White P6
An allegory is “the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence.” The poem
Beowulf talks about a heroic man who fights numerous monsters to help save the country of Denmark. Even though this poem takes place in the Anglo-Saxon era, many lessons can be learned if the poem is interpreted as an allegory due to the heavy symbolism in the text. Many things in Beowulf can represent something in the present world like Heorot, Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.
Heorot, is a mead-hall where warriors drink, feast, and sleep but interpreting the poem as an allegory, it symbolizes civilization that has a lot of values and forces keeping it together.
Heorot was created by a force of men rather than one man. “The fortunes of war favoured
Hrothgar. Friends and kinsmen flocked to his ranks, young followers, a force that grew to be a mighty army. So his mind turned to hall-building: he handed down orders for men to work on a great mead-hall meant to be a wonder of the world forever;” (Lines 64-70). These lines interpreted mean that many people pitched in to help build the wonderful hall. This is important because it shows that everyone is involved and active like someone would see in a real civilization. A civilization is a group of people in a society and without everyone working together, there would just be a group of individuals. In summary, Heorot represents a civilization built by many people in cooperation.
There are many values in Heorot, a civilization, that are important in Beowulf and the present world. Commitment is a value that had its positive and negative effects in the storyline of
Beowulf . Positively, there are people who were committed were good and kept the civilization

White P6 safe. “ ‘… I have been stationed as lookout on this coast for a long time. My job is to watch the waves for raiders, any danger to the Danish shore...’ ” (Lines 240-243). This quote shows that even though everyone was terrorized and fearful, the coast guard is still on duty making sure that
Danes isn’t taken over by other danger. This value is important in a civilization because if everyone wasn’t committed then everyone with important roles such as security wouldn’t be great at their job, leading to failure. Negatively, lack of commitment and unity caused Beowulf to die against the dragon. “Before long the battle-dodgers abandoned the wood, the ones who had let down their lord earlier, the tail-turners, ten of them together. When he needed them most, they had made off. Now they were ashamed and came behind shields, in their battle-outfits, to where the old man lay” (Lines 2845-2851). These lines state that the ten thanes ran away during battle and were ashamed when they came back to see their king dead. This is important because it shows how if someone in a civilization isn’t committed, their job isn’t fulfilled which can lead to more failure. All in all, one can see that commitment was a big value that affected Beowulf in the poem.
Heorot, which symbolizes a civilization, shows that certain forces are necessary to maintain the civilization. Forces like Beowulf who was courageous and powerful are needed to maintain a civilization. First, one can see this when Beowulf challenges Grendel; “Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Lines 425-426). This quote shows that Beowulf wanted to fight Grendel alone. He was aware of all the horrible stories and how many people have died but he was courageous enough to still fight him. Next, Beowulf had a lot of strength and power. “… they declared, with the strength of thirty in the grip of each hand…” (Line 380-381). This quote shows that Beowulf was literally strong as 60 men. Power and strength are important because in any civilization, there is a need of brute force in case of a

White P6 war or monsters which both are mentioned in Beowulf . Finally, Beowulf is a symbol for a force necessary to hold civilization together. “Now war is looming over our nation, soon it will be known to Franks and Frisians, far and wide, that the king is gone” (Lines 2811-2814). These lines talk about how since Beowulf died, all the surrounding nations are going to start a war and take over Denmark predicting a tragic future. This is important because it shows that without forces like Beowulf, a whole civilization can crumble into pieces. In the end, a strong force like
Beowulf to Heorot is needed in a civilization.
Grendel is an out casted monster who represented individualism if the poem is analyzed as an allegory. Individualism can be positive or negative but in the poem, Grendel’s individualism is negative. In a society setting, someone with individualism only cares about their own actions and interests. In Grendel’s case, he lives far away from the Danes and attacked because he wanted to have the throne even though he couldn’t. “Grendel was the names of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts…” (Line 102-107). This quote shows that Grendel has been in misery with the other banished monsters from Cain’s clan. This is important because it showed that Grendel dwelt in misery, was out casted and wanted revenge for being banished. He only thought of himself and not the consequences of the civilization around him.
Another example of individualism in the poem is the character Unferth. Unferth was a man jealous of Beowulf and challenged him. “The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly as keen and courageous as you claim to be Grendel would never have got away with such unchecked atrocity” (Lines 590-593). These lines show Beowulf rebutting Unferth’s challenge to Beowulf.
This is important because it shows that Unferth was so individualized that he challenged others

