Introduction – Who is Beowulf

“Beowulf” is a heroic epic poem written by an unknown author in Old English,

some time between the 8th and the 10th Century CE. It is one of the most
important works of Anglo-Saxon literature, and has been the subject of much
scholarly study, theory, speculation and discourse. It tells the story of the hero
Beowulf, and his battles against the monster Grendel (and Grendel’s mother), and
against an unnamed dragon.

Synopsis – Beowulf Summary

The poem begins with a history of the Danish kings, starting with Shild (whose
funeral is described in the Prologue) and leading up to the reign of the current king
Hrothgar, Shild’s great-grandson. Hrothgar is well loved by his people and
successful in war. He builds a lavish hall, called Herot (or Heorot), to house his
vast army, and when the hall is finished the Danish soldiers gather under its roof to
celebrate.

However, provoked by the singing and carousing of Hrothgar’s followers,

Grendel, a monster in human shape who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp,
appears at the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For
the next twelve years the fear of Grendel‘s potential fury casts a shadow over the
lives of the Danes. Hrothgar and his advisers can think of nothing to appease the
monster’s anger.

Beowulf, prince of the Geats, hears about Hrothgar’s troubles, and gathers
fourteen of his bravest warriors, and sets sail from his home in southern Sweden.
The Geats are greeted by the members of Hrothgar’s court, and Beowulf boasts to
the king of his previous successes as a warrior, particularly his success in fighting
sea monsters. Hrothgar welcomes the arrival of the Geats, hoping that Beowulf
will live up to his reputation. During the banquet that follows Beowulf‘s arrival,
Unferth, a Danish soldier, voices his doubts about Beowulf‘s past
accomplishments, and Beowulf, in turn, accuses Unferth of killing his brothers.
Before retiring for the night, Hrothgar promises Beowulf great treasures if he
meets with success against the monster.

That night, Grendel appears at Herot, and Beowulf, true to his word, wrestles the
monster bare-handed. He tears off the monster’s arm at the shoulder, but Grendel
escapes, only to die soon afterward at the bottom of the snake-infested swamp
where he and his mother live. The Danish warriors, who had fled the hall in fear,
return singing songs in praise of Beowulf‘s triumph and performing heroic stories
in Beowulf‘s honour. Hrothgar rewards Beowulf with a great store of treasures
and, after another banquet, the warriors of both the Geats and the Danes retire for
the night.

Unknown to the warriors, however, Grendel‘s mother is plotting revenge for her
son’s death. She arrives at the hall when all the warriors are sleeping and carries
off Esher, Hrothgar’s chief adviser. Beowulf, rising to the occasion, offers to dive
to the bottom of the lake, find the monster’s dwelling place, and destroy her. He
and his men follow the monster’s tracks to the cliff overlooking the lake where
Grendel‘s mother lives, where they see Esher’s bloody head floating on the surface
of the lake. Beowulf prepares for battle and asks Hrothgar to look after his warriors
and to send his treasures to his uncle, King Higlac, if he does not return safely.

During the ensuing battle, Grendel‘s mother carries Beowulf down to her
underwater home, but Beowulf finally kills the monster with a magical sword that
he finds on the wall of her home. He also finds Grendel‘s dead body, cuts off the
head, and returns to dry land. The Geat and Danish warriors, waiting expectantly,
celebrate as Beowulf has now purged Denmark of the race of evil monsters.

They return to Hrothgar’s court, where the Danish king is duly thankful, but warns
Beowulf against the dangers of pride and the fleeting nature of fame and power.
The Danes and Geats prepare a great feast in celebration of the death of the
monsters and the next morning the Geats hurry to their boat, anxious to begin the
trip home. Beowulf bids farewell to Hrothgar and tells the old king that if the
Danes ever again need help he will gladly come to their assistance. Hrothgar
presents Beowulf with more treasures and they embrace, emotionally, like father
and son.Beowulf and the Geats sail home and, after recounting the story of his
battles with Grendel and Grendel‘s mother, Beowulf tells the Geat king Higlac
about the feud between Denmark and their enemies, the Hathobards. He describes
the proposed peace settlement, in which Hrothgar will give his daughter Freaw to
Ingeld, king of the Hathobards, but predicts that the peace will not last long. Higlac
rewards Beowulf for his bravery with parcels of land, swords and houses.

