Persuasive Essay Over Beowulf

Beowulf’s newfound status, after defeating Grendel, appears to make him not only a hero but also a potential successor to the throne, in the eyes of the Danish people. Returning from tracking Grendel’s blood trail, the Danes see Beowulf anew: ðaér wæs Béowulfes maérðo maéned monig oft gecwæð þætte súð né norð be saém twéonum ofer eormengrund óþer naénig under swegles begong sélra naére rondhæbbendra, ríces wyrðra né híe húru winedrihten wiht ne logon glædne Hróðgár ac þæt wæs gód cyning.

There was Beowulf's glory proclaimed, many a man often said that neither south nor north between the seas or across the earth’s vast terrain, under the sun's compass was there any other better shield-bearer, nor worthier

Moreover, Beowulf’s potential marriage to Freawaru means that he has become a rival to Ingeld (whom she later marries), and this might also go against Wealhtheow’s foreign policy interests. Beowulf describes her later in the poem, to Hygelac, as the friðusibb folca ‘treaty-pledge of nations’ (2017) between the Danes and Heathobards, showing that it is Wealhtheow, and not the king, who is the impetus behind this ill-fated union.

Although critical responses of Wealhtheow have often seen her as ‘ineffective’ and ‘passive’, her words change her husband’s decision. After Beowulf defeats Grendel’s mother Hrothgar appears to retract from his earlier promises by offering spiritual, rather than actual, fatherhood:

Bebeorh þé ðone bealoníð, Beowulf léofa secg betosta, ond þé þæt sélre gecéos éce raédas· oferhýda ne gým

Protect yourself from grievous enmity, my dear Beowulf, finest of men, and choose for yourself the better course, eternal rewards, pay no heed to prideful thoughts. (1758-60)

Hrothgar has shifted the dynamics of his relationship with Beowulf, promising him ‘eternal rewards’ in wisdom rather than concrete familial ties. Beowulf recognizes this change and says, perhaps rather bitterly:

Gif ic þonne on eorþan ówihte mæg þínre módlufan máran tilian, gumena dryhten, ðonne ic gýt