“Anyone with gumption/ and a sharp mind will take the measure/ of two things,” states one of the Danish warriors in Beowulf: “what’s said and what’s done” (287-289). Beowulf is, above all, a poem about language, about storytelling: the stories told of the great ones, and the stories the great ones hope will be told about themselves. It is a poem about the importance of boasting and vows, the power of the word made flesh, and the crucial link between worda ond worca, “what’s said and what’s done.” The bulk of the poem's content does not concentrate on what is happening in the present action of the tale, but on the telling what has happened and what will happen. Through language, the Danes and the Geats state their intentions and define themselves as a people; they recall the past exploits that shape the present, and "a battle-scarred veteran, bowed with age,/ would begin to remember the martial deeds/ of his youth and prime and be overcome/ as the past welled up in his wintry heart" (2112-2115). Stories of times gone by and boasts of past accomplishments link the characters to their past; vows of deeds to come and the promise of glory after their deaths help to carry them into the future. As parallels between the past and the present are constantly drawn, the heroes use the example of earlier warriors in hopes of accomplishing the great deeds that will win them similar renown.
"So,” begins poem. “The Spear-Danes in days gone by/ and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness./ We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns” (1-3). What follows is a brief history lesson, the story of “Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,/ a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes” (4-5). What purpose does this passage, and many others like it throughout the poem, serve? Beowulf is filled with flashbacks and stories of times gone by that, to some readers, have little or nothing to do with the action at hand, resulting in "the annoyance of modern readers who lack the cultural competence that Anglo-Saxon aristocrats took for granted," notes John Niles in his essay "Reconceiving Beowulf: Poetry as Social Praxis" (Niles 151). But these flashbacks are, in fact, a crucial part of the play’s action, for they "keep alive the memory of a great number of kings, heroes and tribes" (Niles 151) and serve as a reminder of the standards of kingship that the warriors are expected to live up to. “In an oral world without maps or other kinds of visualization," writes Edward B. Irving in Rereading Beowulf, "we hear about other more remote lands, times, nations, or individuals, in oral reports brought in to this center. This exactly describes the atmosphere of Beowulf, an atmosphere established by the we gefrunon ‘we have heard about’ of its opening lines" (Irving 29). Details of Shield's prowess, therefore, are given in order to demonstrate what made a “good king” in the eyes of the Danes (11); the passage also serves to establish the cohesion of the listeners as a people, assuring us that "'we' are the ones who know the stories" (Niles 157).
As the poet then goes on to tell us, Shield's son, another Beowulf, was “renowned./ …a famous son:/ Beow’s name was known through the north” (17-19). The importance of such renown to the tribes of the poem cannot be overstressed. To gain glory, in a warrior culture such as this one, was to live on even after life, which was often unpleasant and unpredictable, had ended. As J.D.A. Ogilvy and Donald C. Baker point out in Reading Beowulf, "the medieval attitude toward death differs from ours in a way almost impossible for a modern to grasp. Life in the Middle Ages was much shorter and more uncertain than it is today. One who did not perish by the sword might be taken off at any time by famine or pestilence” (Ogilvy/Baker 104). Therefore, the role of the warrior was to “perform worthily and win the respect of their fellows and the world at large- in Anglo-Saxon terms to exhibit ellen (valor) and to win dom (glory)" (Ogilvy/Baker 104). The remainder of the passage traces Shield’s line through Hrothgar and tells of the building of Heorot, the hall which Grendel attacks, thereby bringing the reader into the present space of the poem and enabling the "legendary past and their almost definable history [to] meet” (Clark 43).
Language identifies the Danes as a people, what sets them apart from the world outside; Grendel’s rage is first provoked by “the harp being struck/ and the clear song of a skilled poet/ telling with mastery of man’s beginnings” (89-91), by the story of a mankind that excludes him. The use of language conveys the sorrow of Grendel's wrath, thereby inspiring the hero to travel to Denmark in their aid; "Sad lays were sung about the beset king,/ the vicious raids and ravages of Grendel” (151-152). Upon his arrival, the first challenge he receives is not one of physical strength, but one of speech. “What kind of men are you?” (237), he is asked, and he must declare his identity and his intention: “We belong by birth to the Geat people/ and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac… I come to proffer/ my wholehearted help and counsel” (260-261, 277-278). His challenger finds Beowulf trustworthy because he has witnessed his worda ond worca, or words and actions (289).
