Beowulf: Of Men
and Monsters
Feraco
Search for Human Potential
8 November 2010
Noteworthy Features of the
Poem’s First Half
 It’s largely triumphant
 The flush of heroic youth
 Only one setback (Hrunting’s failure) and one
minor failure (Grendel breaks Beowulf’s
grasp)
 However, there’s real sadness in the
stories and myths King Hrothgar’s
storyteller, the scop himself, recites
 There are plenty of hints that darkness is
coming – “The Shielding nation/was not yet
familiar with feud and betrayal” (1017-18)
 The first half also references many
characters from either legend or the
past
 We’ll study them, then move on to “modern”
characters (present tense)
Rogues’ Gallery
 First, however, let’s look at two of the four
most important men in Beowulf’s life
 We’ll talk about Hrothgar and Wiglaf later
 Ecgtheow – Father of Beowulf, husband to
King Hygelac’s sister (so Beowulf is quasiroyalty)
 Killed Heatholaf years ago, starting a feud
 Ecgtheow’s people banished him – shades of Grendel
(“Like a man outlawed/for wickedness” (976-77) –
out of fear over the war they knew would ensue
 Feud was ended by a young King Hrothgar, who paid
the “death-price” for Heatholaf by sending
treasure overseas
 Hygelac – The king of the Geats
 He will die wearing the torque Wealhtheow hands to
Beowulf (in the wake of his victory over Grendel)
 Beowulf will succeed him as king, but hasn’t when
the poem begins
The Danes’ Family Tree
 Shield Sheafson – The Danish king
whose funeral marks the opening
of the poem
 Beow – Shield’s son who follows in
his footsteps as king
 Halfdane – Beow’s son; continues
the family line of kings, and sires
Hrothgar, Heorogar, and Halga
 Heorogar is actually king of the
Danes before Hrothgar; the latter
takes the throne after his brother’s
death
Legend and Song
 The scop/OEP thrusts himself into the story
around line 880
 Until then, Beowulf is a straight story; afterwards,
it interweaves myths into a parallel structure
 This helps the scop foreshadow events and flesh out
his characterization – e.g., “Role Models”
references
 Sigemund – A dragon-slayer, Fitela’s nephew,
and the subject of the royal storyteller’s
song
 He wins the dragon’s treasure-hoard after
defeating the monster alone (very important)
 Ironically, the scop is singing about
Sigemund in order to honor Beowulf’s defeat
of Grendel
 In actuality, the Sigemund tale foreshadows
Beowulf’s battle with the dragon near the end of
the poem
 It also introduces King Heremod, whose wrongdoings will be referenced later by King Hrothgar
Legend and Song, Part II
 Heremod – An old king of the
Danes
 Betrayed by his own men and forced
into exile; he’s the example of a
“bad cyning,” while Shielf Sheafson
and Hrothgar are “good cynings”
 Although Heremod is mentioned in
order to contrast him with the noble
Beowulf, the scop (once again) foreshadows the young hero’s eventual
fate
 He uses two wildly different examples to
do this in the space of a single legend!
Remarkable…
Second Legend and Song
 Finn – The Frisian King mentioned by the scop
during the second tale
 He reaches a truce with the Danes during their war,
and keeps the peace with the survivors
 He allows the Danes to burn their dead on the
funeral pyre – an extremely honorable gesture to
extend to a defeated enemy
 However, he does keep the Danes from returning to
their homes; this decision eventually dooms him, as
the Danes cannot tolerate exile
 Homesick and resentful, the Danes betray and
murder him before stealing his queen, whose
complicated relationship with the two sides
compounds her pain
 This betrayal foreshadows another message
from the second half – that “nothing is
sacred,” and that those who violate their
principles (and mutual values) can defeat
those who won’t do the same
Second Legend, Part II
 Hengest – The Dane who assumes
command after King Hnaef is lost in
the battle with the Frisians
 Hildeburh – A Danish princess who
married Finn (the Frisian king);
 She’s the queen from the previous slide
 In the end, she not only loses her brother
(Hnaef, the Danish king) and her son
(another Dane), but Finn as well
 Carried away by the Danes after her
husband’s slaughter, a tragic victim of
pointless hatred and a symbol of revenge’s
corrosive power
“Modern” Figures
 Beowulf – Not much left to be said
about him!
 He’s a Geat, and Ecgtheow’s son
 One of Hygelac’s thanes
 He will eventually assume the throne in
Geatland – at least as long as the country
remains intact
 Hrothgar – The king of the Danes, he
builds Heorot Hall
 Hrothgar has sons of his own (Hrethric and
Hrothmund), but Wealhtheow urges him to
break the line of succession by passing the
throne to Halga’s son, Hrothulf (a bit after
line 1170, right in the middle of her long
speech)
“Modern” Figures, Part II
 Wealhtheow – Hrothgar’s beautiful
and regal queen; helps bestow
treasure upon victorious warriors and
loyal servants
 Wulfgar – One of Hrothgar’s retainers,
he introduces Beowulf upon his arrival
 Aeschere – Hrothgar’s best friend
amongst the retainers – Govinda, but
better
 Carried off and decapitated by Grendma
following Beowulf’s defeat of Grendel
 His death is another hint of the darkness
to come in the poem’s second half
Villains and Knaves
 Unferth – Another one of Hrothgar’s
men; he envies Beowulf because he
craves the same type of praise
 Unferth is intelligent and somewhat respected,
but he is “under a cloud” because he killed
both of his brothers
 The scop/OEP had issues with fratricide –
remember Cain and Grendel?