White P6 when he didn’t do anything to save anyone either. He didn’t want all the attention and didn’t want to contribute to the civilization of Heorot. All in all, one can see Grendel and Unferth symbolize individualism very well.
Individualism is important in a civilization because its destructive nature go against the forces to maintain the civilization. A civilization contains of a group of people working together and accomplishing goals together. If everyone was individualized, everyone would only care about oneself and cause the civilization to perish due to the lack of cooperation. In summary, individualism is a bad force to have in a civilization.
Grendel’s mother symbolizes the violent nature of man, specifically revenge. First of all, after Grendel died and the Danes celebrated, Grendel’s mother wanted to avenge Grendel. “But now his mother had sallied forth on a savage journey, grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.” (Lines 1276-1278). “So she pounced upon him and pulled out a broad, whetted knife: now she would avenge her only child.” (Lines 1545-1547). These quotes just support the fact that Grendel’s mother just wanted revenge for her only child’s death. This is important because it shows Grendel’s mother’s symbolism of revenge. The violent nature of man has a destructive nature that goes against the forces necessary to maintain civilization. A civilization with violence is like a war because revenge and blood feud is a problem. If civilizations keep fighting, they will just lose people and lack unity. In summary, Grendel’s mother symbolizes the violent nature of man which is a force against civilization.
The dragon (wyrm) symbolizes greed if the poem is analyzed as an allegory. The dragon was guarding a treasure until a thief stole it out of desperation which caused the dragon to rage and attack the Danes. "until one began to dominate the dark, a dragon on the prowl from the

White P6 steep vaults of a stone-roofed barrow where he guarded a hoard; there was a hidden passage, unknown to men, but someone managed to enter by it and interfere with the heathen trove. He had handled and removed a gem-studded goblet; it gained him nothing, though with a thief’s wiles he had outwitted the sleeping dragon; that drove him into rage, as the people of that country would soon discover." (Lines 2211-2220). "Then an old harrower of the dark happened to find the hoard open, the burning one who hunts out barrows, the slick-skinned dragon, threatening the night sky with streamers of fire. People on the farms are in dread of him. He is driven to hunt out hoards under ground, to guard heathen gold through age-long vigils, though to little avail." (Lines 2271-2278). These quotes show that the dragon was raging and hunting with fire just for his treasure. This is important because it shows how the dragon was greedy and wanted the treasure back which resulted to disasters in Denmark. The destructive nature of greed is a force against what’s necessary to maintain a successful civilization. In a civilization, there aren’t people who are greedy because everyone would want wealth, power, etc. which could lead to corruption and individualism. In the end, Grendel’s mother symbolizes greed in an allegory and greed can corrupt a civilization.
As one can see, Beowulf interpreted as an allegory can symbolize many things in the present world today. Heorot, a mead-hall symbolizes a civilization full of people working together. Today, it could represent society in a neighborhood, town or even a school. Beowulf, a hero and king represents the force bringing the civilization together. He protects and leads the civilization into success. This could be the president in the country or even a principal at school.
Grendel a jealous out casted monster symbolizes individualism. He only thinks about himself and not others which leads to destruction of a civilization. This can be a bully at school if tied to the world today. Grendel’s mother, when analyzed as an allegory, represents the violent nature of

White P6 man. She only wanted revenge. A country in war with another, a bully at school or even average people with a reason to have revenge are perfect examples of violent nature in the world today.
The dragon who was angry because of its stolen treasure symbolizes greed. It lost its treasure and went to extremes to get it back due to the greed it possessed. This can be a bank robber or the government in today’s world. A sturdy civilization contains a group of cooperative, unified and committed people. Many forces such as individualism, violence and greed can lead to the destruction of civilization but many forces such as courage, power and leadership can help keep a civilization strong. Reading Beowulf is an important thing to do because not only does the poem teach us good literature, it also shows us what society should look like today. Teenagers are highly influenced at this point of time and a good book showing them what to do is an important value. All in all, I would recommend Beowulf to all high school students because it’s great literature and has learning potential.