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Table of Contents
Biography of Anonymous - Beowulf (?-?)............................................................................................................1
About Beowulf........................................................................................................................................................2
Character List.........................................................................................................................................................3
Scyld Shefing.............................................................................................................................................3
Beow (Beowulf).........................................................................................................................................3
Hrothgar.....................................................................................................................................................3
Heorot........................................................................................................................................................3
Grendel.......................................................................................................................................................3
Beowulf......................................................................................................................................................3
Wulfgar......................................................................................................................................................3
Ecgtheow....................................................................................................................................................4
Unferth.......................................................................................................................................................4
Wealhtheow...............................................................................................................................................4
Sigemund...................................................................................................................................................4
Heremod.....................................................................................................................................................4
Hildeburh...................................................................................................................................................4
Hrothulf......................................................................................................................................................4
Grendel's Mother........................................................................................................................................5
Aeschere.....................................................................................................................................................5
Hrunting.....................................................................................................................................................5
Hygelac......................................................................................................................................................5
Freawaru....................................................................................................................................................5
The Dragon................................................................................................................................................5
Naegling.....................................................................................................................................................5
Wiglaf........................................................................................................................................................6
Short Summary......................................................................................................................................................7
Summary and Analysis of Lines 1-193...............................................................................................................10
Summary and Analysis of Lines 194-709...........................................................................................................11
Summary and Analysis of Lines 710-915...........................................................................................................13
Table of Contents
Summary and Analysis of Lines 916-1250.........................................................................................................15
Summary and Analysis of Lines 1251-1649.......................................................................................................17
Summary and Analysis of Lines 1650-1887.......................................................................................................19
Summary and Analysis of Lines 1888-2199.......................................................................................................20
Summary and Analysis of Lines 2200-2537.......................................................................................................21
Summary and Analysis of Lines 2538-2819.......................................................................................................23
Summary and Analysis of Lines 2820-3182.......................................................................................................24
Related Links........................................................................................................................................................26
Author of ClassicNote and Sources....................................................................................................................27
Essay: Christianity and Danish Paganism.........................................................................................................28
Copyright Notice..................................................................................................................................................31
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About Beowulf
Beowulf is the first surviving epic written in the English language. The single existing copy of the manuscript
dates from the late tenth century, although some scholars believe it dates from the first part of the eleventh
century. It is found in a large volume that features stories involving mythical creatures and people. Two
different scribes copied the poem, most likely using an existing copy. Between 1066 and the Reformation, the
whole volume remained in a monastic library until Sir Robert Cotton gained possession of it for his own
extensive library. A fire consumed much of his library, and the volume containing Beowulf became badly
charred. Today the manuscript still exists, though it is falling apart rapidly due to the charring in the fire.
We do not have any definite knowledge about the poet--indeed, we do not even know the date of the poem's
composition. Through the study of Old English verse, most scholars believe that the poem was composed much
earlier than the Cotton manuscript, between 650 and 800. Some words in Beowulf do not adhere to the scansion
of Old English verse; however, using the older forms of the words, dating from the period given, causes the
lines to scan correctly. Yet accurately dating the poem is a difficult enterprise since the poem has such a
derivative quality. It is evident that the Beowulf poet wished to place his work within an even more ancient
tradition. Beowulf directly uses many ancient stories that have been preserved in later texts, such as the legend
of Sigemund and the account of the war at Finnesburh. In addition, the poem is written with the traditional epic
diction, with whole phrases taken from the other bards who sang the legends incorporated.
Despite his borrowing from other sources, perhaps in large quantities, the Beowulf poet nonetheless manages to
add his own specialized view of his characters' world. First and foremost, Beowulf's author is a Christian, and
he makes the Christian world extremely visible. He alludes to Cain and the Flood; he shows the Christian God's
influence upon the pagan world of the Danes. Yet he is obviously aware of his culture's pagan past and attempts
to describe it in great detail through rituals, such as the elaborate Germanic sea-burials and the grand feasts in
the mead-halls, and the ever-present belief in fate. Thus Beowulf's poet tries to recreate the past of his people for
his people, almost with a nostalgic feeling for the bygone pagan days.
