Life and Death- Beowulf, the hero of the poem Beowulf, was often faced with life or death situations. Beowulf made many choices in the poem that could have easily lead him straight to the grave, fortunately for him the event that did lead to his death did not come till very late in his life. In all of the situations that we read about, Beowulf took a chance in his life. This includes not only the three battles he fought, but also chasing the giants, all of the battles in the sea he fought, and all the other deed he told the king he had done. Beowulf was extremely brave to risk his life all of these times, especially when he had a premonition that he would die, like in the case with the dragon. Beowulf was always very excepting of death, when he faced Grendel he let it up to fate to decide weather he would have victory or defeat. Beowulf knew that he would die eventually and that you can not prevent that from happening, but what he also knew was that what you could control was how you live and how people remember you. Beowulf took all these chances, and had all of these adventures in his life because he wanted to really live, and more importantly he wanted to be remembered by all people. This is why he wanted the monument built in his honour.
Symbols;
Monsters and the wastelands they inhabit- The monsters symbolize evil, but they are also symbolic of all of those who are looked down upon by society, the outcasts. The monsters are described as hideous and inhume, very similar to how some look upon the physically and mentally disabled, who make up much of the outcasts. The wastelands that the monsters occupy are symbolic of their inhuman nature. This is because normal people are the exact opposite of monsters, so it is only natural that if a normal person likes a nice clean home, a monster would like a ugly dirty wasteland. The wastelands are also symbolic of the lands that the monster has plagued by its presence. It is not possible for a monster to live in a nice place because they themselves are repulsive, they poison the land, hence the wasteland.
Herot- Herot is symbolic of peace, happiness, loyalty, safety, reward, and kindness. It was built by the king as a place his people could go to so they could celebrate victory. It was a reward for his people’s loyalty. It was because of the happiness and celebration in this place the Grendel reached havoc on it for twelve years.
Light and Darkness- Light is symbolic of good and all that is good, while darkness is symbolic of evil and all that is evil. The two battles Beowulf fought, against Grendel and his mother, took place in the dark, in an evil setting. Light is also creates an atmosphere of happiness while darkness creates an atmosphere of hatred and death. Light and darkness serves as a symbol for two of the major themes of the book which are good and evil, and life and death, light being symbolic of good and life, and darkness being symbolic of evil and death. In Beowulf the day, when there is light, is when the people are happy, but in the deep ours of the night, when it is dark, the people flee from Herot, a place that is suppose to be peaceful.
Treasure- Treasure is symbolic of Beowulf’s reign as king. All the treasure he won by defeating the dragon is symbolic of his power love and mercy as king. A great deal of the treasure was also buried with him showing how hard he alone had to work to get it. Traditionally the more treasure a king has in his tomb the greater he is, so in this way treasure is symbolic of greatness, the more treasure the greater the king.
The Sea- The sea was symbolic of a dwelling for evil. Beowulf tells of the many conflicts he had in the sea, to the king. Many of these conflicts occurred when he was swimming with Brecca. However, later in the poem we find out that the sea is also symbolic of Beowulf’s tremendous bravery because he freed it of all monsters. The sea is also symbolic of a connection between the Danes and the Geats. The sea not only serves as a physical connection but social. Beowulf made his way, by sea, to help the Danes, in a time when war was dominant in all the lands. This is all symbolic of a long lasting and safe alliance between the Geats and Danes.
Fire- Fire is symbolic of the end. When Beowulf dies his body is lit on fire to show the end of his life. When a body is lit on fire it turns into smoke and rises into the heavens. In this way fire may also be symbolic of the way the sole gets to heaven or the second life.
Structure;
In all three battles that Beowulf has, the nature of the battle is very similar. In each one the sword proved to be ineffective. Also in all three battles Beowulf kills the monster with very little help form his followers. He also gets a trophy from each battle being a hand, a sword handle, and the treasure. The first two battles take place in darkness, but it does not say whether it was day or night when Beowulf fought the dragon. All three battles are also very gruesome and bloody.
The perspective in which the monster is viewed from, is also very similar in all three battles. In each one the monster is very gruesome and hideous. The monsters are also very powerful figures, who have or a capable of killing many, all worthy opponents to Beowulf. The monsters are all viewed as very evil, the exact opposite of Beowulf. Finally the monsters are all viewed as outcasts, ignored by the Geats and the Danes.
Comparison to The Odyssey;
The two poems The Odyssey and Beowulf are very similar in that they are both about a hero having an adventure. In both poems the heroes, Odysseus and Beowulf, defeat many monsters and return home victories. When both Odysseus and Beowulf return home they discover a problem. Odysseus’s home is filled with suitors while Beowulf’s kingdom is plagued by a dragon (however this did not happen till long after he arrived home.) Both heroes also overcome this problem at home, Odysseus by killing the suitors and Beowulf by killing the dragon. Finally both poems are filled with death, blood, monsters, war, and victory.
The two poems The Odyssey and Beowulf have a few differences, the biggest one being that Odysseus prevailed through all of his battles, while Beowulf perished on his last battle against the dragon. Another difference is that Beowulf goes of on an adventure while Odysseus is merely trying to return home. In The Odyssey the Gods are often talked about. Although in Beowulf God is also talked about, his character is not developed to the extent that the Gods are developed to in The Odyssey. Finally in The Odyssey the monsters are stumbled upon by chance by Odysseus, while in Beowulf, the monsters are being sought out by the hero.
