Beowulf’s Vengeance
It is a fair night in Geatland, and Beowulf is celebrating his victory over Grendel's Mother in the mead hall Higlac built for his nephew. The mead hall is named The Court of Champions.
"Let us celebrate my nephew’s great accomplishments of ridding the Danish people of their hideous creatures!" Higlac exclaims as he raises his mead cup to his subjects. Higlac by far was one of the fairest kings the Geats have had, after raids he gave each member a portion of the loot and made sure that everyone in the clan was cared for. When Beowulf brought home the vast riches from King Hrothgar, Higlac spread his portion of the treasure to his subjects so many toasts were made in his honor this night. Finally, after a long night of celebration,
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It’s lower two arms have shovels for hands that it uses to dig while its upper two wield a greatsword and battle ax. Vesculent saw the beloved king and knew killing him would spite Beowulf, killer of his kin. So that is exactly what he did, he lunged from the bushes, and sliced Higlac across the abdomen. Vesculent’s sword was so sharp, that it split Higlac right in half, so the dreaded beast took his lower half as a snack for its trip home. Closer to dawn, a guard spotted the gory scene and immediately ran to The Court of Champions to tell Beowulf of the tragedy that took place.
When Beowulf heard of the news, he let out a wail so loud that it was heard from Jutland. Shortly after, the news of the King’s death spread to Denmark and they mourned the death of the fair king. Unferth, however, saw this as a way to redeem himself and left within the day of hearing the news to slay the beast. Meanwhile, Beowulf made arrangements for Higlac’s burial. Higlac’s boat was cast to sea and then burned but his sword was not with him because Beowulf took it, swearing that he will kill the beast with his uncle’s
Furthermore, as Beowulf left the Hrunting sword behind and did not return it back to its owner, the text suggests that Beowulf carried it without preserving its integrity as promised. In addition, Beowulf saw a “victorious blade,/ ancient giant-sword strong in its edges,/ worthy in battles; it was the best of weapons [throughout the Danes community]” (Beowulf, 1557-9), during his battle with Grendel’s mother to which ends her life. The text implies that Beowulf does not respect material weapons of the community since he treats the giant-sword as “best of weapons” even though he swore his life for the Hrunting. In other words, Beowulf classifies swords as the same since he picks up and drops different ones as if they were nothing but pieces of metal to
Within this paper, there are two different pieces writing that will be compared. Those writings are The Epic Poem of Beowulf and A Hero’s Journey Archetype. This paper will be discussing this question: How does Beowulf follow the Hero’s Journey Archetypes? According to Hero’s Journey Archetype, the characteristics of a hero is that, the hero is male.
However, after Beowulf kills Grendel using his inhuman strength to rip his otherwise impenetrable arm off, causing him to bleed out, Hrothgar rewards him “Then Beowulf was given the brand of Half-Dane, the golden banner in reward of victory, the adorned standard, helm and byrnie; the renowned treasure-sword many saw brought before the hero; Beowulf took the full flagon from the floor; of the reward-gift he did not, for as payment, need not be ashamed...the head-guard was wound with wires the re-inforced crest guarded from without.. ”(Slade 1020-1032). Gifts represent success and the heroism of the character, adding to the glorified epic hero quality yearned by all warriors of the Anglo-Saxon
Beowulf, born in the land of the Geats, makes the voyage over to the Danes upon hearing the problems troubling the Danes. Even though Hygelac told Beowulf not to, Beowulf went on ahead and he proves his worth, both to his king and the Danes’ king. In the time of crossing the waters, Beowulf kills Grendel, Grendel’s mom, and then a dragon and he inspires one young man named Wiglaf. Wiglaf makes a valiant speech to get Beowulf’s men hustling in the line of defense, but ends up fighting alone. “He picked us out from the army deliberately, honoured us and judged us fit for this action, made me these lavish gifts- and all because he considered us the best of his arms-bearing thanes”
Beowulf’s second epic battle is against another monster—Grendel’s mother. Heorot Hall went from celebrating Beowulf’s victory in the epic battle against Grendel to lose their precious victory trophy—Grendel’s hand. In the block quotation below, readers are able to realize that Grendel’s mother is shocked with the death of her son. Not being mentally resilient, Grendel’s mother is unable accept her son’s death; this causes her to invade Heorot Hall and steal her son’s “bloodied hand.” Nonetheless, readers are also able to conclude that will attempt to seek revenge for he son’s
Eventually, a third and last monster appeared. This time the monster was a furious dragon that would attack and burn down the villages of Geatland. Obviously, Beowulf was ready to take on the dragon in a fight, but unfortunately, after defeating it, his wounds were not to fix. Sadly, Beowulf had fought his last fight. Eventually, The Geat’s held a worthy funeral for Beowulf, and they even built an enormous barrow where he could rest in peace.