About Beowulf
Character List
Scyld Shefing
He is known as one of the first great kings of the Danes. Upon his death he is given a remarkable burial at sea.
Eventually he becomes the great-grandfather of Hrothgar, king during Grendel's attacks upon the Danes.
Beow (Beowulf)
He is the son of Scyld Shefing, and a strong king in his own right. He is often confused with the hero of the
poem.
Hrothgar
He is the King of the Danes at the time of Grendel's assaults. He builds the hall Heorot as a tribute to his people
and his reign.
Heorot
This is the hall that Hrothgar builds in celebration of his reign. It is the site both of many happy festivals and
many sorrowful funerals.
Grendel
This man-monster is a descendant of Cain. He attacks Heorot after hearing the sounds of revelry there. Beowulf
eventually kills him, with his severed arm hung as a trophy in Heorot. His mother attempts to avenge his death.
Beowulf
He is a thane of the Geat king Hygelac and eventually becomes King of the Geats. The poem relates his heroic
exploits over 50 years, including the fights with Grendel and his mother and with the treasure-guarding dragon.
Wulfgar
He is one of Hrothgar's faithful thanes. As the watchman for the Danes, he is the first to greet Beowulf and his
thanes to the land of the Danes. He also deems the Geat visitors as people worthy enough to meet with
Character List
Hrothgar.
Ecgtheow
He is Beowulf's father. He is a Waegmunding by birth and a Geat by marriage. When he was younger, Hrothgar
helped him settle a feud with the Wylfingas.
Unferth
A thane of Hrothgar's, he taunts Beowulf in the hall about his swimming contest with Breca. However, Beowulf
shames him in the boasting match. His name means "discord."
Wealhtheow
She is Hrothgar's queen and the mother of his two sons. Her name comes from the Anglo-Saxon words for
"treasure bearer." She actually has the duty of presenting necklaces and mead-cups at court.
Sigemund
He is an ancient Germanic hero whose story is recounted after the fight with Grendel. He was known as the
famous dragon slayer.
Heremod
He was an ancient Danish king who went from being a good king to a ruthlessly evil king. Hrothgar uses him as
an example of bad kingship for Beowulf.
Hildeburh
Her story in recounted during the second feast for Beowulf at Heorot. She is an ancient Danish princess who
was married into the Frisian royalty. Her brother and her son were both killed in a war with the Frisians at
Finnesburh.
Hrothulf
He is Hrothgar's nephew. Wealhtheow calls upon him to protect her young sons if it should ever be necessary to
do so.
Wulfgar
Grendel's Mother
She is, of course, the mother of the man-monster Grendel. She comes to Heorot seeking vengeance for the death
of her son. Beowulf kills her.
Aeschere
Apparently he is one of Hrothgar's important officials and faithful thanes. Grendel's mother kills him, and
Hrothgar is inconsolable.
Hrunting
Unferth gives this sword to Beowulf to use in killing Grendel's mother. It is unable to cut her, however, so
Beowulf discards it. Later he returns it to Unferth with his thanks
Hygelac
This King of the Geats is also Beowulf's uncle. Upon hearing Beowulf's courageous exploits, he gives Beowulf
nearly half his kingdom.
Freawaru
She is the daughter of Hrothgar who is unmentioned until Beowulf tells Hygelac about her. Beowulf believes
that her marriage to a Heathobard prince will do more harm than good for the Danes.
The Dragon
This is the third and last monster that Beowulf must defeat. After a Geat slave steals from his treasure, he goes
on a rampage. Beowulf defeats him, but not before striking a mortal blow to him.
Naegling
Beowulf won this sword in a fight between the Geats and the Frisians. He uses it in the battle with the dragon.
Grendel's Mother
Wiglaf
This is Beowulf's kinsman through Ecgtheow's family, the Waegmundings. He is the only thane of Beowulf's
that stays with him during the battle with the dragon.
Wiglaf
Short Summary
The poem begins with a brief genealogy of the Danes. Scyld Shefing was the first great king of the Danes,
known for his ability to conquer enemies. Scyld becomes the great-grandfather of Hrothgar, the king of the
Danes during the events of Beowulf. Hrothgar, like his ancestors before him, is a good king, and he wishes to
celebrate his reign by building a grand hall called Heorot. Once the hall is finished, Hrothgar holds a large feast.
