Role of fate in Beowulf and Anglo Saxon views on Fate
The battle between fate and free will produces a lopsided victory by fate in Beowulf. A continuous reference is directed to fate by context as well as in elements of theme, plot, and character. The most prominent relation to fate is seen with Beowulf. From his early adventures as a warrior to his later rule as king, fate strongly influences Beowulf's beliefs and courage. He attributes the successful outcomes of his many fights and struggles to the reasons of fate. The lives and outcomes of Beowulf and his enemies are obvious examples of the Beowulf poet showing that God has the power to control everything, resulting in predetermined fate. "Fate goes ever as fate must."(Line 455)*
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Fate seems to lurk in the shadows of these characters very being and it is this force in which they acknowledge their mortality as human beings. Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, which may be very helpful in interpreting the meaning of fate in the epic poem Beowulf. Boethius creates fate as a female character that attempts to heal the mind of a troubled man. Richard Green translates some of Boethius’s work in the introduction and interprets this woman’s role as, “She represented fate as a random, uncontrollable force, to be feared or courted, opposed or despised” (xvi). Green is trying to unfold the meaning of fate and Boethius’s intent to illustrate its effects on a man’s life. Boethius himself says that, “Fate moves the heavens and the stars, governs the elements in their mixture, and transforms them by mutual change, it renews all things that are born and die by the reproduction of similar offspring and seeds. This same power binds the actions and fortunes of men in an unbreakable chain of causes and, since these causes have their own origins in an unchangeable providence, they too must necessarily be
“It lies not in our power to love, or hate, for will in us is over-rul'd by fate.” In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, it is clear that the leading theme is fate, as it is mentioned several times. Shakespeare allows the audience to see everything that happens “behind closed doors.” While some characters’ actions did affect the outcome of the play, fate is the ruling force.
In the two epics, Antigone and Beowulf, fate plays a major part in determining the events that happen to the two main roles of these stories, Antigone and Beowulf respectfully. They both go along with their actions, knowing that it is fate that has determined they must act in this manner, and that fate itself will determine whether they will succeed or fail. In both cases, even when they feel death will find them if they proceed on their current actions, they continue to move forward towards what they believe is their fated end. Overall these stories follow the fate of both Beowulf and Antigone, and their journey to the end.
The concept of Fate differs significantly in Grettir’s Saga and Beowulf. In Grettir’s Saga the eponymous hero wanders around from misfortune to misfortune, with no apparent Fate apart from vague predictions about the nature of his death. Grettir is plagued by bad luck as well. This is very different than the concept of Fate in Beowulf, where Beowulf has an established fate, and good luck or divine intervention works on his and his fate’s behalf. Fate in both narratives is predetermined, yet the concept of Fate in Beowulf is more deterministic than that of Grettir’s Saga since Fate for Grettir seems more a diffuse collection of unlucky events that repeat through his life.
Fate plays a significant role in the Old English epic poem Beowulf and William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.. The major events of the poem, such as the three killings by Beowulf and his own death, are said to have been predestined. In Macbeth, fate is so significant that it is personified by the Weird Sisters, who drive the action of the play. But if predestination exists, then there must be an agent that determines destiny. In Beowulf, God plays this role, and fate is generally accepted as God's will. In John Gardner's Grendel, a novel which serves as a commentary on the poem, fate is totally predetermined, and is the will of no being. By contrast, Macbeth's agents of fate are the Witches, who generally go against God's will.
In society, people have varying opinions on fate. Many question whether life’s events are pre-determined by fate or whether people have a destiny to serve a greater purpose. Fate versus free will is an archaic topic among philosophers that is ultimately up for interpretation.The question on whether or not something else is controlling life’s events or if they are simply a coincidence faces us in some point of our lives. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays with the idea of fate and its control on the events in the play. He forces us to realize the destiny between Romeo and Juliet involves the fate between the two opposing households as well. Shakespeare blurs the line between fate and free will in his play Romeo and Juliet to show that the outstanding cause of Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy was not something decided- it was fate. It is evident by the events in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that fate was the main cause of the tragedy in the play, and that Romeo and Juliet held the destiny to finally end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.
