This passage of the poem Beowulf features revealing aspects of the speaker’s, Hrothgar’s, character. Hrothgar’s homily sermon is a stark contrast to the celebrations for Beowulf’s triumph over the monster Grendel and Grendel’s mother. This contrast is not only a function of elegiac narratives, it a vehicle through which Hrothgar’s character is divulged. This passage reveals: Hrothgar is a man of vast wisdom; he has a paternal love for Beowulf; and the contrast reveals his sense of foreboding fuels the urgency with which he imparts his wisdom to Beowulf. Hrothgar is a man of vast wisdom and is especially wise in the realm of human nature. In his speech he tells the tale of Heremod, a king who, in his great pride, gave no rings to his comrades. …show more content…
The poet of Beowulf writes “O flower of warriors, beware that trap / Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, / eternal rewards” (1758-1760). This metaphor of likening Beowulf to a flower not only shows that Hrothgar views Beowulf as a vibrant youth, a favourable person, it also shows that Hrothgar views Beowulf as someone who is fragile and easily destroyed. The poet of Beowulf uses the word “dear” twice as Hrothgar’s address to Beowulf in lines 1759 and 1768, this term is used as an expression of affection and is another indicator of Hrothgar’s paternal love for Beowulf. This flower metaphor is also seen in lines 1761-1762 “For a brief while your strength is in bloom / but it fades quickly” where Beowulf’s strength blooms like a flower and fades like the short life of a flower. Beowulf’s successive triumphs over monsters gives reason to pride, Hrothgar recognizes this as a potential fatal flaw for Beowulf. Hrothgar’s paternal love for Beowulf, along with the knowledge that Hrothgar himself can not watch over Beowulf once he returns to the Geats, endeavors him to warn Beowulf of the fleetingness of pride and the doom he could face (Beowulf …show more content…
Hrothgar’s is a vehicle through which the poetic creates foreshadowing; the most telling part of this passage is at the very end where the poet writes “and death will arrive, / dear warrior, to sweep you away” (1767-1768). It is not the inevitability of death that is foreshadowing; is it the metaphor that death will sweep you away. To be swept away means go somewhere else, or be caught up in something so much that it removes you from reality or makes you forget what is important. At the end of the poem Beowulf is swept away by the assertion that since he’s killed monsters before he can do it again, this pride of his past glory leads to death, where he is swept away
Frank, Roberta. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Hrothgar then tells Beowulf, “Lo, this may one say who works truth and right for the folk, recalls all things far distant, an old guardian of ...
In Tolkien’s lecture, “Beowulf: The monsters and the Critics,” he argues that Beowulf has been over analyzed for its historical content, and it is not being studied as a piece of art as it should be. He discusses what he perceives the poet of Beowulf intended to do, and why he wrote the poem the way he did. Tolkien’s main proposition, “it was plainly only in the consideration of Beowulf as a poem, with an inherent poetic significance, that any view or conviction can be reached or steadily held” (Tolkien). He evaluates why the author centers the monsters throughout the entire poem, why the poem has a non-harmonic structure, why and how the author fusses together Christianity and Paganism, and how the author uses time to make his fictional poem seem real. He also discusses the overall theme of Beowulf and other assumptions of the text. To support his viewpoints, Tolkien uses quotations and examples from the poem, quotations from other critics, and compares Beowulf to other works of art. Tolkien discusses several statements in interpreting Beowulf as a poem.
In the length of the poem, Beowulf goes from abandoned child to gallant warrior to King. This transformation, expressed in the tone and content of the poem, shows the importance of the relationship between lord and thane and expresses the ultimate value of that connection. From the difference in battle scenes to Beowulf’s speeches, it is clear that he has gone from a somewhat self-loving hero to a selfless king. Within this change he also goes from serving a lord to becoming a lord, and in that way the poem shows us the importance of both sides of the relationship.
"She'd taken Hrothgar's closest friend, The man he loved most of all men on earth" (414-415). After the death of Grendel, his mother seeks revenge by taking one of the Dane's lives. Coincidently, the man happened to be the best friend of a king, Hrothgar. This gives Hrothgar the desire to retaliate by asking Beowulf for help. In Beowulf, motivation comes in many forms such as revenge, treasures, and fame.
