Vengeance Theme In Beowulf

The past is a dimension filled with stories and lessons that are made to help navigate people through the present. Some stories that are old as time have no particular meaning or correlation to our current time. However, specific stories can match many scenarios in a human lifespan. Beowulf is one of the most celebrated works of Anglo-Saxon literature, and it has been a source of fascination and inspiration for many generations of readers and scholars. Through its vivid characters, epic themes, and its rich plot, the story of Beowulf and his battles can be compared and directly correlated to any person with challenges or adversities in their everyday lives.

An important theme in Beowulf is the idea of community and the obligations that people

Humans will always ache for revenge when a terrible event occurs to their loved ones. A mother of a murder victim will always desire revenge. A father of a kidnapping victim will always demand revenge. Vengeance is a vital part the human nature. This emotion can cause a person to completely ignore reality and have their pain take over their senses. Many people lash out when in anger and want to make the root of the issue feel as much hurt as they did. In Beowulf, Grendel’s mother represents vengeance as part of the human condition. “But now his mother had sallied forth on a savage journey, grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge” (42). After her son, Grendel, is exterminated, she immediately craves revenge on Beowulf and his people, the people who murdered her son. Her “grief-racked” anger took over her sensible actions and she wanted to take as many lives as necessary for her to feel like she avenged her son, along with herself. However, she never let herself grieve her loss, and no matter how hard she fought back, her son was not able to return. Just as humans make rash decisions that can leave a negative impact on others, Grendel’s mother had the same thought process going through her

After accomplishing a difficult challenge, it is hard to be completely satisfied without becoming egotistical. Humans are imperfectly created so that their subconscious minds are unapologetically vain. Everyone has a self-made stature which is carried through in their reputation. Although it is not something they can control, it is vital to learn how to suppress such emotions so that disappointment can be expected. In the story, Hrothgar warns Beowulf of the seductive dangers of success after Beowulf defeats Grendel’s mother. “Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly, and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low” (56). Hrothgar asserts that power causes the soul to grow distracted by fortune’s favor and so to lose sight of future issues. This speech is one of many in the poem where the poet overlays Christian morals onto the world that he depicts. Hrothgar specifically warns Beowulf not to “give way to pride,” and not to boast because at any point, misfortune may begin. Hrothgar also emphasizes to his young friend that life is fleeting and that he should orient himself toward “eternal rewards” rather than worldly success. Through its portrayal of the aging Beowulf, the poem invites us to consider how time changes us and the world around us. The poem is filled with vivid images of the destruction