The revelry attracts the attentions of the monster Grendel, who decides to attack during the night. In the
morning, Hrothgar and his thanes discover the bloodshed and mourn the lost warriors. This begins Grendel's
assault upon the Danes.
Twelve years pass. Eventually the news of Grendel's aggression on the Danes reaches the Geats, another tribe.
A Geat thane, Beowulf, decides to help the Danes; he sails to the land of the Danes with his best warriors. Upon
their arrival, Hrothgar's thane Wulfgar judges the Geats worthy enough to speak with Hrothgar. Hrothgar
remembers when he helped Beowulf's father Ecgtheow settle a feud; thus, he welcomes Beowulf's help gladly.
Heorot is filled once again for a large feast in honor of Beowulf. During the feast, a thane named Unferth tries to
get into a boasting match with Beowulf by accusing him of losing a swimming contest. Beowulf tells the story
of his heroic victory in the contest, and the company celebrates his courage. During the height of the
celebration, the Danish queen Wealhtheow comes forth, bearing the mead-cup. She presents it first to Hrothgar,
then to the rest of the hall, and finally to Beowulf. As he receives the cup, Beowulf tells Wealhtheow that he
will kill Grendel or be killed in Heorot. This simple declaration moves Wealhtheow and the Danes, and the
revelry continues. Finally, everyone retires. Before he leaves, Hrothgar promises to give Beowulf everything if
he can defeat Grendel. Beowulf says that he will leave God to judge the outcome. He and his thanes sleep in the
hall as they wait for Grendel.
Eventually Grendel arrives at Heorot as usual, hungry for flesh. Beowulf watches carefully as Grendel eats one
of his men. When Grendel reaches for Beowulf, Beowulf grabs Grendel's arm and doesn't let go. Grendel
writhes about in pain as Beowulf grips him. He thrashes about, causing the hall to nearly collapse. Soon Grendel
tears away, leaving his arm in Beowulf's grasp. He slinks back to his lair in the moors and dies.
The Danes, meanwhile, consider Beowulf as the greatest hero in Danish history. Hrothgar's minstrel sings songs
of Beowulf and other great characters of the past, including Sigemund (who slew a dragon) and Heremod (who
ruled his kingdom unwisely and was punished). In Heorot, Grendel's arm is nailed to the wall as a trophy.
Hrothgar says that Beowulf will never lack for riches, and Beowulf graciously thanks him. The horses and men
of the Geats are all richly adorned, in keeping with Hrothgar's wishes.
Another party is held to celebrate Beowulf's victory. Hrothgar's minstrel tells another story at the feast, the story
of the Frisian slaughter. An ancient Danish king had a daughter named Hildeburh; he married her to a king of
the Frisians. While Hnaef, Hildeburh's brother, visited his sister, the Frisians attacked the Danes, killing Hnaef
Short Summary
and Hildeburh's son in the process. Hengest, the next leader of the Danes, desired vengeance, and in the spring,
the Danes attacked the Frisians, killing their leader and taking Hildeburh back to Denmark.
After this story is told, Wealhtheow presents a necklace to Hrothgar while pleading with her brother-in-law
Hrothulf to help her two young sons if they should ever need it. Next she presents many golden treasures to
Beowulf, such as necklaces, cups, and rings. Soon the feast ends, and everyone sleeps peacefully.
In the night, Grendel's mother approaches the hall, wanting vengeance for her son. The warriors prepared for
battle, leaving enough time for Grendel's mother to grab one of Hrothgar's counselors and run away. When
Beowulf is summoned to the hall, he finds Hrothgar in mourning for his friend Aeschere. Hrothgar tells
Beowulf where the creatures like Grendel livein a shadowy, fearful land within the moors.
Beowulf persuades Hrothgar to ride with him to the moors. When they reach the edge of the moors, Beowulf
calls for his armor, takes a sword from Unferth, and dives into the lake. After a long time, Beowulf reaches the
bottom of the lake, where Grendel's mother is waiting to attack. Beowulf swings his sword, but discovers that it
cannot cut her, so he tosses it away. They then wrestle until Beowulf spies a large sword nearby. He grabs it by
the hilt and swingskilling Grendel's mother by slicing off her head. Still in a rage, Beowulf finds the dead
Grendel in the lair and cuts off his head as a trophy.