Upon arriving at Hrothgar's court, Beowulf introduces himself to the king with a boast: “When I was younger,/ I had great triumphs” (408-409). He then tells the tale of his past exploits, which serve as evidence that he will prove similarly brave against Grendel (419-424). Then, as he does several times throughout the first part of the poem, he once again states his intent, “to be a match for Grendel,/ settle the outcome in single combat” (425-426). Using stories of the past to connect with the present, Hrothgar then recalls his connection to Beowulf by telling the story of his own feud with Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow. Again stressing the importance of the formal declaration that we witness throughout the poem, the feud was finally ended with “oaths of allegiance” (472). Then he brings the reader back into the present with the story of the Danes' struggles against Grendel (480-488).
Here Beowulf receives his third verbal challenge between himself and Unferth, what Kemp Malone in his essay "Beowulf" calls a “war of words” (Malone 144). Even the language of the poem itself implies the power of speech and the connection between spoken language and heroic deeds, for Unferth’s “contrary words” are literally beadu-rune, or battle-runes (501), runes being "the Germanic alphabet invented, according to tradition, by Othin, god of wisdom and poetry, war and strife” (Clark 60, emphasis mine). The insult that Unferth gives is the suggestion that Beowulf failed to fulfill his boast that he could defeat Breca; hence, he is not questioning his strength itself so much as he is accusing Beowulf of being unable to live up to his words, suggesting that he is an “empty braggart” (Irving 39). The implication here that that he will fare no better against Grendel:
“So Breca made good
his boast upon you and was proved right.
No matter, therefore, how you may have fared
in every bout and battle until now,
this time you’ll be worsted; no one has ever
outlasted an entire night against Grendel.” (523- 528)
Here Unferth has formally challenged Beowulf's beot, or boast. “[P]erformed, the ‘beot’ means fame; unperformed, disgrace,” notes Clark. “Beowulf’s ‘beot’ will inevitably shame the Danish ruling class, and his victory will make that shame indelible” (Clark 60-61). Here, Unferth functions not just as a singular opinion but as a “spokesman for the community of Danes” (Irving 38). Even his title, thyle, suggests “something like ‘spokesman’ or ‘public orator’” (Irving 47). Unferth’s role here is to “vent the hitherto unexpressed resentment many Danish warriors must have been feeling at the intrusion of this brash young foreigner who claimed he could do what they could not” (Irving 38). By pledging to defeat a foe that the Danes have found undefeatable, Beowulf has insulted their skill as warriors, for they equate a pledge with actual accomplishment, a guarantee to get the job done. The "beotword" was "spoken by a warrior about to fight or even during a conflict… It was the proper thing to do: a statement of intention. Once made, it must be lived up to or died by” (Ogilvy/Baker, 106).
Beowulf dismisses Unferth’s words as meaningless; “it was mostly beer/ that was doing the talking” (531-532). Then, just as Unferth speaks on behalf of the Danes, Beowulf responds to them as a group, choosing to “broaden the charge to include all Danes” (Irving 40). He supports his boast and humiliates the Danes with their inability to defeat their foe, again vowing to accomplish the deed:
“[I]f you were truly
as keen or courageous as you claim to be
Grendel would never have got away with
such unchecked atrocity…
He knows he can trample down you Danes
to his heart’s content, humiliate and murder
without fear of reprisal. But he will find me different.
