10 January 2022 No-Fear Beowulf – #8

No-Fear Beowulf Tells the Tale

As Beowulf is essentially a record of heroic deeds, the concept of identity—of which the two principal components are ancestral heritage and individual reputation—is clearly central to the poem. The opening passages introduce the reader to a world in which every male figure is known as his father’s son. Characters in the poem are unable to talk about their identity or even introduce themselves without referring to family lineage. This concern with family history is so prominent because of the poem’s emphasis on kinship bonds. Characters take pride in ancestors who have acted valiantly, and they attempt to live up to the same standards as those ancestors.

While heritage may provide models for behavior and help to establish identity, a good reputation is the key to solidifying and augmenting one’s identity. While Beowulf’s pagan warrior culture seems not to have a concept of the afterlife, it sees fame as a way of ensuring that an individual’s memory will continue on after death—an understandable preoccupation in a world where death seems always to be knocking at the door.

The Epic Hero and the Danes Celebrate . . .

 Then morning came and many a warrior 

Gathered, as I have heard, around the gift-hall, 

Clan-chiefs flocking from far and near

Down wide-ranging roads, wondering greatly

At the monster’s footprint. His fatal departure 840

Was regretted by no one who witnessed his trail, 

The ignominious marks of his flight

Where he’d sulked away, exhausted in spirit 

And beaten in battle, bloodying the path, Hauling his doom to the demons’ mere.

The bloodshot water wallowed and surged,

There were loathsome up throws and over turnings 

Of waves and gore and would-slurry.

With his death upon him, he had dived deep

Into his marsh den, drowned out his life  850

And his heathen soul: hell claimed him there.

Then away they rode, the old retainers 

With many a young man following after, 

A troop on horseback, in high spirits

On their bay steeds. Beowulf’s doings

Were praised over and over again. 

Nowhere, they said, north or south 

Between the two seas or under the tall sky 

On the broad earth was there anyone better

To raise a shield or to rule a kingdom. 860

 

Yet there was no laying of blame on their lord, 

The noble Hrothgar; he was a good king.

At times the war-band broke into a gallop,

Letting their chestnut horses race 

Wherever they found the going good

On those well-known tracks. 

Meanwhile, a thane

Of the king’s household, a carrier of tales,

A traditional singer deeply schooled

In the lore of the past, linked a new theme

To a strict metre. 

The man started 870

To recite with skill, rehearsing Beowulf’s

Triumphs and feats in well-fashioned lines, 

Entwining his words.

He told what he’d heard 

Repeated in songs of Sigemund’s exploits, 

All of those many feats and marvels,

The struggles and wanderings of Wael’s son,

Things unknown to anyone,

Except Fitela, feuds and foul doings 

Confided from uncle to nephew when he felt

The urge to speak of them: always had they been 880

Partners in the fight, friends in need.

They killed giants, their conquering swords 

Had brought them down.

After his death

Sigemund’s glory grew and grew

Because of his courage when he killed the dragon, 

The guardian of the hoard. Under gray stone

He had dared to enter all by himself 

To face the worst without Fitela.

But nit came to pass that his sword plunged

Right through those radiant scales 890

And drove into the wall. The dragon died of it.

 

His daring had given him total possession 

Of the treasure hoard , his to dispose of 

However he liked. He loaded a boat:

Wael’s son weighted her hold

With dazzling spoils. The hot dragon melted.

Sigemund’s name was known everywhere. 

He was utterly valiant and venturesome,

A fence round his fighters and flourished therefore

After King Heremond’s prowess declined         900

And his campaigns slowed down. The king was betrayed, 

Ambushed in Jutland, overpowered

And done away with. The waves of his grief Had beaten him down,    

made him a burden, A source of anxiety to his own nobles:

That expedition   was often condemned

To those earlier times by experienced men, 

Men who relied on his lordship for redress,

Who presumed that the part of a prince was to thrive

On his father’s throne and protect the nation,    910

The Shielding land where they lived and belonged, 

Its holdings and strongholds. Such was Beowulf

In the affection of his friends and of everyone alive. 

