Beowulf
c. 750 - 950
Content
*Culture behind the literature
*Summary
`Grendel
`Grendel's Mother
Culture behind the literature
Grendel
Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem about Norsemen in a region of Scandinavia. The poem is particularly the chronicles or deeds of the mighty warrior Beowulf.
Keep in mind, originally an oral story, Beowulf was most likely written down by Christian monks; therefore Christian views have b een added to a society which has not yet been exposed to the Christian religion. In class we also learned a bit about the world view of Anglo-Saxon culture. Our professor put it as a "bird in a violent storm flying into a house for brief shelter then flying right back out into the storm.
Keep in mind, originally an oral story, Beowulf was most likely written down by Christian monks; therefore Christian views have b een added to a society which has not yet been exposed to the Christian religion. In class we also learned a bit about the world view of Anglo-Saxon culture. Our professor put it as a "bird in a violent storm flying into a house for brief shelter then flying right back out into the storm.
Grendel
Grendel is the Beowulf's first of three monstrous foes. He is an ogre terrorizing the grandest mead hall of all time Heorot belonging the the King of the Scyldings, Hrothgar. He comes out of the bogs to slay these thanes and nobles for the "sole" reason of being evil as he is a descendant of Cain the sinful brother of Abel.
Beowulf traveled from his homeland with the blessing of his uncle Hygelac King of the Geats to aid the terrorized hall of Heorot. He travels to Heorot and is victorious in epic battle as the defeated Grendel retreats from the mead hall back to his mother with one less arm than before.
The manner in which Beowulf defeats Grendel seems to many in our class arrogant especially since he was boasting of the epic deeds he has already done. He strips of all his armor and fights against the evil with his bare hands. Ironically, Grendel cannot be defeated with any blade, so in fact, that was the ONLY way to defeat Grendel.
The manner in which Beowulf defeats Grendel seems to many in our class arrogant especially since he was boasting of the epic deeds he has already done. He strips of all his armor and fights against the evil with his bare hands. Ironically, Grendel cannot be defeated with any blade, so in fact, that was the ONLY way to defeat Grendel.
Grendel's Mother
Grendel's mother upon hearing the ill fate that has befallen her Grendel seeks out vengeance. She sneaks into the victory over Grendel after party in Heorot, and then Grendel's mother claims the life of one poor soul. This is a revenge ritual practiced by the Norse. A life for a life or, another possibility is wergild, a life for set amount of wealth/payment.
Of course, Beowulf must now go off to defeat this new foe. For a plethora of reasons Grendel's mother was not allowed to exact vengeance on behalf of her son. One is that her son was a descendant of Cain, therefore she is a descendant of Cain, and is by association to Cain is EVIL! Another reason is that she is a woman, and women were not the sex meant to go out and exact vengeance.
Beowulf goes to her lair, this time with armor, and then slays her with a giant's sword he finds lying around. Her blood is apparently that of xenomorph, which is acid, melts the giant's sword that he used to slay her with. He returns with Grendel's giant head and the hilt of the melted sword used to slay his mother.
Next Post: Dragon & Beowulf, Personal thought about Beowulf, Symbolism in Beowulf.
Of course, Beowulf must now go off to defeat this new foe. For a plethora of reasons Grendel's mother was not allowed to exact vengeance on behalf of her son. One is that her son was a descendant of Cain, therefore she is a descendant of Cain, and is by association to Cain is EVIL! Another reason is that she is a woman, and women were not the sex meant to go out and exact vengeance.
Beowulf goes to her lair, this time with armor, and then slays her with a giant's sword he finds lying around. Her blood is apparently that of xenomorph, which is acid, melts the giant's sword that he used to slay her with. He returns with Grendel's giant head and the hilt of the melted sword used to slay his mother.
Next Post: Dragon & Beowulf, Personal thought about Beowulf, Symbolism in Beowulf.
Make sure that what you're doing is based on your reactions and thoughts and ideas to what we're reading, not on retelling the story. At this point, your blogs should be dealing with the Iliad and Gilgamesh or things brought to mind based on those tales or what we're talking about in class. This is well composed and I appreciate that. Don't be afraid to take a stand.
ReplyDeleteI am making up for the blogs I haven't done yet. Since I had an issue logging in :(
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of life being like a bird who is in a storm and flys into a house for a brief moment of shelter and then flys back out into the storm is true in so many ways. I think the only thing I'd change about it is that there are many times where the bird goes into the house and stays for a while to rest and then goes back out into the storm. I think it's a somewhat pessimistic view of life, but true in the fact that bad things happen and everyone goes through hard times throughout their lives. There are moments of good, but moments of severe storms too. I think what changes this around is the attitude we have towards it though, we can choose to say life sucks and look at it like a storm that we're constantly stuck in, or we can say "you know, it sure rains a lot, look at all the cool things that come from the rain." Trying to be optomistic through the storms is what makes all the difference.
ReplyDelete