Years, later after fighting Grendel and his mother, Beowulf is brought to his lowest point. This is when he fights a dragon that had terrorised the Geats. During the battle “None of his comrades Came
Mythological or Archetypal philosophy has been around for centuries and is used across numerous cultures. Carl Jung, a close colleague of Sigmund Freud, defined the word archetype as “a figure...that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is fully manifested.” Archetypes can come in various forms: characters, images, and situations. Though many different forms of archetypes appear in the tale of Beowulf, specifically, the archetypal character roles of the hero and the outcast are major aspects of the story. The role of the hero is a popularly recognizable element of many stories.
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.
As a payment to the king of the Danes, he decides to fight the dragon, just as he fought Grendel. Then he was a warrior and now he is a king responsible for his people. Beowulf’s decision is courageous but inappropriate for a king. His foolish but courageous decision causes him to die in the end. Before he fought the mighty dragon, he said “I’ve never known fear; as a youth I fought in endless battles.
Beowulf says, "No Weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me/ if face me he dares"(55. 683-685). This passage shows that Beowulf is fighting Grendel for the pride of killing the greatest monster, instead of fighting Grendel to save the Danes. If Beowulf's top priority is to save the people, he would have known that his best chance would be to wear armour and use weapons, but because he wants the pride and fame he goes into battle without armour or weapons. Beowulf was the best chance for the Danes to be safe again, and if Beowulf went in with no armour and no weapons, and died, then Grendel could continue killing men, women, and children every day until he finally dies.
As the story progress, Beowulf became king of the Geats for 50 years when suddenly a dragon emerged from slumber began to burn down villages. However, Beowulf didn’t pay the slightest attention, but instead ignored what was happening. Finally, when the dragon burns down Beowulf’s throne room Beowulf decided that he needs to deal with the dragon. In Beowulf 's eyes, the lives of his citizens couldn’t even compare to his throne room. When Beowulf prepared to fight the dragon he said, “Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning” (lines 2512-2514).
Beowulf attempted to comfort Hrothgar and the warriors by exclaiming, “Let your sorrow end! It is better for us all to avenge our friends, not mourn them forever”. He then aims to convince Hrothgar that “for the glory of his name, fame after death is the noblest of goals”. Beowulf believes it is worth dying for a good
Beofwulf’s structure, events, diction, and the story of a complete warrior depict what a true epic poem looks like. The poem shows the reader many events and tragedies that create a long line-filled poem. Beowulf endures many journeys throughout the narrative that solidify as heroic and truly legendary. Many unlikely and superhuman abilities are displayed throughout Beowulf as well. Structure, heroics, and superhuman abilities in the narrative Beowulf, which tells of Beowulf’s journeys, provide a great example of an epic.
No one could try.” Beowulf is showing his strength and bravery that he can try to defeat the dragon. His motivation and goal in this battle is take the treasure back to his people. In lines 802-805, “ for this, this gold, these jewels, I thank our father in heaven, Ruler of the Earth for all of this, that his grace has given me, allowed me to bring to my people while breath still came to my lips.” In conclusion, Beowulf’s faith and confidence changes when he fights these three characters and these signify changes means Beowulf is getting old which means he didn’t have the same strength as he had during the fight with
He could send troops and let someone else deal with the dragon but he does not. He faces the dragon himself like a true hero would. Knowing an enemy this strong could kill him he fights regardless in order to protect his people. Beowulf killed the dragon and gave his life for his people truly the actions of a hero. Even as a king he has nothing to prove to anyone by facing the dragon, which shows that he does not fight for himself he fights because he believes he needs to.
The continued honor shown in Beowulf’s character shines through when Beowulf never mentions that Unferth’s trusted sword was no match for Grendel’s mother. Beowulf could have simply boasted how the sword was useless and ineffective against the female beast, yet he was silent out of respect for Unferth. Finally, during Beowulf’s time as ruler (fifty winters), another beast arrives: a dragon. This time, Beowulf is much older and is in a much weaker state than when he first defeated Grendel and his mother. However, that does not deter Beowulf from going out and defending his kingdom.
This attests to his aging and the stronger forces that he is facing. Beowulf uses different and progressively stronger weapons that carry a cultural attachment of his people, enabling the hero to to defeat his enemies even though he is getting older and his enemies are getting stronger.
Alliteration, Imagery, and Kenning in Beowulf In the Anglo-Saxon poem “Beowulf”, the author’s used multiple different literary devices, three in particularly stuck out throughout the entire story, being alliteration, kenning, and imagery; the literary devices were used to connect the story, and help the reader understand the life of Beowulf, and emphasize the parts that were not clear throughout the story. The author uses literary devices throughout the story of “Beowulf” to emphasize on Beowulf’s heroism, and to connect Beowulf to the epic poem. The use of alliteration is used to create a voice that only the readers will understand from reading throughout the story, an example following the idea of alliteration would be “Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgement by God” (lines 400-441). Alliteration is to be described as a repetition of similar consonant sounds.
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/
Beowulf cares greatly for his honor. When he is fighting Grendel, he decides to not use a weapon since Grendel has none. He doesn’t want anyone saying he won unfairly. When being spoken about his fighting it is said, “He, swiftly banished to mingle with monsters at mercy of foes…” (Part 2)
