Final Paper: Revenge in The Sagas of the Icelanders A common theme in the sagas we read is revenge. Revenge in the sagas can be seen in many ways and connects with various different Scandinavian ideals such as honor and family. A blood vengeance is similar to the idea of an eye for an eye; its vengeance for bloodshed, by bloodshed, and typically it’s a never-ending cycle. The theme of revenge is most prominent in “The Saga of the People of Laxardal” and “The Saga of the people of Vatsndal”. The theme of revenge in “The Saga of the People of Laxardal” stems from Bolli and Kjartan and their shared love interest, Gundrun. Gundrun, the girl they both fall for, is considered to be the most beautiful woman in Iceland who is also quite clever. …show more content…
She said “…here lives Bolli, your brother’s slayer, and not a shred of resemblance do you bear to your great ancestors since you won’t avenge a brother the likes of Kjartan. Never would your grandfather Egil have acted like this, and it grieves me to have such spinless sons. You would have made your father better daughters, to be married off, than sons…I see only too well now that fathering such sons was Olaf’s great failing.” (377). This quote shows not only how important vengeance is to Thorgerd, but how important it was to the past generations and culture as well. Thorgerd also pointed out that the son’s father would be ashamed by them too. The speech and subtle insults convinced Halldor to get his revenge on Bolli so that his father would be proud and future generations wouldn’t think that he would have been better off as a girl. After the brothers and Thorgerd kill Bolli to get their vengeance, Helgi wipes Bolli’s blood on Gundrun’s cloak and she acts suspiciously calm and even smiles at him (381). Once again it seems like the cycle of revenge should end here but Gundrun is hiding her own desire for revenge under that smile and cloak. Halldor even realized that Gundrun’s seeming calmness was just an act, he said “ I suspect that it was not because Bolli’s killing meant little to her that she saw us off, but rather that she was intent on …show more content…
Luckily for the sons, they make it to where Hrolleif is hiding before his mother works her magic. They ambush him and Jokul chopped off his head outside of his house. After this his mother, Ljot, dies in a fit of sorcery and rage. While there are other feuds in this saga, this is the end of the avenging of
In Beowulf a New Telling the author, Robert Nye expresses the theme revenge. Revenge relates to life because people are always getting revenge for the small and big things. Revenge is a prompting element for several characters throughout the novel. The first revenge example is when Grendel first attacks Hall Heorot as revenge to humanity. Mankind has killed his people, and they symbolize everything Grendel despised, including light, good, accomplishment, and joy. (Page 7-8). The second example was when She, Grendel's mother, attacks Heorot because someone there took her son's life, evilness, and pride. She and Unferth both attack the Hall because they murdered Grendel. She was motivated by revenge and mothers rage, and Unferth was motivated
The section in which Beowulf gets ready for another monster begins with Hrothgar informing him of Aeschere's death. The murder has been committed by Grendel's mother who comes to avenge her son's death. This is the proper thing for her to do in this society. Revenge was of great importance in Pagan society. It was the norm to avenge a murder, especially if no wergild was paid. Hrothgar offers Beowulf additional wealth if he can find and kill the female monster. This arrangement Hrothgar makes with Beowulf, for a second time, is referred to as comitatus. Beowulf tells Hrothgar not to worry, that Aeschere's killer will be found. He reminds Hrothgar that time must not be wasted on sorrow when revenge must be taken immediately. He promises Hrothgar that the woman will "not be lost." Beowulf will seek her out at the bottom of the lake, where her home is located, and kill her. This promise that Beowulf makes is called a boast. Hrothgar thanks God that Beowulf has said this because his friend's murder must be avenged and the murderer stopped before she kills again.
The poem then takes another turn when Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son’s death by killing one of Hrothgar’s most trusted companions. By doing this, she is following the warrior code of the Anglo-Saxons which is an eye for an eye. The other alternative is to pay for the crime committed which is called a wergild. Once again the Danes are made uneasy because another monster is at large, and Beowulf agrees to put an end to her. Although Beowulf seems to respect the action that Grendel’s mother has taken by saying, “It is better for a man to avenge his friend than much mourn” (Donaldson p.25), nonetheless, he has to kill Grendel’s mother because he has a duty to protect the Danes. Beowulf is not afraid of fighting Grendel’s mother because glory comes before death and to him that is best for a warrior: “let him who may get glory before death; that is best for the warrior after he has gone from life” (Donaldson p.
...atiently waits because she knows that the same person who slew her son would be coming after her as well. Beowulf’s pursuit of the mother is nothing more than another way to build his reputation because if he had slain Grendel and it got him such recognition, slaying both ogre’s would raise his reputation tremendously thus bringing him even closer to his name being secured on the cover of the history book. Him going after Grendel’s mother has nothing or very little to do with the fact that she is a woman, it however has everything to do with the fame he would get and the respect that would be associated with his name.