I will show him how Geats shape to kill
in the heat of battle.” (590-593, 599-603)
Soon after, Beowulf gives the court a “formal boast” (639):
“I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea…
I meant to perform to the uttermost
what your people wanted or perish in the attempt
in the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose,
prove myself with a proud deed
or meet my death here in the mead-hall.” (633-638)
"Formal vows, words spoken in public and marked as deeply significant, create and sustain the code of honor,” writes Clark (57). The importance of this “formal boast” cannot be overemphasized; as Clark goes on to say, “Hrothgar longs to hear Beowulf’s formal vow to fight Grendel to the death since the words of the vow will both bind Beowulf to the attempt and strengthen him in the act” (Clark 57). Once the vow has been spoken, Beowulf holds the responsibility of living up to his words; to fail in his promise would ensure shame, not glory, after death. “Beowulf’s concern [is] with worldly glory as a means to immortality," note Ogilvy and Baker (33). Understanding this, the incentive Hrothgar gives Beowulf to fight is one of reputation; he tells him to “keep in mind your fame” (659). Sure enough, as the fight begins, Beowulf “ recall[s]/ his bedtime speech” (757-758) and draws strength from his duty to fulfill his vow, thereby defeating Grendel. “The poem explicitly confirms Hrothgar’s wisdom in inviting the hero to speak," Clark points out; "Grendel thinks only of escape, Beowulf of his vow” (Clark 58).
The poet notes that, having “boldly fulfilled his boast to the Danes,” Beowulf had “healed and relieved a huge distress;”
unremitting humiliations,
the hard fate they’d been forced to undergo,
no small affliction. (827-832)
The “hard fate” referred to here, it seems, is not the carnage Grendel has caused for years, but the “unremitting humiliations,” the damage that has been done to their reputation due to their inability to defeat a foe. As a result of his accomplishment, “Beowulf’s doings/ were praised over and over again” (856-857). He has achieved what he most desired: “You have won renown,” Wealhtheow tells him, “you are known to all men/ far and near, now and forever” (1221-1222). A proven hero, Beowulf now becomes part of the tradition of storytelling that celebrates great warriors. A “traditional singer deeply schooled/ in the lore of the past” connects a “new theme”— the story of Beowulf’s exploits— with a “strict metre,” the formula of storytelling that has been passed down through generations. By “rehearsing Beowulf’s/ triumphs and feats in well-fashioned lines,” our hero becomes part of that tradition of great warriors (865-873). The poem continues with the story of the great king Sigemund, placing Beowulf "side by side with a hero of Frankish legend, one of the chief figures of Germanic story” (Malone 151).
After the tale of Sigemund, whose "name was known everywhere” (897), there are still more "poems to celebrate:"
They sang then and played to please the hero,
words and music for their warrior prince,
harp tunes and tales of adventure:
there were high times on the hall benches
and the king’s poet performed his part… (1062-1066)
The use of poetry was of no small importance to the warriors of the poem; as James W. Earl writes in Thinking About Beowulf, it "serve[s] the small groups of the warrior class… by illustrating and defining the bonds that held them together” (Earl 122). As Malone points out, fame was ensured "not merely by force of ordinary tradition but also, and in large measure, by the force of poetic tradition. The scops kept the old ideals strong by singing the heroes of the past" (Malone 142).
The next story the poet tells is that of the fight between the Danes and the Frisians (1070-1158). In this tale, peace can only be made by using language, and peace can only be kept by controlling language’s power:
Both sides then sealed their agreement.
With oaths to Hengest Finn swore
openly, solemnly, that the battle survivors
would be guaranteed honour and status.
No infringement by word or deed,
no provocation would be permitted.
Their own ring-giver after all
was dead and gone, they were leaderless,
in forced allegiance to his murderer.
So if any Frisian stirred up bad blood
with insinuations or taunts about this,
the blade of the sword would arbitrate it. (1195-1106)
Another heroic challenges soon arises, and the hero vows to defeat the latest foe, Grendel’s mother. "With that the old lord sprang to his feet," the poet writes, "and praised God for Beowulf’s pledge” (1397-1398). Having now earned the reputation of one who fulfills his oaths, Beowulf is expected to win glory once again; Unferth, on the other hand, being “not man enough/ to face the turmoil of a fight under water/ and the risk to his life,” has “lost/ fame and repute” (1468-1471). As with the previous fight, the power of "what's said" urges Beowulf towards glory. Throughout the battle, he “kept thinking about/ his name and fame: he never lost heart” (1529-1530); for “[s]o must a man do/ who intends to gain enduring glory/ in a combat” (1534-1536). And, sure enough, having defeated the foe, “his glory was secure” (1646).