Even though the monster’s hall was flooding with luxurious treasure, “all that Beowulf took was Grendel’s head and the hilt of the giants’ jeweled sword” (lines 266-268). Beowulf “sought Hrothgar to salute him and show Grendel’s head” (lines 299-300). 17) After being given the golden hilt of the sword from Beowulf, Hrothgar notices inscriptions written on it. He realized that written on there was a story of ancient wars between good and evil. The inscriptions state, “The story of ancient wars between good and evil, the opening of the waters, the flood sweeping the giants away, how they suffered and died” (lines 342-347).
This scene is relevant due to its differing plot from the other two slayings. During the killing of Grendel, Beowulf tears off his arm and ultimately destroys the wretched monster alone and without frivolous weapons. When the duel between Grendel’s mother arises, Beowulf
Beowulf is injured in the fight, and he dies along side his defeated
Beowulf’s fate causes some of his men to get killed in battle and he leaves his land ungoverned and susceptible to attack demonstrated by the quote, “Grendel snatched at the first Geat, ripped him apart, and cut his body to bits,”(421
Beowulf had done the unthinkable—he had killed a demon that no warrior of Denmark could have done. This opened several new doors for Beowulf, including one that promised of honor, glory, and riches. Beowulf had achieved his goal of fame, a goal which had created a poem of a hero that birthed and shaped a story to be told even years later. Furthermore, Beowulf’s fame was set in stone by Hrothgar, the king who owed Beowulf his everything, including his thanks. After giving Beowulf the speech to further glorify his prominence, Hrothgar declares, “Glory is now yours/
Loyalty, one of the main themes throughout Beowulf, is an important aspect of the Germanic culture. Loyalty in the Heroic Code is a bond between the king and his warriors; loyalty to the king is first above all, even family in this text. If the warriors lack the loyalty for their king, the urge to protect their king and tribe is diminished. Beowulf’s king, Hygelac, gave him permission to help the Danish king and his people. Beowulf exerts his loyalty to Hrothgar by protecting the king’s people, and killing Grendel.
In spite of this Beowulf goes through an awesome journey of all these creatures and a great fight to eliminate the problem of Grendel and his mother. This caused Beowulf to make the Geats and the Danes allies which is great as a leader. He also brought riches to his people through the help of the generous Hrothgar. “And risked the voyage received a bounty, some treasured possession. And compensation in gold, was settled for the Geat Grendel had cruelly killed earlier.
"He gave Herdred all his support, offering an open heart where Higlac's young son could see wisdom he still lacked himself: warmth and goodwill were what Beowulf brought his new king. " This shows Beowulf's loyalty to Higlac his late King, and to his family. Beowulf would not be dishonorable by taking what wasn't rightfully his; he would rather stand by Higlac's son and teach him all he knows. Beowulf is the hero to his King's son and country, by staying loyal and having honor.
After defeating Grendel and his mother, Beowulf is offered countless gifts from Hrothgar during a celebratory feast, a significant ritual of the Anglo-Saxons. After returning to his land, Beowulf recalls the feast by telling his king, “‘I got lavish rewards from the lord of the Danes for my part in the battle, beaten gold and much else’” (Heaney, 2101-2103). Due to being the nephew of the king and the “son-in-heart” of Hrothgar, Beowulf belongs to the highest class in his society, as well as the wealthiest. On the other hand, Mardini belonged to a regular middle-class family in a devastated country.