As they wait, the Danes have given up all hope for Beowulf because he has been underwater for such a long
time. They are shocked when Beowulf returns with Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword (which melted with
the heat of Grendel's blood). They bear the hero and his booty back to Heorot, where another celebration takes
place. Beowulf recounts his battle; Hrothgar praises him and gives him advice on being a king. A grand feast
follows, and Beowulf is given more priceless treasures. The next morning, the Geats look forward to leaving
Denmark. Before they leave, Beowulf promises aid for Hrothgar from the Danes. Hrothgar praises Beowulf and
promises that their lands will have an alliance forever. As the Geats leave, Hrothgar finds himself wishing
Beowulf would never leave.
The Geats return with much rejoicing to their homeland, where their king Hygelac and his queen Hygd greet
them. In an aside, the narrator compares Hygd to the queen of the ancient Offa, who is not tamed until Offa
comes to subjugate her. Beowulf tells his lord the events of his trip to Denmark. In the process, he tells another
story that had previously been unmentioned. Hrothgar betrothed his daughter Freawaru to a prince of the
Heathobards in order to settle an old feud. Beowulf speculates that someone will goad this Heathobard prince to
take vengeance upon the Danes for all their past wrongs. Hygelac praises Beowulf for his bravery and gives him
half the kingdom. They rule the kingdom together in peace and prosperity. Hygelac is killed in a battle soon
after, so Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules the kingdom well.
In the fiftieth year of Beowulf's reign, a monster arises to terrorize the Geats. A treasure trove was left by an
ancient civilization, which guarded it jealously until only one member of the race was left. After the last
person's death, a fire-breathing dragon found the treasure and guarded it for three hundred years. One day, a
Short Summary
slave stumbled upon the treasure and stole a cup as an offering to his lord. The dragon awakened to find
something missing from his treasure, and began his rampage upon the Geats.
One day, Beowulf learns that this dragon has destroyed his own great hall. This attack sends him into deep
thought. Soon he orders a shield to use for battle, but not without a heavy heart at what may happen to him. He
recalls Hygelac's death in battle and his own narrow escape from this battle. He recalls a number of battles he
has seen as he travels to the dragon's lair with eleven of his thanes. The servant who stole the cup leads them to
the lair.
As they wait to attack the dragon, Beowulf recounts the Geat royal family's plight, in which Hygelac's oldest
brothers killed each other and left their father to die of a broken heart. Beowulf says he served Hygelac well,
and a sword (named Naegling) that he won while serving Hygelac will help him save the kingdom once again.
Beowulf leads the charge to the dragon's cave. The shield protects him from the dragon's flames, but his men
flee in fear, leaving only one man behind. This man is Wiglaf, Beowulf's kinsman through Ecgtheow. Wiglaf
becomes angry, but swears that he will stay by Beowulf's side.
Just then the dragon rushes up to them. Beowulf and the dragon swing at each other three times, finally landing
mortal blows upon each other the last time. The dragon is beheaded, but Beowulf is bitten and has a mortal
poison from the dragon flowing through his body as a result. Wiglaf bathes his lord's body as Beowulf speaks
on the treasure. He says that Wiglaf should inherit it as his kinsman; then he dies.
After his death, the cowards return, to be severely chastised by Wiglaf. He sends a messenger to tell the people
of their king's death. The messenger envisions the joy of the Geats' enemies upon hearing of the death of
Beowulf. He also says that no man shall ever have the treasure for which Beowulf fought. Wiglaf and Beowulf's
thanes toss the dragon's body into the sea. They place the treasure inside a mound with Beowulf's body and
mourn for "the ablest of all world-kings."
Short Summary
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Analysis:
We receive the first bit of character development of Beowulf in this part of the poem. We learn that he is
beloved of his people, a faithful thane of Hygelac, and a prince in his own right (through his father Ecgtheow).