 Earns a measure of redemption with Hrunting
 Grendel – The beast who lurks in the
haunted mere
 A descendant of Cain, and thus cursed by God
 Grendel’s mother (“Grendma”) – A
demon who attacks Heorot after
Grendel’s demise
Now, for the Main Course
 The characters are worth knowing
because they add substance to the
poem, tie the themes together, and
help us better understand Beowulf
 That said, there really isn’t much
depth or subtlety to most of them;
this is a blessing in disguise, as it
would be really difficult to keep track
of them otherwise!
 Outside of Unfurth’s reversal, most of the
characters don’t change at all (although
Beowulf does)
 The themes give Beowulf the bulk of
its lasting power, as a great deal
happens at or just beneath the surface
of the poem
Just Sit Here and Wait for
the End of the World
 Although the first half of the poem is
about preservation – after all, Beowulf
saves Heorot – the poem as a whole is
about the ways in which things end
 The death of kings in war – and the
destruction of nations
 The funerals that bracket the poem
 Shield’s death opens the tale; we barely see him
alive!
 The end of courage, heroism, and loyalty in
a darkening age; none of the Shieldings
will fight Grendel or Grendma anymore
 The inevitable toll that power takes on
anyone, good or evil, who tries to hold it
 Even the ending of Cain’s God-cursed line,
celebrated by the scop, rams this point
home
I Will Protect Myself
 In an interesting parallel, the poem is
also about protection and restoration –
about trying to hold on to what’s yours
even as it inevitably slips away
 In the wake of Grendel’s attack, Heorot is
rebuilt and restored to its old glory (only
to be attacked again when Grendma
arrives!)
 Faith provides protection: Beowulf’s arrival
in Denmark is treated as a gift from God,
and his defense of the hall smacks of
salvation
 It also saves Hrothgar, as God-cursed Grendel
cannot approach the throne (it’s divinely
protected)
 Faith also requires protection – notice the
poet condemns those who burn pagan
offerings in an attempt to save Heorot
(after line 170)
Creaky Tradition
 One of the ways that “protection” – the
maintenance of what we already have –
subtly influences the poem is in its
treatment of ritual and tradition
 These are our bulwarks against attacks from
the terrifying darkness, and the scaffolding
that preserves society “as we know it”
(comforting!)
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The
The
The
The
The
The
The
ways we treat our dead
ways we treat one another
way we feast collectively
way we collect and re-distribute treasure
way we worship God
way we tell our stories
way we value family heritage
Tradition and Reputation
 Another way we see tradition and values
upheld is through the power of reputation
 People routinely pay not only for what they
do, but for what they say – although action is
more important than words
 For example, Unferth’s challenge to Beowulf
centers around the latter’s supposed defeat
in a contest at the hands of his rival – a
challenge Beowulf had loudly insisted he
would win (justifiably so, as it turns out)
 He uses the “contrast” between Beowulf’s past
actions and words to argue that the Geat is an
empty boaster who is unworthy of fame – and,
therefore, respect
 Unferth is eventually mocked by the OEP
because he dared to insult Beowulf and
because he refuses to fight Grendma – he
loses “fame and reknown”
Another Battle to Fight
 In short, tradition serves as the foundation
of all social contracts between individuals
and nations
 Yet there’s another battle to explore outside
of that uneasy balance between tradition and
change, words and actions, the inevitability
of loss and the desperate need to “fight the
future”: the battle between good and evil
 Unlike the aforementioned comparison, this
battle is fairly obvious in the poem’s first
half
 Beowulf = Good; Monsters = Bad
 This theme returns in a more subtle fashion
during the second half of the poem, when
Hrothgar delivers a speech about the
dangers of power…and we face the dragon
 That’s one of the poem’s major questions,
and one we’ve already covered: how do you
face your dragons?
Grendel’s Motive for Evil
 It’s worth noting that Grendel initially
attacks the hall (starting his “lonely war”)
because he can’t tolerate the sounds of
happiness or communal celebration
 A seemingly simple “mwa-ha-ha” motive that grows
more complex once you realize that Grendel’s being
victimized for the sins of others
 Notice that the songs he hates glorify the being who
punished him – and his family – “unfairly”
 Once Grendel finds a formidable opponent in
Beowulf, he only wants to flee home
 Would he have attacked Heorot again? Did he need to
die?
 When Beowulf kills Grendel, “he did not
consider that life of much account/to anyone
anywhere” (792-93); we’re about to see how
wrong he was
Grendma’s Motive for Evil
 It’s worth noting that Grendma never attacks
until Beowulf dismembers her son
 The scop doesn’t like her very much, but it’s clear she
wasn’t hurting our characters until they hurt her
 Did she deserve to suffer, or is she a victim?