But evil entered into Heremod.

Meanwhile, the Dane kept racing their mounts Down sandy lanes.  

The light of day

Broke and kept brightening. Bands of retainers

 Galloped in excitement to the gabled hall

To see the marvel; and the king himself,

Guardian of the ring-hoard, goodness in person,    920

Walked in majesty from the women’s quarters 

With a numerous train, attended by his queen 

And her crowd of maidens, across the mead-hall.

 

When Hrothgar arrived at the hall, he spoke, 

Standing on the steps, under the steep eaves,

Gazing at the roof work and Grendel’s talon:

“First and foremost, let the Almighty Father

Be thanked for this sight. I suffered a long

Harrowing by Grendel. 

But the Heavenly Shepherd

Can work his wonders always and everywhere.    930

Not long since, it seemed I would never 

Be granted the slightest solace or relief

From any of my burdens: the best of houses

Glittered and reeked and ran with blood.

This one worry outweighed all others---

A constant distress to counselors entrusted

With defending the people’s forts from assault

By monsters and demons. But now a man,

With the Lord’s assistance, has accomplished something

None of us could manage before now    940

For all our efforts. Whoever she was

Who brought forth this flower of manhood,

If she is still alive, that woman can say 

That in her labor the Lord of Ages

Bestowed a grace on her. 

So now, Beowulf, adopt you in my heart as a dear son.

Nourish and maintain this new connection,

You noblest of men; there’ll be nothing you want for,

No worldly good that won’t be yours.

I have often honored smaller achievements,     950

Recognized warriors not nearly as worthy, 

Lavished rewards on the less deserving.

But you have made yourself immortal

By your glorious action. 

May the Lord of Ages Continue to keep and requite you well.”

Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke:

“We have gone through a glorious endeavor

 

And been much favored in this fight we dared 

Against the unknown. 

Nevertheless,

If you could have seen the monster himself     960

Where he lay beaten, I would have been better pleased. 

My plan was to pounce, pin him down

In a tight grip and grapple him to death---

Have him panting for life, powerless and clasped 

In my bare hands, his body in thrall.

But I couldn’t stop him from slipping my hold. 

The Lord allowed it, my lock on him

Wasn’t strong enough, he struggled fiercely

And broke and ran. Yet he bought his freedom

At a high price, for he left his hand 970

And arm and shoulder to show he had been here,

 A cold comfort for having come among us.

And now he won’t be long for this world.

He has done his worst but the wound will end him. 

He is hasped and hooped and hirpling with pain, 

Limped and looped in it. 

Like a man outlawed 

For wickedness, he must await

The mighty judgment of God in majesty.”

Background – A Literary Devices

Point of View

Beowulf is told from a third-person omniscient point of view. The poem’s narrator has access to the interior thoughts and feelings of all the characters, even the dragon. The narrator also comments on the action, usually to draw out moral implications: “Behavior that’s admired / is the path to power among people everywhere” (ll.24-5). By switching between the perspectives of different characters, the poem underlines a central theme: that violence causes more violence. For instance, by telling the story of Hygelac’s victory over the Swedes largely from the Swedish king Ongentheow’s point of view (ll.2949-2981), the poem emphasizes the suffering of the Swedes and the inevitability of their desire for vengeance. When the poem switches to Grendel’s point of view during his fight with Beowulf, the reader understands that violence causes suffering and calls forth vengeance even when it is used against an unmistakably evil opponent.

Exploration 1: After his tussle with Grendel, does Beowulf’s boasting change its tone?

Exploration 2: Who or what else might be qualified to have the main, first person point of view in Beowulf, other than Beowulf himself?

Exploration 3: Death is “just around every corner in Beowulf. How does this impact the main characters world view in the story?

Exploration 4: Why are the songs included in this section of the epic story?