In Beowulf the movie the queen reveals Grendel’s mother seduced Hrothgar and that Grendel is Hrothgar’s son. According to Margaret Reed, “She has seduced Hrothgar and Grendel is their son.” Grendel has a bronze scales on parts of his skin this a symbol of Hrothgar. After Beowulf “slays” Grendel’s mother, he returns to Heorot to tell Hrothgar and his Danes. After announcing that he has slayed her the Danes have a party, but Hrothgar pulls Beowulf aside questioning him about what really happened. Beowulf reveals that he actually didn’t slay her. Hrothgar then proceeds to give Beowulf the kingdom, The Queen before he jumps off of the castle committing suicide. According to Beowulf the movie, “so you brought back the head of Grendel. What about the head of the mother? Hrothgar asks .With her dead and cold in the bog, is it not enough to return one monster’s head? Beowulf responds. Did you kill her? Asks Hrothgar. Would you like to hear the story of my struggle against this monstrous hag? Beowulf says passive aggressively. She is no hag, Beowulf. We both know that. But answer me, did you kill her? Hrothgar says. Would I have been able to escape her, had I not? Beowulf asks. Grendel is dead that’s all that matters to me. He can bother me no more. The mother, the “Hag” she’s not my curse anymore.” Hrothgar then announces to the Danes that since he doesn’t have a son he is giving the throne and
Does Beowulf really get all the revenge he wants when it came to Grendel and his mother
Evil exists naturally in the world, and there are many acts that are considered evil. As a result, evil is often a theme in literature. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” by William Shakespeare, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe each rely heavily on evil to portray a message. Out of all of the evil acts that exist, exacting revenge is the evilest act that a person can make, for a person’s rash decision to exact revenge will ruin their sense of morality. The characters of Hamlet and Laertes in “Hamlet” each commit terrible acts of revenge, as does Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado.”
Throughout history, revenge, or vengeance, has been altered by several cultures and even the American culture. This is shown throughout many ancient greek epics. Throughout these two epics, what is just revenge and what the action of revenge is are much different than what Revenge is seen through today’s society. Revenge is the main theme in The Iliad, with Achilles’ revenge on Agamemnon and Hector, and in The Odyssey, with Poseidon’s revenge on Odysseus and Odysseus’s revenge on the Suitors, and these epics define how revenge was seen in the ancient Greek world.
“An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,” Ghandi said, in an attempt to show how revenge will not end once it has begun. Throughout Hamlet this theme is addressed, extremely clearly, and the conclusion, the death of so many characters, many due to revenge, shows how a world filled with extensive revenge cannot exist as a world at all. Hamlet is a deep philosophical story, however, the theme of revenge lies just below the surface, if you look at all of the deaths, you may see that there was a high degree of hatred, bitterness, and anger throughout Denmark.
Moving forward, rather than lagging behind, a truly noteworthy concept of revenge can be seen in the Shakespearean tragedy: “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” It is within this particular tragedy that prince Hamlet is enlightened, by the ghost of his father, to the murder of his father by his uncle, Claudius, an incestuous, adulterous beast who greedily claimed the throne and Hamlet's mother as his wife. (Hamlet 1.5.45-46, 49-53) Nevertheless, it is through this enlightenment that Hamlet sets off toward avenging his father's death, but along the way he is pitted against misfortune as the downward-...
Although she isn’t known to be as strong as her son was, revenge motivated her to give it all she had. While in battle, Grendel’s mother managed to rip and claw at him, biting holes in his helmet; that too failed him. In all of his years of being a warrior and wearing that helmet had it neglected to warn him glory. Beowulf, however, longed only for fame among his people so he quickly jumped back in, tossing his weapon aside. After a long drawn out battle between the two of them, he managed to claim victory once again. Beowulf’s men quickly traveled back with him while happily rejoicing in his defeat of Grendel’s mother. Upon their return Hrothgar showed gratitude to him for such bravery and commitment to protecting the king and his people. He is granted the honor for such
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the theme of revenge is very palpable as the reader examines the characters of Hamlet himself, as well as Laertes, son of Polonius, and Fortinbras, prince of Norway and son of the late King Fortinbras. Each of these young characters felt the need to avenge the deaths of their fathers who they felt were untimely killed at the bloody hands of their murderers. However, the way each chose to go about this varies greatly and gives insight into their characters and how they progress throughout the play.
Vengeance is considered to be an eye for an eye. One man takes another man’s father’s life, and then it only seems in reason that they should repay them back by killing their father’s murderer. Each son had killed in anger and emotion that was left unsolved and leaving all but one character Prince of Norway dead. The characters acted out blindly throughout the play and it ended in tragedy. After the death of multiple characters the readers will have a lesson learned that vengeance does not end in triumph.
The Roman poet, Juvenal, once said that, "Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind." Most people would agree with Juvenal that revenge is an abhorrent human need that can only satisfy narrow-minded people. Even though, we know revenge will generally not bring us much satisfaction, we still constantly lust for taking revenge on someone. It is because revenge is such a natural part of human nature that writers so often use it as their theme. Revenge can easily be an awe-inspiring theme for a novel because it is something that all people can relate to, whether they know it or not. The suspense from it will make most people sit on the edge of their seats.
Revenge is a motif we see repeatedly throughout the play. Different characters use revenge differently according to their situation. Revenge leads Hamlet and Laertes to their deaths while it makes Fortinbras gain back the land of Denmark. As you can see, the quote by Phaedrus encompasses the entire concept of revenge in Hamlet. The swordfight at the end of the play allowed the characters to complete their revenge, and probably without this, the different reprisals probably wouldn’t have been carried out. All in all, throughout the play, Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras all had a tragic death of a family member which caused their decision for revenge.