He is respectful to everyone he encounters, from the lowly coast guard to King Hrothgar. Later, he even shows
his respect for women in his gentle words to Wealhtheow. The rumor mill has told the Danish court that he is
actually a good, strong warrior. Finally, Beowulf does believe in religion. He follows both the ancient Germanic
practices and the Christian practices, as we see in his ability to leave it entirely in the hands of God and Wyrd
(the Anglo-Saxon word for "fate"). In short, he seems like just the man for the job, and Hrothgar realizes it.
Of course, Beowulf still has to prove himself to the company of the Danes. Enter Unferth, the maker of discord.
Unferth's job is to test the actual valor of the warrior and his ability to fend off a verbal attack. Beowulf not only
answers the challenge (yes, he did win the contest), he also shows the extent of his bravery (he defeated the sea
monsters) and discredits Unferth's truthtelling (Unferth is nothing but a drunk murderer who can't act). With his
graceful and complete defense, Beowulf proves himself to be the consummate warrior, able to fight with words
and swords equally well.
The boasting match between Unferth and Beowulf is the first in a series of told and retold stories within the
poem. Throughout the poem, stories are told several times, with different details appearing with each retelling.
This repetition of stories is very important. It reveals the oral nature of the culturepeople learn most legends
and histories of their land through these stories. It makes the people learn morals by examples of people who did
good or ill. Finally, the stories work as tools for foreshadowing, especially within the larger narrative. As we
will learn, Beowulf's ability to swim for long distances and long periods will become very important in his
defeat of Grendel's mother.
The characters also provide foreshadowing for each other in the poem. Hrothgar and Wulfgar have a very close
relationshipWulfgar serves Hrothgar faithfully, while Hrothgar relies on Wulfgar for sound judgement. Later
this will resemble the relationship between king Beowulf and his faithful thane Wiglaf. One can also compare
the relationship between Beowulf as the young warrior and Hrothgar as the
young-warrior-turned-old-powerless-king. Hrothgar almost certainly indicates Beowulf's fate at the same
agepowerless, needing to rely on other thanes to help him.
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good) and dark (symbolizing evil) returns again and again in the poem.
Some have wondered why Beowulf didn't run to action immediately when the monster enters. Why would he let
two of his men meet such a terrible fate? Beowulf sees them as a necessary sacrifice. Again he uses the sense of
a true warrior to act. Instead of rushing into battle blindly, Beowulf chooses to stand back and get a better idea
of the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.
The scop sings as the men return to Heorot. Here the scop acts as a historian and places Beowulf into his
song-annals as a man like the heroes of old. He uses the story of Sigemund as a teaching tool for Beowulf, who
has the courage to defeat a dragon. Sigemund's story also serves as foreshadowing for Beowulf's future.
Eventually Beowulf will come to fight a dragon, with only one thane by his side. The story of Heremod serves
as a lesson to Beowulf, teaching him how not to rule a kingdom.
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treasures; Hrothgar cannot understand how to pay a fitting wergild to Grendel for all his lost men. The attack
here is thus an attempt for Grendel's mother to retrieve the wergild on her son's life.
Hrothgar and his men show their usual cowardice in this section. Instead of asking who has killed his beloved
thane and resolving to do something about it, Hrothgar merely weeps over the dead body. The Danes and Geats
both quake in fear at the sight of the creatures and Aeschere's head. Beowulf, meanwhile, acts bravely, asking
Hrothgar to take him to the moors, simply diving into the water instead of hanging around talking.
This battle is not as easy for Beowulf as the first one was. We knew that he could swim for great distanceswe
learned this in the Breca episode. Yet it takes more than Unferth's sword to defeat Grendel's mother. In fact, the
battle is won when the giant sword magically appears. This represents Beowulf's decline even in the prime of
his lifefrom this point, the battles will get harder for him.
The battle can be seen as a Christian allegory. Beowulf swims to hell (the underground of the moors). It is a
dark place. He does battle with the devil (Grendel's mother). Although he nearly loses, God grants him a sign
that will help him win (the vision of the sword). Beowulf kills the devil, and light from heaven fills hell as a
blessing. Beowulf then returns from the darkness of hell to reach the light of heaven. In this allegory, Beowulf
represents Jesus' descent to hell and return to life in the Resurrection. Later the poet will compare Beowulf to
Christ again.
