Revenge In The Epic Poem Beowulf

While Beowulf’s behavior was defensive, the conflict with Grendel 's mother came out of culturally appropriate revenge. We see this primarily when Grendel’s Mother seeks vengeance for her son’s death. Instead of a bloodthirsty troll slaughtering everyone in sight, we see a methodical sorceress who merely wishes for the suffering of one man. The concept of revenge is far more complicated then murderous rage or self-defense. An eye for an eye means taking just as much from the person who stole from you.

Good and evil have been shown multiple times throughout the story. Beowulf versus all the different monsters throughout the story are the most prevalent examples of this dichotomy. Many of the evil forces were Cain, Grendel and his mother, and the dragon. These three portray evil in their fighting and their reasoning for fighting/ murdering others.

In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.

Furthermore, Beowulf’s death and the downfall of his people highlight the destruction caused by excessive pride. After defeating Grendel and his mother, Beowulf , the warrior, earns a name for himself and eventually rules as the warrior king of the Geats for 50 years. Yet at the end of the poem, Beowulf, similarly to Grendel, lets his insatiable greed consume him. His self-centered desire to gain and maintain fame and glory overrides his duties as a leader of his people, the Geats, and causes him to become irrational. He irrationally decides to battle with the dragon that was causing mayhem in his kingdom alone.

The mother once again had such tough skin and the curse on the sword Beowulf had an issue trying to kill her. Beowulf just decides to try to beat her with his super human abilities too. Knowing he couldn’t he grabbed a sword off the wall and cut her head off. He went and cut Grendel’s room to find him dead in the corner so he cut his head off to and took it back up for his men to carry it back

Beowulf slayed them because he believed it was his duty. No one could defeat these monsters like he could. There had to be a reason Beowulf fought these monsters because he never did it for himself. He put others ahead of himself because he believed it was his moral obligation to. When he fought Grendel he had to defeat him to balance good and evil.

In the poem Beowulf, courage is an understatement to the amount of it noticed versus the amount

The epic Beowulf is written in Old English by an unknown author, and it is considered to be the oldest surviving long poem in Old English. Beowulf is about a hero, named Beowulf, who comes to the rescue of the Danes when their mead-hall is being attacked by a monster. He then enters a series of three great battles that change his life. The last battle is the most significant battle that Beowulf faces because it shows how much he has grown as a man from his first battle. Without Beowulf’s final battle, the epic Beowulf would not have the valuable lesson that it is able to teach us today.

The monsters all had a main overall purpose that influenced their actions. Grendel was distracted from the noise and corruption in the hall which caused the uprising of his attacks. After Grendel's death, his mother "brooded on her loss, and misery had brewed in her heart" (Beowulf 19.1259). Grendel's mother did not start to fight off the Danes just because she was evil, but rather because she sought revenge for the death of her son. The Dragon was also on the hunt for retribution.

She then tries to avenge his death by brutally killing many men of Herot. She, like her son, causes much distress for the kingdom. On lines 441-445, citizens of the kingdom as of Beowulf’s help. The quote says, “Our only help, Again, lies with you. Grendel’s mother Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place You’ve not seen.

After Beowulf defeated Grendel he leaves and Grendel ’s Mom comes and seeks revenge for her fallen son. When Beowulf returns the King of the Danes, Hrothgar, is in mourning because Grendel’s Mom killed one of his best warriors. Beowulf tells Hrothgar that is it not a time for mourning and that it is a time for action. “All men must die; let him who may Win glory ere death.

Being an epic hero, Beowulf was very brave and battled many immortal creatures. One monster he came across was Grendel. “Conceived by a pair of the monster born of Cain, murderous creatures banned by God..,”(44), Hrothgar’s men would say. This is a reference from the Bible, showing the evil portrayed in the monster Grendel. This monster went to Herot and killed thirty men just because he was hungry.

Beowulf states that Grendel's mom will not be able ti hide from his wrath. Beowulf assures that Grendel's mom will be eliminated. After Beowulf gets to be ruler in Geatland, he demonstrates his awesome unselfishness yet again by promising to execute the flame mythical serpent. Beowulf is said to have sworn to murder the mythical serpent, which has brought on an unsettling influence among his kingdom. These brave acts offered by Beowulf shows a great part of his integrity.

More than a Monster In Beowulf, it showed us Grendel dying by Beowulf’s hand, when his mother finds out about his death she goes straight to Heoret to get revenge. She grabbed Aeschere, killed him, and this lead to Beowulf seeking her out to get rid of her as he did with Grendel. Beowulf was successful, after an underwater fight in her lake he took her down. Grendel’s mother is considered a monster by the pagans yet her motives, her human qualities, and her comparison to other characters prove that she is not as heartless or monstrous as she is perceived. A mother grieves when her children are harmed and Grendel’s mother is just that, a mother.

In the Epic Beowulf, Grendel, the Monster, killed many people. Beowulf ended up killing Grendel by ripping his arm right off and him limping into the wilderness and died slowly. Grendels mother came back for revenge of the killing of her son. While all the warriors are sleeping from the party they celebrated for the killing of Grendel, Grendels Mother attack the Heorot Hall. After she attacks, she ended up running back to her cave where Beowulf finds her there and ends up killing her.