his glory was secure." (Haney, lines 1644-1646). This is a pure example of someone presenting another to their society as glorious, which shows they value that trait.

2.) Unrealistic Parts of Beowulf:
The most prominent unrealistic part of this story is when Beowulf is fighting Grendel's mother underwater. They could never be underwater long enough for this fight to occur with out drowning. The narrator says, "Watching the lake water, saw a heave-up and surge of waves and blood in the backwash." (Haney, lines 1592-1594). This is completely not plausible, but this drama makes the story much more effective, and was more enjoyable for people to here as a song. It surly added crescendos, differences in pace, and excitement to the music. Another example of this is when Beowulf decides to fights Grendel's mother with his bare hands, because his sword has broke. "So she pounced upon him and pulled out a broad, whetted knife, now she would avenge her only child." (Haney, lines 1546-1548). This is simply another example of a situation no one could have lived through, which is what makes Beowulf so amazing, and this story so much fun to read or hear.

3.) Favorite Quotes:
My favorite quotes of this story are the most descriptive one. They add more personalization to the story, and improve the visual so the story is more adventurous. The first is from when Beowulf killed Grendel's mother. It reads "Meanwhile, the sword began to wilt into gory icicles, to slather and thaw." (Haney, lines1606-1608). I love the lavish adjectives used, and that passage makes me really realize the importance of that battle. Another quote takes place earlier in the story, when Beowulf's armor is being described. It says "Beowulf got ready, donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; his mighty, hand-forged, fine webbed mail would soon meet with the manace underwater. It would keep the bone-cage of his body safe" (Haney, lines 1442-1446). This quote makes me really admire Beowulf, see how brave he is, even though he knows he may be facing death. It also gives me a great picture, even though it doesn't specifically describe Beowulf himself. The last quote I will discuss is from the last verse, describing Beowulf's return. "his courage was proven, his glory was secure. Grendel's head was hauled by the hair, dragged across the floor where the people were drinking, a horror for both queen and company to behold. They stared in awe. It was an astonishing sight." (Haney, lines 1646-1650). Although this is a bit gruesome, it really portrays the values of the story nicely. It also wraps up this section of the story nicely. I also think it is humorous that Beowulf can walk into the mead hall, dragging a bleeding monster head, and everyone, even the queen, will "stare at him in awe". This is a nice, bright way to finish the story of a hard battle.