Lord of the Geats
By: Arun Marsten, Jay Mainthia,
Peter Diaz, and J.B. Lamb
J.R.R. TOLKIEN AND BEOWULF
He wrote a 1936 lecture called “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics”. The
lecture is considered a turning point in Beowulfian criticism.
Tolkien was especially drawn to the importance of the monsters in the poem:
“I shall confine myself mainly to the monsters- Grendel and the Dragon, as
they appear in what seems to me the best and most authoritative general
criticism in English. Before Tolkien wrote this article, most people
disregarded the monsters and solely focused on Beowulf.
• Tolkien also declares that Beowulf is a historical document.
• In the article, Tolkien also stresses the importance of poetry: “Beowulf is
in fact, so interesting as poetry, in places poetry so powerful, that this
quite overshadows the historical context.”
• “We have none the less in Beowulf a method and structure that within the
limits of the verse-kind approaches rather to sculpture or painting. It is a
composition, not a tune.” Beowulf isn’t just a poem, it is more than that.
• Lord of the Rings didn’t just pop up out of nowhere. Tolkien drew on
ancient tales, stories, and legends, including the one and only Beowulf
DOOM
•
•
•
Both stories have very strong feeling of inevitability and fatalism
Beowulf
– “None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again or get back to
his native place and the people who reared him,” (691-696)
– “But death is not easily escaped from by anyone: all of us with souls, earthdwellers and children of men, must make our way to a destination already
ordained where the body, after the banqueting, sleeps on its deathbed,”
(1001-1007)
– “For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there
will follow illness or the sword to lay you low, or a sudden fire or surge of
water or jabbing blade or javelin from the air or repellent age. Your piercing
eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you
away,"(1759-1768)
Lord of the Rings
– The elves fading into the west
– The Mines of Moria
– “The world of men will fall”
A Chart
BEOWULF
Beowulf
LOTR
BEOWULF
Grendel
Wiglaf
Hrothgar
Unferth
LOTR
Boromir and Unferth
• Boromir and Unferth represent two ‘Anti-Heroes’ who
exhibit dishonorable behavior (what not to be).
– Boromir is seduced by the power of the Ring, and attacks
Frodo in attempts to steal it.
– Unferth openly questions and insults Beowulf in Heorot,
and is revealed to have ‘killed [his] own kith and kin”
(Heany 41).
• However, both men redeem themselves.
– Boromir sacrifices his life to save the lives of the hobbits
Merry and Pippin, earning himself the honor and respect
of Aragorn.
– Though it is not shared how, Unferth earns the respect of
Beowulf, who later regards him as a ‘far-famed man’ and
‘bequeath[s]’ him with his own sword (Heany 103).
Grendel and Gollum
• Both are very twisted and evil beings.
• Both have above average physical
strength
• Although they appear very unhumanlike, even though they actually
both descended from humans at some
point in time. Grendel- “Many doomed
beings were descended from Cain,
including the detestable outcast
Grendel” (57). Gollum- hundreds of
years ago was a hobbit just like Frodo (a
Stoor).
• Both are nemesis to the protagonists:
Grendel to Beowulf and Gollum to
Frodo.
• Grendel is also represented in
other monsters I.e. the Nazgul
Anglo-Saxons = Race of Men
•
•
The values, art, beliefs and overall culture of the Anglo-Saxons is
directly mirrored in the race of Men that inhabit middle Earth.
Values: The race of Men stress a particular importance in the
idea of honor and pride. It is best to die in battle, defending you
race against evil. This will bring honor to your name.
– Lineage defines an individual (although more so for the dwarves).
Much is expected of men from great lineage. Shielding’s lineage
– “Our People” the Idea that your race is great and that although the
end of day will come, our race will fight with honor to the death. In
the end the kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan will come together.
– MEADE & GLUTTONY (Brandywine and Prouncing Pony).
•
•
The story of the Jutes, Frisians, and the Danes closely resembles
the struggles of the multiple kingdoms of men: they can’t live
alongside each other.
