Beowulf & Metonymy
Beowulf, written by an anonymous author, is an Anglo-Saxon poem about a hero named Beowulf who proves himself in a series of battles fighting against vicious creatures. It is a fight against good and evil. These two opposites have been used numerous times from the past up to this point. The importance of this epic poem is that it is an early record of such writing. This short contains multiple uses of figurative language ranging from kennings to dramatic irony. One focus will be the use of metonymy. Metonymy is a device in which something or a pert represents a much larger object or idea. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the literary device of metonymy conveys the theme that obstacles can be overcome.
A well-known use of metonymy is used when the author describes “the keen, inlaid, worm-looped-patterned steel [which] was hurled to the ground” (1532). At this point of the story, Beowulf must outsmart Grendel’s mom who has captured him. The steel in this quote represents a sword and relates to a larger idea. It relates to the battle against Grendel’s mom. Even after his loss of the sword, Beowulf uses his body to fight the opponent. In various parts of the story, a sword is depicted. This emphasizes how significant the weapon truly is. Without a weapon, it seems that Beowulf is left defenseless and the battle seems to be a fail. However, his strength is enough to defeat the very creature that captured him. This connects to the theme of the story that such hurdles can be overcome.
The major fight which is referenced in the clips is the creature known as Grendel. Grendel is depicted as an outcast who is a malignant and vicious monster. He represents the evil and the flip side of the coin to Beowulf. Beowulf and Grendel are to be compared with each other. One is seen as a notable hero while the other is simply a monstrosity. Grendel is a “shadow of death [that] hunted in the darkness” (74). A shadow is the evil nature that follows behind him. The darkness symbolizes the time in which the battle is occurring. The night sets the suspenseful mood of the setting. This metonymy is helpful to the reader because it describes Grendel as an unjust creature lurking about to feed his selfish desires. Meanwhile, Beowulf has to put up a fight with such a monster. Again, good versus bad is a major theme in this epic poem. It is blunt and straight forward.
The last battle is the fight between Beowulf and the dragon. Even though the dragon succeeded by physically harming the hero of the story, the dragon also ends up killed. A hero is known to be selfless and Beowulf shows this character trait in the epic poem. The dragon symbolizes the end of a war. The destruction caused by this creature cannot stand in the way of a hero’s bravery and his righteous attitude for the people around him. It is his responsibility to protect those who can not protect themselves. The protagonist wins the battle in the end, no matter how much turmoil he went through. The heroic aspects of Beowulf prevail and continue to live on in the story. The message is clear that good will always triumph in the end.
Beowulf is an epic poem that uses multiple literary devices to convey a theme. It is as simple as the fight between right and wrong, light and dark, good and bad. The battles are physical, but relates to the strenuous hardships one must face mentally and spiritually. In other words, Beowulf shows that dangerous situations can be overcome with wit, bravery, and strength.