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The narrator reveals the similarity between the mighty Beowulf and the lowly survivor quite powerfully. The
survivor speaks hauntingly about the uselessness of wealth when death is so near. After the dragon arrives and
attacks, Beowulf is shown, worrying about the usefulness of life when battles and death are waiting. Each man
has his own dragon to fight (the monster of greed for the survivor and the actual dragon for Beowulf), even as
they wait for death.
A story imagined previously actually occurs, showing the predicting nature of stories. The scenario that
Wealhtheow feared for her own sons happened to the Geats. Hygelac's sons are killed not by a brother, but by a
brother tribe in the Swedes.
Beowulf is not the warrior he used to be; instead, he resembles the now-dead Hrothgar. Once he needed only his
bare hands to defeat an enemy; now he needs a pilfered sword and a large shield. Once he relished a battle; now
he wishes he didn't have to fight. Once he knew victory was certain; now the only thing certain is death. The
narrator clearly represents the change in men between youth and old age.
Beowulf's pause before attacking is akin to Jesus' speech at the Last Supper. Certainly the settings are similar.
Beowulf is surrounded by 12 men, with the slave who stole the cup acting as the betraying Judas (and the
destroyer of the kingdom). Beowulf, like Jesus, knows that he will die soon. He passes on the story of his rise to
the throne to his disciples, so that they will pass it on in remembrance of him.
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Finally, closure is achieved in the poem by having it end as it began--with a funeral scene. Certain elements are
retained between the two funerals. The people still mourn, and the king meets death accompanied by a wealth of
treasure. This time, however, Beowulf cannot be sent out to sea as Scyld Shefing was, because he is too earthly
in his desire to see the wealth. In addition, the sea has been corrupted by the bodies of the monsters resting in its
depths. Therefore, Beowulf must be buried on land, with the treasures of mankind surrounding his ashes,
pointing the way for all men that should happen to sail over the sea. It is a fitting end to the warrior who worked
to protect his peoplethe chance for rest, though still ably serving a purpose.
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Related Links
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/English/Beowulf/eBeowulf/guide.htm
E-text of Beowulf
http://www.georgetown.edu/irvinemj/english016/beowulf/beowulf.html
Resources for Studying Beowulf
http://www.lone-star.net/literature/beowulf/index.html
Adventures of Beowulf
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/subjects/british_isles/anglo-saxon/anglo-saxon.html
Anglo-Saxon Culture
Related Links
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However, the claw has a different meaning to Grendel's mother who sees it as an extreme sign of disrespect to
her dead son and is enraged that it is hung for all to see as a trophy. The mother's rage and hurt is another human
emotion, which eventually leads to her revenge on the thanes when she storms the hall to regain the claw. She is
even described as having the "war terror of a wife" which associates her with human beings instead of monsters.
(Tuso, 23) This causes the reader to feel a certain amount of sympathy towards her, a Christian value, even
though she decapitates one of the favored thanes. However, she is later regarded as a "sea wolf" when Beowulf
bravely goes after her, so that the reader can again celebrate Beowulf's bravery.
Beowulf's character can be read as haughty and his actions interpreted as purely selfish on a quest for glory and
fame, but his bravery can also be read as the ultimate sacrifice. Another Christian virtue is self-sacrifice for the
good of others. Beowulf risks his life when he fights Grendel hand to claw and later on dives into the dangerous
mere alone. His trip down to the bottom of the mere is symbolically similar to a journey to hell. He travels
downwards and on his way "many monsters attacked him in the water, many a sea-beast tore at his mail shirt
with war tusks, strange creatures afflicted him." (Tuso, 27) These could be symbols of the types of creatures one
would encounter through the passages to hell and Grendel's mother's lair is where the devil, or maybe one
reincarnation of the devil resides.
