There are a plethora of different themes, motifs, and symbols to choose from in Beowulf. A recurring theme throughout Beowulf is generosity and hospitality, along with the importance of ones identity. One portion stands out the most against the first theme and it is; The Finnsburg Fragment. A motif that came to mind while reading Beowulf had to have been the importance of the Mead Hall. Something else to think about is the relation to the fall of the hall in The Finnsburg Fragment being told right after Beowulf’s victory against Grendel.
The entire fragment goes against generosity and hospitality. It starts off in the middle of a battle and ends with the death of Hnæf and his son. Though one character is not mentioned, Finn, it is pretty much implied since Hnæf and his party were staying at Finn’s mead hall. It did not end with the surrender of Hnæf’s troops instead it was a standstill, a draw. In Beowulf the theme is prominent though not always followed either with the burning of the mead hall. However, unlike The Finnsburg Fragment, Beowulf showed its theme many more times. It is a shame there isn’t more of the Finnsburg than just the fragment but it seemed time had taken it and thrown it away.
It is unclear why exactly Hnæf and Finn are going against each other but part of it might have to do with the waring countries. What it has to do with Beowulf was how important the poet seemed to feel it was by mentioning it. Back in Beowulf’s time, or better stated, the time of the poet generosity and hospitality were very, very important. No one knew if one of the gods, who frequently came down in human form, might come to visit. It was better to be polite then risk the wrath of the gods. The Finnsburg Fragment took that mentality an...
... middle of paper ...
...thought it would be funny to put it right after to throw off the reader though that theory is almost immediately rejected, at least by me. It would be important to tell the story because of the motivation behind it. The people in The Finnsburg Fragment are trying desperately to not only save their own lives but to, in some way unintentionally, protect the hall also. It is a working theory but in the Germanic culture even, which all of this pretty much taken from, the mead hall is the quintessential place for everything and everyone to be for whatever is happening or life in general.
In total the difference between The Finnsburg Fragment and Beowulf are almost the Grand Canyon in distance yet at the same time they are very similar. The cultural aspects pull them together more so than anything else. The themes might be different but they are made up for in the motif.
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Beowulf is a poem about strength and courage. This is illustrated in the eighth section of the story called “Beowulf and the Dragon.” A slave, a hero and a dragon play a big role in this section. The characters are well developed, as is the setup for the conclusion of the poem.
The epic Beowulf is one of the oldest poems written in English. According to the Norton Anthology, "the poem was composed more the twelve hundred years ago, in the first half of the eight century. Its author may have been a native of what was Mercia, the Midlands of England today, although the late tenth-century manuscript , which alone preserves the poem, originated in the south in the kingdom of the West Saxons" (Norton 21). Although the poem is of English origin, it speaks of tribes (the Danes and the Geats) that are from the "Danish island of Zealand and southern Sweden respectively" (Norton 22). The main character, Beowulf, demonstrates that he is a warrior who places heroism and bravery over his own well-being and life. Beowulf is a hero and an example of a great warrior. His actions give us a good example of the pagan warrior mentality. The pagan society is a warrior society, in which courage and bravery are extremely prevalent. Beowulf fights against monsters and dragons, and he would rather die in battle, then anywhere else. Beowulf is called upon to help defeat Grendel, who is a monster that has taken over the hall of Heorot. He is greeted with great hospitality. Hrothgar, the King of Denmark, is relived to see Beowulf. There is some skepticism by Unferth, who recalls a fight in which Beowulf lost in Battle. Unferth is wrong, and Beowulf says this great line: "fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good." Beowulf defeats Grendel with great ease and the people of the hall are gracious to Beowulf.
Do people ever talk about superheroes, and monsters? Especially people into comic books and children. Every child, even adults, have a superhero they look up to, or a role model they want to grow up to be like. Superheroes are everywhere from movies to books. Children even sit in their room playing with toy superheroes, hoping one day they can be just like them. Even hundreds of thousands of years ago there were superheroes! A long time ago in the Anglo-Saxon Period there was a brave and loyal hero! His name was Beowulf, and everyone looked up to him. This hero definitely brought peace to many people, and if it wasn’t for the mighty hero Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons would have been terrorized forever. Therefore, the times were hard before Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon warriors always stood for three values, and the time was changed without monsters.
Symbolizing honor and strength, control of the "wine-hall" passes into the hands of the victor, under the traditional laws of the Danes and Geats. As Beowulf triumphs over the fiend, Grendel, he casts off the shame and dishonor which would have befallen him, and full control of the wine-hall, as well as territorial supremacy, are clearly his. Only later in the poem does Beowulf begin to lose the primacy that had been exclusively his domain. Even in death, however, Beowulf is immortalized by the members of his tribe, and by the writer, as he passed into glorious history His funeral pyre, and monument on the coast, bore witness to his greatness.
Crossley-Holland, Kevin, trans. Beowulf The Fight at Finnsburh, edited by Heather O’Donoghue. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Beowulf begins with a history of the Danish kings. Hrothgar is the present king of the Danes. He builds a hall, called Heorot, to house his army. The Danish soldiers gather under its roof to celebrate and have fellowship with each other. Grendel, who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, is awakened and disgusted by the singing of Hrothgar's men. He comes to the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years Grendel stalks the mead hall known as Heorot.