In Beowulf's culture, they believed in Wyrd- a conception corresponding with a person's destiny. "She" is considered a goddess who decides when and how a person dies. The Anglo-Saxons literally defined her as, "the principal, power, or agency by which events are predetermined; fate, destiny.” In line 34 Beowulf says, "Fate (Wyrd) often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good." Obviously, Wyrd "showed favor" on Beowulf at the beginning of the book because of his courage, but he danced with death too often not to know that his end was near. Because the people in Beowulf's time thought their end was predestined, they did whatever they could to go out with a bang. In comparison, it was believed that it was fate that led Arthur to the stone to pull out the sword which granted kingship. In the story, “The Sword in the Stone: Arthur Becomes King,” it describes the event where Sir Kay, Arthur's brother, accidentally left his sword at home. After traveling a long way, Sir Kay said, "I have forgotten my sword; a fool's trick...now it falls on me to wind back the length of the road and fetch it." Arthur, having a sincere heart, volunteers to go back to their house to grab it. Since all of the villagers were at the tournament, nobody answered when Arthur battered on the door. When he remembered no one was home, he looked about for a sword to bring his brother so he would not be disappointed. This, eventually, led to Arthur
Beowulf is driven by forces that are beyond his control. Just as his lineage contributes to his preeminence, so to do the values of generosity and loyalty common to most Anglo Saxon warriors impact the course of Beowulf’s life. The lineage of a character in Beowulf greatly affects the character’s life expectations, especially for princes, warriors and monsters. The concept of fate (wyrd) manifests itself in Beowulf as the will of God, which Beowulf often credits his success in battle. Beowulf, along with other characters, believes that God will determine the winner in every battle. Because of this belief, Beowulf puts his trust in God and accepts that “fate goes ever as fate must” (455). Fate is a concept that is accepted by many characters
Fate is an old debated concept. Do one's actions truly play a role in determining one's life? Is fate freedom to some or is it binding to others, in that no individual can make completely individual decisions, and therefore, no one is truly free. Nowadays, fate is a subject often rejected in society, as it is seen as too big, too idealistic, and too hard to wrap a persons head around. However, at the time of Antigone, the concept was a terrifying reality for most people. Fate is the will of the gods, and as is apparent in Antigone, the gods' will is not to be questioned. Much of Sophocles' work focuses on the struggle between human law and what is believed to be the god’s law. Fate was an unstoppable force and it was assumed that any efforts to change one's future were unrealistic. In Sophocles' Antigone, fate plays a crucial role the choices that the characters make.
In Beowulf the concept that good and evil are constantly contending is one of the most central themes to the epic. The poet makes it expressly evident that good and evil cannot exist without the other, for there would be no way of determining which was which. The religious undertone in Beowulf that God is intervening on the side of good is apparent in many of the battles fought, allowing Beowulf to prevail where someone evil could not have. Literature has questioned, for centuries, why God would have created a creature such as Satan to cause and teach evil, and what purpose He had for human life. Beowulf stretches itself to answer this question by showing that good cannot be known without a present evil.
Fate is an inevitable – seldom disastrous – outcome; regardless of one’s desire to veer it in a different path, fate is adamant. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, there is a steadfast question of whether Macbeth is a victim of fate or that he chooses his own path. By instilling his character, Macbeth, with ambition and ruthlessness, Shakespeare demonstrate that a person – in this case Macbeth – is doomed not by fate, but by flaws in his/her character.
Omniscient about all things past, present, and future, the Dragon attempts to educate Grendel of how the universe works, and the role of each individual part in the whole. By word of the Dragon, the future is already set as it is to be. The Dragon tells Grendel, “My knowledge of the future does not cause the future. It merely sees it, exactly as creatures at your low level recall things past,” (Gardner 63). No matter what the dragon, who is self-proclaimed to be one of the most powerful beings in existence, does or thinks, even he cannot change the future and how it is shaped. With a final sense of definity, the Dragon says to Grendel, “everything will have come and gone several times, in various forms. Even I will be gone. A certain man will absurdly kill me,” (70). This man is Beowulf, the same who will end Grendel’s life, and who will be killed in the battle with the Dragon. Beowulf is fated to die in combat, as he often proclaims in his life, and as he prepares to face the Dragon, Beowulf states “When he comes to me/ I mean to stand, not run from his shooting/ Flames, stand till fate decides/ Which of us wins,” (Beowulf 2524-7). All of these characters’ fates are intertwined so tightly, the possibility of it all being a coincidence is simply
The Anglo-Saxon understanding of fate is not all too different from our modern understanding and applies to both Christian and pagan beliefs. Fate is a force that controls a man’s life, regardless of his actions. Fate is usually seen as three women, sometimes blind, who weave the thread of a man’s life and cut it when it is his time to die. In Anglo-Saxon literature, fate, its power and the doom it can bring are often referred to. In “The Wanderer,” an elegy that laments the narrator’s dead lord, the narrator states that “All earth’s kingdom is wretched, the world beneath the skies is changed by the work of the fates.”
The elements of a character’s true personality and attitude make that fate. a reality and force the destiny to become the destination. The stories of Gilgamesh, Oedipus the King, and The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam. all teach the readers that destiny and character are intertwined. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, destiny and Oedipus’ actions.
In history, evil men have reigned supreme across many cultures. Some people say that being evil is inherent in every human. If this is true, then writing may be the ultimate way of releasing hatred of the world without hurting anyone. In Beowulf, all of society's evil men can be personified within the demons of Cain. The main demon presented in Beowulf is Grendel. Grendel personifies the exact opposite of what the Anglo-Saxons held dear. Beowulf, the story's hero, is the embodiment of what every Anglo-Saxon strove to become in their lifetime. Grendel is constantly angry, afraid and unsure of himself; while Beowulf is fearless and loyal to his king.
In English literature and Greek mythologies fate and free will played colossal responsibilities in creating the characters in the legendary stories and plays. The Greek gods believed in fate and interventions, predictions of a life of an individual before and after birth which the individual has no control over their own destiny. Free will and fate comingle together, this is where a person can choose his own fate, choose his own destiny by the choices the individual will make in their lifetime. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of free will is the “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior cause of divine intervention”. Fate and the gods who chose their destinies directed Gilgamesh, Oedipus and Achilles.