Beowulf kills Grendel's mother even though the odds are against him since he is not on his own turf. Again, the
theme of the lesser, good one triumphing over the evil one is seen here. Perhaps god's intervention takes place
when Beowulf is in the lair as a "blaze brightened, light shone within just as from the sky heaven's candle
shine's clear" appears to Beowulf as Grendel's mother falls dead. (Tuso, 28) However, pagan influence is seen as
well in this passage when the sword used by Beowulf is examined. Giants, supernatural beings, made the sword
and its hilt is "twisted and ornamented by snakes." (Tuso, 30) It is likely that Pagans worshipped animals as
gods, so these animal symbols held special meaning for early Danish society. What is ironic about the sword is
that its story tells of the last remaining Giants who were eventually slew by humans, but now it saves a human
beings life who is killing off perhaps the last ogre. It seems as if it should have helped the mother, not Beowulf.
The characters of Grendel's mother and the dragon help the author express another important virtue; loyalty. For
example, when Beowulf is in the mere, after nine hours Hrothgar's men give up on Beowulf, but his men remain
steadfast even though they "are sick at heart." (Tuso, 28) Later on, loyalty is again seen when all of Beowulf's
men flee except for Wiglaf during the battle with the dragon. Even though he is afraid, he also understands
self-sacrifice and loyalty, so he willingly risks his life to save Beowulf's. After the other men, "crept to the
wood, protected their lives," Wiglaf remained with a "heart surged with sorrows: nothing can ever set aside
kinship in him who means well." (Tuso, 44) This strong Christian value is rewarded in the end when Beowulf
chooses Wiglaf to be his successor.
Besides rewards, punishments are also given for those who make mistakes. For example, greediness is
considered a punishable sin. Beowulf resists greediness when he chooses to bring Grendel's head back with him
instead of the hordes of treasure. This action can also be interpreted as fame seeking and his deed does add to
the epic quality of the poem since "four of them had trouble in carrying Grendel's head on spear-shafts to the
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gold hall" even though Beowulf, alone swam with the head to the top of the mere. (Tuso, 29) However, his
action shows that he knows that he already has a considerable amount of money and he understands that money
is only a tangible good. In early Danish society, fame and success was probably much more important than
wealth. This is seen when Beowulf is chosen as king for his loyalty to the previous king and his heroic deeds.
Greediness is punished when the reader sees that the dragon has wasted all of his life guarding treasure that he
will never use and the reason for the dragon's attack on Beowulf's land is that another man wanted the treasure.
The last key creature, the dragon, is terrifyingly depicted, but lacking the humanistic qualities that Grendel and
his mother possess. The reader does not feel sympathy for the dragon because the dragon is described as "the
evil spirit" who "began to vomit flames, burn bright dwellings; blaze of fire rose to the horror of the men, the
deadly flying thing would leave nothing alive." (Tuso, 41) The pagan influence is seen in the character of the
dragon. The dragon is obviously a creature from past Danish myths and this one is even too strong for brave
Beowulf to destroy alone.
The author employs the character of the dragon to show the irony among early Danish society and Beowulf's
weakness; pride. Beowulf starts out the book as a hero and this lands him the kingship. However, in the end,
when he is forced to choose between being a hero or a king, he chooses being a hero. Hrothgar warned Beowulf
that his pride may get in the way in the future, but Beowulf forgets his good judgment when the dragon attacks.
As Hrothgar foreshadowed years before, "Have no care for pride, great warrior. Now for a time there is glory in
your might; yet is soon shall be sickness or sword that with diminish your strengththen is shall be that death
will overcome you, warrior." (Tuso, 31) He ends up leaving his kingdom in a time of need instead of being a
responsible King and accepting that he has given up his role as a hero. In this instance, instead of risking his life
as a self-sacrifice like he did as a hero, his real sacrifice would have been to remain king and forego a last
chance at final glory and fame. However, Beowulf truly is a hero at heart, so he chooses the warrior path. In the
end, he has a warrior's burial on a funeral pyre, instead of a more Christian type service. Beowulf's
shortsightedness and quest for glory are clearly part of the pagan influence on the poem that molds it into the
heroic epic that it is.
The poem beautifully celebrates the culture of the early Danes, while incorporating newer influences from
Christianity. It is interesting in the end that Beowulf's heroism, a Danish attribute, triumphs over the Christian
values of humility and self-sacrifice. Beowulf can be interpreted so many different ways, but it stands out
almost as much as a historical document of the changing times as a great work of fiction.
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