Beowulf, returning to Heorot, unfolds the story of the battle and ends his tale with another formal vow:
“And this I pledge, O prince of the Shieldings:
you can sleep secure with your company of troops
in Heorot Hall. Never need you fear
for a single thane of your sept or nation,
young warriors or old, that laying waste of life
that you and your people have endured of yore.” (1671-1676)
He then presents Hrothgar with Hrunting, the sword he used to defeat Grendel's mother. The sword itself has its own stories to tell; it is “engraved all over/ and showed how war first came into the world/ and the flood destroyed the tribe of giants” (1688-1690). The “rune-markings correctly incised” tell the history of the sword itself (1695). Hrothgar then declares Beowulf “born to distinction. Beowulf, my friend,/ your fame has gone far and wide,/ you are known everywhere” (1703-1705). He goes on to tell the story of Heremod, a violent, “bloodthirsty” king (1719). The purpose of the story is to teach the warriors; an example of how not to behave is given in hopes they will act in the right way. Hrothgar cautions him to “learn from this/ and understand true values. I who tell you/ have wintered into wisdom” (1722-1724). Hrothgar, as an elderly member of the tribe, functions here as a sort of living history, a connection between the past and the present. As Irving notes, "in any tradition-directed oral society, old people must be accorded the highest respect;"
Age in such a society is an absolute value. Since the past is wholly
dependent on living memories, the memories of the old carry its
members as far back into the past as they are able to go. (Irving 47)
The poet uses a technique similar to Hrothgar's in praising the virtues of Hygd, Hygelac’s queen, by telling the story of Modthryth, a “cruel-minded” queen (1947). Malone, who translates the beginning of the passage as "‘The good queen of the people bore in mind the haughtiness, the terrible violence of Thrytho,’" stresses that "Hygd took warning by the example of Thrytho. She took care to behave differently” (Malone 149). Niles writes of the importance of such stories, which enforce, "through concrete example and counterexample, such concepts as the character of heroism and the nature of a good king or queen" (Niles 152).
Beowulf then returns home to the Geats, and right away his king wishes to hear the story of his exploits; Hygelac “questions to his old comrade/ in the high hall. He hankered to know/ every tale the Sea-Geats had to tell” (1984-1986). Beowulf declares his victory by assuring Hygelac that his deeds are "hardly a secret/ any more among men in this world” (2000-2001). Beowulf characterizes his triumph in terms of its effect on Grendel’s fame as well: “no earthly offspring of Grendel’s/ need ever boast about that bout before dawn” (2006-2007). He then proceeds to give his king "the whole story of everything that happened” (2071).
The poem then jumps ahead fifty years into the future to tell the story of the dragon that Beowulf will soon battle. In learning of the creature, we get another story of times past, one popularly known as the “Lone Survivor” (2247-2266). The last remaining member of a tribe “ruined in war,” he is the only surviving voice to tell of better days gone by and of the “[p]illage and slaughter” that have “emptied the earth of entire peoples” (2250, 2265-2266). Then another flashback is seen, and the poet tells of Beowulf’s past exploits, the death of his predecessor, Hygelac, and his ascension to the throne (2254-2396). As Malone notes, the constant transition between the problem of the dragon and the troubles of years gone by serve to establish parallels between the challenges of then and now; the poet "gives us his account of this crisis, not continuously but in sections, sections which alternate with accounts of earlier crises in the tribe’s history" (Malone 152).