King Hrothgar had no solution to the conflict it was described that “All were endangered; young and old were hunted down by that dark death-shadow who lurked and swooped in the long nights on the misty moors” (Heaney 219). Grendel took over and established a kingdom. Grendel established a terrorizing fear in all the danes, until Beowulf comes along. Beowulf is immediately praised “There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful”, the Danes after seven years have found how to defeat this monster. (Heaney 222) Beowulf travels to another country and is one of kind, no one compares to his might and power. This proves how brave he is to travel to another country to defeat a monster that has had repeatedly attacked Danes. Beowulf emphasizes his bravery even more by declaring ““I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend”. This boastful attitude gives Beowulf the bravery to step up and fight using his barehands. The average warrior would use a shield and sword but, Beowulf is not average he shows that he is a hero and will fight Grendel as if he was invincible. Beowulf defeats Grendel by ripping of his arm and it signifies that he is not a fraud, but a man of his word. Beowulf pride gives himself an
Hrothgar’s pride caused him to fail to protect his kingdom, and make his people vulnerable. His biggest accomplishment as king was the building of Heorot Hall. Heorot distracted him from his people and he was not able to protect them from Grendel. When Hrothgar came up with the idea of Heorot Hall he wanted something that was “meant to be a wonder of the world
Early in the poem, Beowulf hears accounts of Grendel’s destruction of Herot, Hrothgar’s majestic mead hall. Knowing his strength and military prowess, Beowulf immediately devises a plan, recruits men, and orders boats, thrusting himself into a battle that was not necessarily his to fight. Beowulf felt obligated to end Grendel’s reign of terror. Though he knew the death of Grendel would bring him fame and honor, the idealized Beowulf was able to set aside personal ambition in order to end the suffering of the Danes. Shortly after slaying Grendel, Beowulf again displays an awareness of duty when Grendel’s mother extracts revenge upon Herot, killing one of Hrothgar’s best men, Aeshere. Instead of leaving Herot in a state of frenzy, Beowulf comes to King Hrothgar’s side, pledging allegiance and service. Bolstering the defeated king’s moral, Beowulf boldly addresses the older King Hrothgar saying, “So arise, my lord, and let us immediately set forth on the trail of this troll-dam. I guarantee you: she will not get away, not to dens under ground nor upland groves nor the ocean floor. She’ll have nowhere to fall to. Endure your troubles to-day. Bear up and be the man I expect you to be.” Beowulf could not set aside his duty and obligation, though he knew full well the suffering and pain that might result from his actions. Thus, Beowulf is a portrait of
Beowulf, a Geat, hears about Hrothgar's troubles, gathers fourteen of the bravest Geat warriors, and sets sail. The Geats are greeted by the members of Hrothgar's court, and Beowulf tells the king of his previous successes as a warrior. During the banquet Unferth, a Danish soldier, doubts Beowulf's past accomplishments, and Beowulf, accuses Unferth of being a brother-slayer. At this banquet Hrothgar promises Beowulf many riches and treasures if he can slay Grendel.
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
King Hrothgar once again looks toward Beowulf to take care of another monster. To get ready for this battle Beowulf wears armor and uses the Horting sword which has never lost in battle. Once again Beowulf shows his courage by deciding to go to the bottom of the monster filled swamp and fight alone. Fighting off monsters on his way down, Beowulf reached the bottom where he was met by Grendel 's mother. He tried to cut her head off with Horting, but she is too strong. Beowulf takes a sword made for giants off the wall, and uses his super strength to cut the mother 's head off. As a trophy of this battle Beowulf finds the body of Grendel in a corner and decides to take his head back to the mead hall. Hrothgar celebrates another victory by once again throwing a large celebration where they gave more gifts to Beowulf and the Geats. After two battles, Beowulf decides it is time for him and his men to head back to their homeland. Continuing to show courage, honor, and strength Beowulf states that if the Danes ever have anymore problems with monsters he will help protect
In Part I of Beowulf the poet establishes Beowulf as an incomparable superman and celebrates his greatness. The occasion for this was the unfortunate situation which Grendel had created in the court of King Hrothgar, Heorot, where there was considerable sorrow due to the uncontrollable ravaging of the monster:
Beowulf feels a sense of loyalty to Hrothgar which leads Beowulf “…to sail the swan’s road and search out that king, / the famous prince who needed defenders” against the marauding monster, Grendel (200-201). Beowulf’s generosity leads him to Hrothgar’s mead-hall to save Hrothgar from the clutches of Grendel. Regardless of fate and lineage, Beowulf is driven by forces out of his control. It is true that the qualities of an Anglo-Saxon warrior drives Beowulf to become the hero he is, but his lineage and fate define his
Beowulf is an epic poem that, above all, gives the reader an idea of a time long past; a time when the most important values were courage and integrity. The only factors that could bestow shower fame upon a person were heroic deeds and family lineage. Beowulf, as the paradigm of pagan heroes, exhibited his desire to amass fame and fortune; the only way to do so was to avenge the death of others. This theme of retribution that is ever present throughout the poem seems to color the identities of its characters.
It is no question that Beowulf was one of the b est, if not the best, warrior of his time. His skills of being a tremendous warrior are not to be questioned, but his position as a king could use a closer look. While the qualities of being a great warrior and a great king can be similar, there are some differing qualities to keep in mind. There is an extensive comparison to be made between Beowulf and Hrothgar, as a warrior and as a king and the qualities that each of them bring to the table. On lines 17 00-1739 of Beowulf, Hrothgar gives his famous speech to Beowulf on what it means to be a successful king. Hrothgar feels the need to give Beowulf this advice because he knows that Beowulf will one day need to know how to more than a warrior.