To begin, the setting of where Beowulf and Grendel live, are very distinct. Beowulf creates a lavish hall, called Heorot, to house his army of men, when the hall is finished the Danish warriors gather together
The Danes seem to have disputes with everyone, some ending with them basking in glory and others ending, well, with not so much glory involved. In the Hall of Frisia the King, Finn, was attacked by the Danes. In this battle the Danes leader was killed, as well as Finn’s only heir. The Danes, leaderless, were then lead by Hengest who forced a treaty with the and Finn, so they were taken under the care of Finn. “Finn, son of Focwald, should honor the Danes, bestow with an even hand to Hengest and Hengest’s men the wrought-gold rings (1089-1092)”. The Danes were maddened by this and began to be resentful towards the Frisians and at the coming of Spring they renewed the fight and killed Finn, and robbed him thoroughly. “Thus blood was spilled, the gallant Finn slain in his home…..Finn was cut down, the queen bought away and everything the Shieldings could find (1146-47; 1152-1154). Finn tried to make peace, but the desire to avenge their leaders murderer was greater, They also looted his stronghold and took back his wife. Considering his wife was a Dane, they must have also had a desire to avenge something else when the Dani...
This paper will revolve around the epic hero trait of boasting, and how it is exhibited in three of the epic heroes covered in this unit. An epic itself is a story, usually of ancient culture, that narrates the deeds and adventures of one or more heroic or legendary figures. This essay will compare the heroic trait of boasting across three heroes and come to a conclusion about their differences and heroism in general. It’s been known that some epic heroes are known to boast about their strength, powers, or their other heroic traits. Even though boasting can help improve a hero’s reputation, it is much less important than the true heroic acts that they commit.
In most heroic tales, there is a hero who will risk their life no matter what to complete their task. However, risking their life certainly does not mean that they are doing it for the benefit of others. The epic poem Beowulf, depicts Beowulf as an altruistic hero who slayed both Grendel and Grendel's mother to receive recognition for his actions. Yearning for recognition is not an act of altruism. Altruism is defined as the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others. Within the poem, it is evident Beowulf’s actions only reflected his morals and did not display any characteristics of altruism, only arrogance, selfishness, and avarice.
The villagers who celebrated in the Heorot under King Hrothgar may have been terrified by Grendel and his Mother but there was a far bigger threat to the very fabric of their society and culture. Throughout the poem you can clearly identify Interpretatio Christiana that helped not only shape Scandinavian religion but Christianity itself. Scandinavian culture wasn’t the only culture to be shaped like this. When reading Beowulf I am reminded that people die off not as friends or family, but as entire villages and kingdoms. They’re supposed to live on through their stories, but when changed it’s a whole other piece of them dying as well. The biggest threat to the Scandinavian people is the change of their stories to match Christian beliefs and
Beowulf is a very brave hero, he has fought and killed many creatures before, but this battle was different. He knew this battle was of great importance to everyone, and that made him that much more nervous. This creature was fierce and had been tormenting their village for as long as they could remember, so her death would be a huge victory for Beowulf and it would be an even bigger relief for the villagers. All of the people in the village were cheering for Beowulf as he walked away headed off to the greatest battle of his life.
Beowulf has just killed Grendel and hung that infamous claw in the hall of Heorot. Everyone under King Hrothgar’s rule is celebrating Beowulf’s triumph. In the midst of the celebration a court singer begins to sing about the glory of the former Danish people many years ago. The song chronicles a battle between the Danes and the Frisians. The leader of the Frisians, Finn, engages in battle and ends up with most of his army being defeated. However, Finn ends up killing Hnaef the leader of the Danes. Hengest, successor to Hnaef, makes peace with Finn and the rest of the Danes end up living with the Frisian people. An important part of this episode to note is that the wife of Finn, Hildeburh, is also the sister of Hnaef. Hnaef and Hildeburh’s son were both killed in battle and their burial is described in grotesque detail. A member of the Frisian tribe gives a sword to Hengest who has long debated this newly forged allegiance with the Frisians. Hengest decides to take revenge and wages war once again. It’s unclear who exactly kills Finn, but he is murdered by a member of the Danish people. Hildeburh is taken captive and is brought back to her homeland with the Danes (lines 1065-1161). Thus ends the story that scholars refer to as the “Finn episode”.
An epic hero is defined as someone who seems larger than life, that exemplifies the cultural values of that time period. A piece of literature that revolves around the archetypal hero is the poem Beowulf. Beowulf is the oldest surviving piece of literature in the English language. Although the poem has historical elements woven into it, it is a complete work of fiction. The poem itself was originally untitled. Later on, the poem was named after its protagonist, whom the poem primarily focuses on. Beowulf accurately portrays the archetypal hero in several distinctive ways which include; being a great warrior, traveling over a vast setting, showing humility, and being of noble birth.