The speech Beowulf gives, before the battle commences, calls to mind the exploits of times past: “Many a skirmish I survived when I was young/ and many times of war: I remember them well” (286-2487). He points out, in particular, the sufferings of the Geats when Beowulf’s foster-father, Hrethel, died without an heir. Like the many history lessons throughout the poem, the purpose of the passage is to teach the listener; here, it serves as a warning to his subjects should Beowulf himself, also childless, fall in battle (2473-2475). His remembrances concluded, the king “made a formal boast/ for the last time” (2510-2511), promising to “pursue this fight/ for the glory of winning” (2513-2514) and pledging to “win the gold/ by my courage, or else mortal combat,/ doom of battle, will bear your lord away” ( 2535-2537). As ever, "the single goal of the hero is to ensure that he is heard about and spoken of, during life and after death” (Irving 29).
It was noted earlier that, although members of a warrior culture, the challenges given between characters in the poem are often verbal. Here it is interesting to note that even the challenge Beowulf presents to the dragon is a spoken one:
Then he gave a shout. The lord of the Geats
unburdened his breast and broke out
in a storm of anger. Under grey stone
his voice challenged and resounded clearly.
Hate was ignited. The hoard-guard recognized
a human voice, the time was over
for peace and parleying. (2550-2557)
Irving writes that "when Beowulf’s voice, the telltale articulateness of human words (mannes reorde 2555), pierces the barrow’s interior, the dragon’s automatic reaction of hatred roars out like fire” (Irving 110). As Grendel's wrath was provoked by the story-songs of the Danes, so is the anger of dragon provoked by Beowulf's words.
In introducing Wiglaf, Beowulf's faithful retainer, the deeds of his heroic father, Weohstan, are recalled (2602-2619). Again, the past and present, through storytelling, are connected in one seamless tale. Wiglaf then speaks “wise and fluent words” (2632) to his fellow-warriors, reminding them of the kindness their king has shown them in the past and using examples to argue that “the things he has done for us deserve better” (2657). He then returns to Beowulf and urges him to remember his fame and continue fighting:
“Go on, dear Beowulf, do everything
you said you would when you were still young
and vowed you would never let your name and fame
be dimmed while you lived. Your deeds are famous,
so stay resolute, my lord, defend your life now
with the whole of your strength.” (2663-2668)
"Inspired again/ by the thought of glory” (2677-2678), Beowulf bravely continues to battle the dragon, only to be defeated. He gives a final speech, recalling his past victories and ordering that a barrow, named “Beowulf’s Barrow,” be constructed in order to serve as “a reminder among my people” (2805). Irving addresses the significance of Beowulf's request:
“[T]he treasure has not been cleaned and polished, the names and stories
have not been remembered and repeated. The failure reminds us that
this poem strives to be a more lasting memorial; this same treasure can
go on rotting uselessly when it is transferred to Beowulf’s own barrow,
so long as the barrow is named and remembered” (Irving 115).
Beowulf's last words link him to the heroes of the past, recalling the history of his “high-born clan” that he now follows in death (2815).
Wiglaf then publicly berates his fellow warriors, predicting that they will all be “dispossessed,” having gone back on the oaths of loyalty they swore to the king, and therefore subject to the worst punishment imaginable, a fate worse than death: being forced to live “a life of shame” (2888, 2891). The messenger sent to tell the Geats of their king's death has a prediction of his own; by recalling the bitter past between the Geats and the Swedes, he accurately foresees the chaotic and dangerous times to come (2922-3027). "The death of the dragon ends the present crisis," writes Malone, "but the messenger of Wiglaf foresees disaster for the tribe in the future, now that they have lost their great king. He justifies his forebodings by reminding his hearers of certain events of the past, events which in due course will lead to ruin, want, and exile” (Malone 152).
The poem concludes, as it began, with the funeral of a great hero. Celebrating their king, the Geats “extolled his heroic nature and exploits:”
for a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear
and cherish his memory when that moment comes
when he has to be convoyed from his bodily home.
(3173, 3175-3177).
In praising him, even, they herald his desire to be praised so; for he was “the man most gracious and fair-minded,/ kindest to his people and keenest to win fame (3181-3182, emphasis mine). Beowulf's glory is twofold: what he has done, and what is being said of him. He has joined the long line of famous kings who are spoken of throughout the poem, and his deeds will be praised for years to come.