In the second part of the poem, set many years later, Higlac is dead, and Beowulf
has been king of the Geats for some fifty years. One day, a thief steals a jewelled
cup from a sleeping dragon, and the dragon avenges his loss by flying through the
night burning down houses, including Beowulf‘s own hall and throne. Beowulf
goes to the cave where the dragon lives, vowing to destroy it single-handed. He is
an old man now, however, and his strength is not as great as it was when he fought
against Grendel. During the battle, Beowulf breaks his sword against the dragon’s
side and the dragon, enraged, engulfs Beowulf in flames, wounding him in the
neck.

All of Beowulf‘s followers flee except Wiglaf, who rushes through the flames to
assist the aging warrior. Wiglaf stabs the dragon with his sword, and Beowulf, in
a final act of courage, cuts the dragon in half with his knife.

However, the damage is done, and Beowulf realizes that he is dying, and that he
has fought his last battle. He asks Wiglaf to take him to the dragon’s storehouse of
treasures, jewels and gold, which brings him some comfort and make him feel that
the effort has perhaps been worthwhile. He instructs Wiglaf to build a tomb to be
known as “Beowulf‘s tower” on the edge of the sea there.

After Beowulf dies, Wiglaf admonishes the troops who deserted their leader while
he was fighting against the dragon, telling them that they have been untrue to the
standards of bravery, courage and loyalty that Beowulf has taught. Wiglaf sends a
messenger to a nearby encampment of Geat soldiers with instructions to report the
outcome of the battle. The messenger predicts that the enemies of the Geats will
feel free to attack them now that their great king is dead.

Wiglaf supervises the building of Beowulf’s funeral pyre. In keeping with

Beowulf‘s instructions, the dragon’s treasure is buried alongside his ashes in the
tomb, and the poem ends as it began, with the funeral of a great warrior.

Analysis

“Beowulf” is the oldest known epic poem written in English, although its date is
not known with any certainty (the best estimate being 8th Century CE, and
definitely before the early 11th century CE). The author is likewise unknown,
and represents a question that has mystified readers for centuries. It is generally
thought that the poem was performed orally by memory by the poet or by a “scop”
(a travelling entertainer), and was passed down in this way passed down to readers
and listeners, or that it was finally written down at the request of a king who
wanted to hear it again.

Because of the unified structure of the poem, with its interweaving of historical
information into the flow of the main narrative, the poem was most likely
composed by one person, although there are two distinct parts to the poem and
some scholars believe that the sections which take place in Denmark and the
sections which take place back in Beowulf’s homeland were written by different
authors.

It is written in a dialect known as Old English (also referred to as Anglo-

Saxon), a dialect that had become the language of its time by about the early part
of the 6th Century CE, in the wake of the occupation of the Romans and the
increasing influence of Christianity. Old English is a heavily accented language, so
different from modern English as to appear almost unrecognizable, and its poetry is
known for its emphasis on alliteration and rhythm. Each line of “Beowulf” is
divided into two distinct half-lines (each containing at least four syllables),
separated by a pause and related by the repetition of sounds. Almost no lines in
Old English poetry end in rhymes in the conventional sense, but the alliterative
quality of the verse gives the poetry its music and rhythm.

The poet also makes use of a stylistic device called “kenning”, a method of
naming a person or thing by using a phrase that signified a quality of that person or
thing (e.g. a warrior might be described as “the helmet-bearing one”). Another
characteristic of the poet’s style is his use of litotes, a form of understatement,
often with negative overtones, which is intended to create a sense of irony.

Most often the characters just deliver speeches to one another, and there are no real
conversations as such. However, the story is kept moving quickly by leaping from
one event to another. There is some use of historical digressions, similar to the use
of flashbacks in modern movies and novels, and this interweaving of events of the
present and the past is a major structural device. The poet also sometimes shifts the
point of view in the midst of an action in order to offer multiple perspectives (for
example, to show the reactions of the warriors who are looking on as an audience
in almost every battle).

“Beowulf” is part of the tradition of epic poetry that began with the poems of
Homer and Virgil, and it deals with the affairs and deeds of brave men, but, like
its classical models, it makes no attempt to portray a whole life chronologically
from beginning to end. It also functions as a kind of history, blending past, present,
and future in a unique, all-encompassing way. It is not just a simple tale about a
man who kills monsters and dragons, but rather a large-scale vision of human
history.

