Beowulf
Beowulf is a poem written over 1000 years ago and considered one of the most important and popular literature readings in Old Literature. It is set in Scandinavia in two different territories the Geats and the Scyldings. King Hrothgar had back to back victories and celebrated by building a grand mead hall. It was meant for partying, drinking, storytelling etc. With the 24 hour partying it angers a monster named Grendel who lives in the outskirts called “Swampland” where he slowly becomes angrier and angrier. It follows Beowulf’s arrival and his character development as a hero then to a king all the way up to his heroic death with the third and final medieval monster he defeats.
Some of the main characters include Hrothgar, Wiglaf, Unferth, Beowulf, Grendel and his mother. Even though the story is about Beowulf all of the characters play such a huge role throughout the story. He really helps Beowulf in becoming the hero he is slowly coming to be. He was older so he understood the characteristics of heroism and how to help Beowulf. Wiglaf was one of Beowulf’s kinsmen who stayed to fight the Dragon at the end of the story and represented what Beowulf stood for. He was brave and was willing to die to save his lord. Even though Beowulf died a heroic death it had a sort of optimism to it because Wiglaf was there to “pass the torch” in a way when it came to heroism. Unferth was a person who had his doubts about Beowulf. You can have a whole crowd of people cheering you on and believing you can save the world but there is always going to be that person who will doubt you and try to make you feel lesser of yourself but at the same time was too scared to fight the monster himself. Grendel and his mother were considered “monsters”. To call someone a monster back then it meant that they were usually disfigured or “different” than the normal person. He was driven by human emotion. He lived outside of the regular human society and was to live in the “Swampland”. He attacked the mead hall where he killed 30 men but was there to help his mother. That’s where most of his actions resulted in him being considered a “monster”.
Even though Beowulf was written over 1000 years ago the one thing that has managed to stay consistent throughout the years is the characteristics of heroism. I found the story interesting along with the clips. Beowulf was a hero from the start when he decided to help kill Grendel to when he died killing the Dragon. He demonstrated fearlessness, selflessness and resiliency within the entire poem. At the beginning of the poem, Beowulf is slowly gaining respect and earning his name as he is asked to help kill Grendel. After defeating Grendel he kills his mother with a magical sword and returns home. Being a hero isn’t just about having supernatural strength or being immortal it’s about being courageous and not only doing it for yourself but others around you. The characteristics Beowulf demonstrated are important to anyone who thinks of certain points to being a hero.
Metonymy: the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. There are 2 examples of Metonymy In Beowulf I chose. It is like a metaphor and an example in the story is, “That shadow of death hunted in the darkness”. In this line it’s referring to the shadow of death being Grendel and the darkness is the time setting being at night. Another example would include, “The keen, inlaid, worm-looped-patterned steel was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely on the might of his arm.” The steel is being referred to as the sword that was thrown on the ground.