Disloyalty is part of life, as seen by Rohan’s initial betrayal of the
white city. Grima Wormtounge is the disloyal one. The rangers,
Dunedoreans are like the middle-earth“Tea-Party.”
Specifics
•
•
•
•
The kingdom of Rohan is the EQUIVALENT of Herot. In the beginning,
Heorot is in a state of “continued woe that never stopped, steady
affliction…riven by terror” (190-194). “Sad lays are sung about the beset
king” (151) because Grendel “took over Heorot, haunted the glittering
hall after dark” (167-168). It is as if Herot is under the curse of Grendel!
In the beginning, Rohan is under the EVIL PLAGUE of SAURON. The king,
Theodens, mind is being poisoned by Grima Wormtounge. Wormtongue
(evil minister) pressures him into disloyalty to Gondor. The King grows
very old and sickly as a visual manifestation of this curse.
Beowulf brings an end to this curse with his entrance to the
kingdom because he restores the happiness to the kingdom. He
cures the the plague.
The fellowship enters into Rohan, led by Aragorn (chosen heir),
and they rid the king, and thereby Rohan, of the curse
-Hrothgar is mixture between Theoden
and Denethor.
The Clan Mentality in LOTR
• In the world of LOTR, this clan mentality
exists between the different races that
exist. (Men, Elves, Dwarves, etc.)
– These races live independent from
one another, until they are faced with
a giant evil that threatens to destroy
them all.
• This clan mentality exists within each race
themselves.
– Elves and Dwarves have their
respective factions, but it is more
highly shown in the race of Men.
– The kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan
mirror the kingdoms of the Geats and
Danes.
– Living independent of one another,
they are soon both united by Aragornwho convinces them to come to each
others aid.
The Clan Mentality In Beowulf
• The world of Beowulf describes independent conflicts between
tribes/families.
• Each clan, such as the Danes and the Geats, tries to keep to
themselves, independent of the other, even with some hatred
between the two.
– Pg. 19, The coast guard is distrusting, does not recoginize the Geats,
sole job is to ‘watch the waves for raiders, any danger to the Danish
shore’ (Heany 19).
• This changes when the Danes face an evil too much for them to
handle. Beowulf is still asked to “let the South-Danes settle their
own blood-feud with Grendel” by King Hygelac, yet he goes anyway
(Heany 137).
• Beowulf’s defeat of Grendel unites the two clans.
– “what you have done is draw two peoples, the Geat nation and us
neighboring Danes, into shared peace and a pact of friendship in spite
of hatreds we have harbored in the past” (Heany 127).
• This is mirrored in what we learned about Anglo-Saxon society:
splintered groups, living independently of one another except to
fight.
Swords
• Both Beowulf and Lord of the Rings share the theme of
swords having special and magical qualities.
• Beowulf
– Dazzle the Duel
– Hrunting
– Grendel’s Mother’s sword
– Naegling
• Lord of the Rings
– Sting
– Andúril
– Glamdring
– Narsil
Rings
• The presence of rings in LOTR is fairly apparent, however rings are also
very important in Beowulf
• In both stories the rings initially symbolize honor and act as a sort of
reward.
• In Anglo-Saxon and Nordic cultures rings were highly prized and often
associated with power and magic.
• In fact there’s a famous cycle of operas written by Wagner called Der Ring
des Nibelungen, which is about a magic ring that gives you the power to
rule the world and the ensuing battle for possession of it (sound familiar?)
• The One Ring (weird speculations)
– Symbolizes greed for power and honor.
– Sauron the ring-giver
– Negative effects of the values of Anglo-Saxon culture
– Beowulf and the ring
Works Cited
Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf: a New Verse Translation. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2001. Print.
"Tolkien and Beowulf." Valar Guild. Web. 01 Oct. 2011.
<http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/papers/Ancalagon/TolkienandBeowulf.htm>.
Tolkien, J. R. R. Beowulf; the Monsters and the Critics. London: Oxford U. P., 1936. Print.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print.
Our own knowledge.