As in the earlier classical epic poems of Greece and Rome, the characters are
generally presented in realistic fashion, but also from time to time as the poet
considers they ought to be. Occasionally, the poet breaks his objective tone to offer
a moral judgment on one of his characters, although for the most part he lets the
actions of the characters speak for themselves. As in the classical tradition of epic
poetry, the poem is concerned with human values and moral choices: the characters
are capable of performing acts of great courage, but conversely they are also
capable of suffering intensely for their deeds.

The poet attempts to some extent to reconcile the “human” and the “heroic”
sides of Beowulf’s personality. Although he is described as greater and stronger
than anyone anywhere in the world, and clearly commands immediate respect and
attention, he is also portrayed as courteous, patient and diplomatic in his manner,
and lacks the brusqueness and coldness of a superior and hubristic hero. He boasts
to Hrothgar of his bravery, but does so mainly as a practical means of getting what
he wants.

Although Beowulf may act selflessly, governed by a code of ethics and an intuitive
understanding of other people, a part of him nevertheless has no real idea of why
he acts the way he does, and this is perhaps the tragic flaw in his character.
Certainly, fame, glory and wealth are also among his motivations, as well as
practical considerations such as a desire to pay his father’s debt. He seems to have
no great desire to become king of the Geats and, when first offered the throne, he
refuses, preferring to play the role of warrior-son. Likewise, he never appears quite
certain whether his success as a warrior is due to his own strength or to God’s help,
indicating some spiritual conflicts which raise him above the level of a mere stock
hero figure.

The Danish king Hrothgar is perhaps the most human character in the poem, and
the person with whom it may be easiest for us to identify. He appears wise, but
also lacking the courage expected of a great warrior-king, and age has clearly
robbed him of the power to act decisively. After Beowulf has killed Grendel‘s
mother, Hrothgar takes Beowulf to one side in a very concerned and fatherly
manner and advises him to guard against wickedness and the evils of pride, and to
use his powers for the betterment of other people. When Beowulf is departing from
Denmark, Hrothgar shows that he is not afraid to show his emotions as he
embraces and kisses the young warrior and bursts into tears. The old king’s modest
show of vanity in building the huge hall, Herot, as a permanent monument to his
achievments is perhaps his only real flaw, and it could be argued that this display
of pride or vanity is what attracted Grendel’s attention in the first place and set the
whole tragedy in motion.
The character of Wiglaf in the second part of the poem, although a relatively
minor character, is nevertheless important to the overall structure of the poem. He
represents the young warrior who helps the aging King Beowulf in his battle
against the dragon in the second part of the poem, in much the same way as the
younger Beowulf helped King Hrothgar in the first part. He is a perfect example of
the idea of “comitatus”, the loyalty of the warrior to his leader, and, while all his
fellow warriors flee the dragon in fear, Wiglaf alone comes to the aid of his king.
Like the young Beowulf, he is also a model of self-control, determined to act in a
way that he believes to be right.

The monster Grendel is an extreme example of evil and corruption, possessing no

human feelings except hatred and bitterness toward mankind. However, unlike
human beings, who can contain elements of good and evil, there seem to be no way
that Grendel can ever be converted to goodness. As much as he stands for a symbol
of evil, Grendel also represents disorder and chaos, a projection of all that was
most frightening to the Anglo-Saxon mind.

The main theme of the poem is the conflict between good and evil, most
obviously exemplified by the physical conflict between Beowulf and Grendel.
However, good and evil are also presented in the poem not as mutually exclusive
opposites, but as dual qualities present in everyone. The poem also makes clear our
need for a code of ethics, which allows members of society to relate to one another
with understanding and trust.

Another theme is that of youth and age. In the first part, we see Beowulf as the
young, daring prince, in contrast with Hrothgar, the wise but aging king. In the
second part, Beowulf, the aging but still heroic warrior, is contrasted with his
young follower, Wiglaf.

In some ways, “Beowulf” represents a link between two traditions, the old
pagan traditions (exemplified by the virtues of courage in war and the acceptance
of feuds between men and countries as a fact of life) and the new traditions of the
Christian religion. The poet, probably himself a Christian, makes it clear that idol
worshipping is a definite threat to Christianity, although he chooses to make no
comment on Beowulf’s pagan burial rites. The character of Beowulf himself is not
particularly concerned with Christian virtues like meekness and poverty and,
although he clearly wants to help people, in a Christian sort of way, his motivation
for doing so is complicated. Hrothgar is perhaps the character who least fits into
the old pagan tradition, and some readers see him as modelled after an “Old
Testament” biblical king.