 An overwhelming number of you said you
would have gladly killed those who hurt your
kin; while some of you conditioned that, it’s a
bit of an ethical cheat, a moral with an asterisk
 If you’re going to insist that family ties
overwhelm morality (which is how you
justified the desire to kill to begin with),
you’re talking about a connection based on
blood, not on action…so why pretend their
actions change your ties? How do you “kick
someone out” when their blood runs through
your heart?
 Aren’t you being the least bit hypocritical?
The Reasons We Kill and
the Futility of Revenge
 The motives for killing in the poem vary
 Some are supposedly “noble” (i.e., Beowulf killing
Grendel)
 Some are decidedly less so (Finn pays for his truce
with the Danes with his life)
 It’s interesting, however, that killing always
begets killing for specific reasons –
defending tradition, seeking a way home,
wreaking havoc in the name of vengeance –
and that there’s never a clear end to the
battles as a result
 There’s always another enemy nation on the
horizon, or another monster to fight – and revenge
only perpetuates pain and suffering
 “[Beowulf] had healed and relieved a huge distress /
unremitting humiliations, / the hard fate they’d
been forced to undergo” (829-31) – until Grendma
comes to make him pay, and it becomes clear that
nothing is over
Some Exceptions
 Ecgtheow’s murder of Heatholaf
doesn’t seem to have been motivated
by any greater, noble cause
 However, all things considered, it
didn’t work out too badly; if Ecgtheow
had never killed the man, Hrothgar
wouldn’t have salvaged the situation,
and Beowulf may never have sailed to
Denmark
 As it stands, Beowulf goes seeking glory,
but also to honor his lineage
Family Trees
 I’ve mentioned lineage earlier, and I
want to stress its importance yet
again
 I mainly want to make the ritualistic
nature of honoring one’s heritage
clearer
 Sons are always mentioned in the context
of their fathers
 Family heirlooms are significant –
especially considering the value these
cultures place on objects and treasures
 Everything returns to protection and
maintenance – continue the line, preserve
the kingdom, etc. – by any means necessary
(marriage, war, gifts, and so on)
Presents!
 Good kings collect treasure in war and
tribute from their subjects – then
redistribute that wealth instead of hoarding
it (lines 71-73, 80-81)
 The kings bought loyalty, in a way, but it was
considered an honorable practice at the time
 These gifts provided individuals with a way
to establish concrete ties with others (the
torque Wealhtheow presents to Beowulf, for
example)
 Good subjects earn treasure for the ringgivers
 Even good allies pay tribute – in gold during
good times, and in manpower for armies and
defense forces in times of need
 Presents, in short, made the world go ‘round
Send It Home, Leave Me Here
 We see a slightly different side of the
“presents” issue when Beowulf discusses
what to do with his possessions – and his
body – if he dies in battle
 For example, Unferth gets Beowulf’s sword if
Grendma kills him
 Before Grendel attacks, however, Beowulf
tells Hrothgar (and later reminds him) that
he doesn’t need or want to be buried or sent
home if he dies
 Grendel will probably have eaten his body anyway
 Most of the Geats don’t expect to make it home, and
Hrothgar only has to pay the death-price for one of
them; contrast this with Grendel, who only wants to
“go home”
 However, it’s critical that Hrothgar send the
chainmail Hygelac’s smith fashioned for him
back to Geatland – that Beowulf’s king
receive a final repayment for the “debt of
protection” his subjects owe
Death, Fate, and Divinity
 The scop presents an interesting relationship
between fate/divine will, bravery, and death
 Beowulf tries to count on himself at the same
time as he places all of his faith in the
Almighty – can you even do that, or are the two
mutually exclusive?
 Does Beowulf beat Grendel because he
deserves to on his own merits, or because he’s
“armed by divinity”?
 “But the Lord was weaving/a victory on His war-loom for
the Weather-Geats” (696-97)
 Is Beowulf brave on his own, or because he
convinces himself the Almighty will protect
him?
 Does Beowulf’s faith in fate make him wiser?
(Check lines 572-73)
 He’s “dangerous in action/and eager for it
always” (629-30)
 Is it pride that’s Beowulf’s greatest source of
strength and weakness?
The Meaning of Life When
Life is Short
 Why does Beowulf love risking his life for
glory?
 It’s not that Beowulf sees life as something
to be wasted, or as something that isn’t his
own (and therefore trivializes it)
 It’s more that Beowulf is keenly aware that
life is meant to be lived, and that his ability
to lead a worthwhile existence is entirely
dependent on his accomplishments
 What he’s capable of in the future depends entirely
on his success in the present; failure in the here
and now means the erasure of that wonderful
future
 Therefore, Beowulf sees life as an unbroken
string of successes, a line of triumphs from
birth to death, one giant celebration until
the last call sounds (see lines 1001-07)
 When he fails, it’s all over – but he’s enjoying the
ride
The Wonderful Future…?
 After beating Grendel and
Grendma, Heorot is safe once
more, evil monsters have been
banished from the world, and
Beowulf and his company have
won renown for themselves and
their ring-giver.
 The best is yet to come…
 …Right?
 (Can you find Geatland on a map
today?)