Brandon Bays Bays 1
Mrs. Lucius
12 Lit. Honors 2nd hour
16 January 2013
The Prideful Nature of Beowulf
One of the oldest forms of poetry in our history of literature is epics. Epic poetry is usually a long narrative poem in which a hero's journey, deeds, bravery, and pride is conveyed throughout. In Beowulf there is a central and definite theme of courage and pride in the main hero, just like in most epic poetry. Almost from the beginning, there is a major tone of boasting one's own self characteristics. The best example of this in this piece of literature is the main character, Beowulf himself. As the poem gets more intense and furthers in its dangerous action and battles, there is a clear sense of courage in the soul of Beowulf. Although he ends up being over powered in the long run, his dignity never fails to be displayed until his last words. Throughout the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, the constant courageous acts and boastful attitude inherited by Beowulf reveals the true prideful nature of his unique and powerful character.
First of all, as a reader it is very easy to start creating an image of Beowulf’s type of personality. He lets us know early on that he wants everyone in his land and even everyone in the world to fully understand and believe the pride in his heart. As stated on “When it comes to fighting, I count myself /as dangerous any day as Grendel (p.47, 677-678).” This represents how Beowulf firmly thinks that he is as strong and violent as Grendel, the fierce monster haunting Heorot. With that being said, he actually does fulfill his boast and defeats mighty Grendel in battle, saving the Danes. From this point on, the people in Denmark truly start realizing how
Bays 2
brave Beowulf truly is. Shortly after the monster’s death, Grendel’s mother emerges from her lair to avenge her son. The average human being would definitely order up an army to fight with or even back out at the last second, but that is not Beowulf’s nature. For example, Beowulf roars confidently,
“I guarantee you: she will not get away,
not to dens under ground nor upland groves
nor the ocean floor. She’ll have nowhere to flee to.
Endure your troubles to-day. Bear up
and be the man I expect you to be (p.97, 1392-1396).”
The significance of this quote is that it shows us how Beowulf does not get shaken at any point. He is basically promising that he will defeat Grendel’s mother, and wants the people to follow his lead and not be afraid of death.
Moreover, the courage in Beowulf is not only boasted and exaggerated like many characters. He is constantly proving not only the other warrior’s in the poem, but even more significantly the reader. Even when it seems he is bound to fall in to a cowardly act at some point, the motivation to do the most helpful thing for all the people seems to always emerge from within his soul. Although it seems it is probably difficult for Beowulf to continue to keep being as self-confident as he consistently is, it is visible that it is just his nature to show pride. Another great example of his courage is when it is stated, “Yet the prince of the rings was too proud/ to line up with a large army/against the sky-plague (p.159, 2345-2347).” This effectively
Bays 3
exemplifies how he could have had a fairly large army to help him defeat the dragon, or any other monster. On the contrary, he always desires to defeat evil solely for the good of the people. Another piece of evidence that supports how Beowulf displays courage is David Steltz’s My Words online portfolio. One of the main things that I found interesting in this is that he talks about how in medieval literature, pride usually is referred to as evil or sinful in relation to the Christian belief. The difference that David Steltz points out is how Beowulf’s pride is not bad, it is more positive and directed towards fame and being a good ruler. Beowulf is a great example of how a king should act for their people.
After reading Beowulf, it is interesting to dig deep and analyze not only pride being shown, but what kind of impact it makes on the overall outcome of the poem. Furthermore, Beowulf’s character is fully dedicated to being the main hero. On the other hand, his dignity and over-confidence ultimately led to his defeat in battle and early death. It is apparent that he would not have died if he simply would ask for an army to assist him in taking on the dragon. Ultimately, it is just the nature of him to be the man he is. The pride shown throughout this historical piece of literature by Beowulf makes a huge influence on everything that goes on, even though it is almost always for the good of society.
Mrs. Lucius
12 Lit. Honors 2nd hour
16 January 2013
The Prideful Nature of Beowulf
One of the oldest forms of poetry in our history of literature is epics. Epic poetry is usually a long narrative poem in which a hero's journey, deeds, bravery, and pride is conveyed throughout. In Beowulf there is a central and definite theme of courage and pride in the main hero, just like in most epic poetry. Almost from the beginning, there is a major tone of boasting one's own self characteristics. The best example of this in this piece of literature is the main character, Beowulf himself. As the poem gets more intense and furthers in its dangerous action and battles, there is a clear sense of courage in the soul of Beowulf. Although he ends up being over powered in the long run, his dignity never fails to be displayed until his last words. Throughout the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, the constant courageous acts and boastful attitude inherited by Beowulf reveals the true prideful nature of his unique and powerful character.
First of all, as a reader it is very easy to start creating an image of Beowulf’s type of personality. He lets us know early on that he wants everyone in his land and even everyone in the world to fully understand and believe the pride in his heart. As stated on “When it comes to fighting, I count myself /as dangerous any day as Grendel (p.47, 677-678).” This represents how Beowulf firmly thinks that he is as strong and violent as Grendel, the fierce monster haunting Heorot. With that being said, he actually does fulfill his boast and defeats mighty Grendel in battle, saving the Danes. From this point on, the people in Denmark truly start realizing how
Bays 2
brave Beowulf truly is. Shortly after the monster’s death, Grendel’s mother emerges from her lair to avenge her son. The average human being would definitely order up an army to fight with or even back out at the last second, but that is not Beowulf’s nature. For example, Beowulf roars confidently,
“I guarantee you: she will not get away,
not to dens under ground nor upland groves
nor the ocean floor. She’ll have nowhere to flee to.
Endure your troubles to-day. Bear up
and be the man I expect you to be (p.97, 1392-1396).”
The significance of this quote is that it shows us how Beowulf does not get shaken at any point. He is basically promising that he will defeat Grendel’s mother, and wants the people to follow his lead and not be afraid of death.
Moreover, the courage in Beowulf is not only boasted and exaggerated like many characters. He is constantly proving not only the other warrior’s in the poem, but even more significantly the reader. Even when it seems he is bound to fall in to a cowardly act at some point, the motivation to do the most helpful thing for all the people seems to always emerge from within his soul. Although it seems it is probably difficult for Beowulf to continue to keep being as self-confident as he consistently is, it is visible that it is just his nature to show pride. Another great example of his courage is when it is stated, “Yet the prince of the rings was too proud/ to line up with a large army/against the sky-plague (p.159, 2345-2347).” This effectively
Bays 3
exemplifies how he could have had a fairly large army to help him defeat the dragon, or any other monster. On the contrary, he always desires to defeat evil solely for the good of the people. Another piece of evidence that supports how Beowulf displays courage is David Steltz’s My Words online portfolio. One of the main things that I found interesting in this is that he talks about how in medieval literature, pride usually is referred to as evil or sinful in relation to the Christian belief. The difference that David Steltz points out is how Beowulf’s pride is not bad, it is more positive and directed towards fame and being a good ruler. Beowulf is a great example of how a king should act for their people.
After reading Beowulf, it is interesting to dig deep and analyze not only pride being shown, but what kind of impact it makes on the overall outcome of the poem. Furthermore, Beowulf’s character is fully dedicated to being the main hero. On the other hand, his dignity and over-confidence ultimately led to his defeat in battle and early death. It is apparent that he would not have died if he simply would ask for an army to assist him in taking on the dragon. Ultimately, it is just the nature of him to be the man he is. The pride shown throughout this historical piece of literature by Beowulf makes a huge influence on everything that goes on, even though it is almost always for the good of society.