Beowulf: Epic Poem Wrap-up & Discussion
Directions: Write your responses to these questions on a separate sheet of paper as you read. It’s fine to type your responses if you prefer. Responses to each question should be thorough, not just a few words or single sentence. Be sure to use specific references to the text that we read. These could be paraphrases and/or quotations. Include page numbers for all examples/responses you give. These in-text citations should look like this, (Heaney 10).
1. Give examples to show that the poet attributes the traditional heroic virtues of fortitude, loyalty, and generosity to Beowulf.
a. The speaker describes Beowulf, the strongest man on earth, as a “dauntless Jute” who is “gallant and bold.” The poet also describes his generosity and loyalty to a king in distress who needs men who are willing to fight. Beowulf reputedly has the strength of thirty men. He is described as being “dauntless and bold in battle,” and having a gallant spirit.
b. Beowulf himself boasts of his bravery and strength. He boasts first to Hrothgar about his defeat of “grim sea-monsters” and says that he will fight without any weapons, depending on his powerful grip to defeat Grendel. He later boasts to his own men that he is superior to Grendel in combat and courage. In the boasts, Beowulf displays not only the traditional heroic virtues of loyalty and generosity in his willingness to die but also a faith in the judgment of God to award victory to whomever He considers right.
2. Point out examples that demonstrate the way in which the poet superimposes Christian virtues such as humility and faith on his pagan hero.
a. See answer above.
3. Do you consider Beowulf’s boasting inconsistent with his heroic character? Why or why not?
a. Although boasting is not considered appropriate behavior in real life, it was the chief means of characterization employed by the Anglo-Saxon poet. In a sense, it is a psychologically realistic way for a warrior to build up his confidence before encountering an enemy.
b. Literary Technique: The Anglo-Saxon Boast: Although they may initially strike some modern readers as immodest at best and boorish at worst, Beowulf scholar John M. Hill argues that the various boasts in the poem must be understood within the context of Anglo-Saxon culture:
i. [A] social view can correct misapprehensions about Beowulf’s boasting behavior as excessive in some way. . . . [B]oasts are valued, deeply meaningful speeches to Anglo- Saxons. . . . [B]oasts are not egocentric. Through boasts individuals stand out, to be sure, but in profoundly sociocentric ways [i.e., ways focused on the good of society]. . . . [B]oast words and boasting speeches are traditional forms of public speech, and of vow or promise, that the community requires of its aspiring heroes. (Hill, in Bjork and Niles, 262). Even today, boasting, or “bragging,” has its place as a rhetorical tool: think, for instance, of political campaigns that include claims (often exaggerated) of what a candidate has done or will do for her or his community. Author and rhetorical expert Jay Heinrichs writes that “the essential point is to fashion yourself into an exemplar of [your audience’s] values. You want to look like a good person— ‘good,’ that is, in their eyes” (62). Candidates who do not live up to their “boasts” risk losing re-elec- tion—a further resonance of the Anglo-Saxon concept of a boast as a solemn pledge or “contract.”
c. Anglo-Saxon boasts generally contain the following elements. List the lines in which these elements appear in ll. 407–55:
d. Introduction (self-identification) of the speaker (sometimes including details of ancestry)
e. Statement(s) of what the speaker has done and now intends to do Statement(s) of the speaker’s qualifications Statement(s) of how the speaker will perform the proposed action
f. How do Beowulf’s boasts in this section of the poem help him connect with the Danes and their values? What “contract” do his boasts make?
4. Is Beowulf a hero? Why/why not? (Signet Classic Guide) Opinion
5. How does Beowulf exemplify Biblical heroism? (Don’t say that he doesn’t. Really look because the author did include some ways.)
a. (TE, pp. 19-21)Key Ideas: Beowulf demonstrates not only fortitude (in his battle with Grendel) but also generosity (in his willingness to sacrifice his life for foreigners). Like David, he rejects physical armor, choosing to rely instead on God's supplying strength to defeat an outsized enemy. He reflects Christ in his submission to higher authority and in his loving and loyal perseverance to the end of a monumental task. TE, pp. 21-22
6. Discuss the parallels between Beowulf and Christ. (There are parallels. Look for how they do similar things.)
a. (TE, pp. 19-21)Key Ideas: Beowulf champions right in the fight against Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon, all of which are associated with the devil and the supernatural. Beowulf's character is also Christ-like. He is wise, blameless, selfless, and submissive to the will of God. He leads a band of men who sleep while he struggles alone, and only one of the men is lost to the monster. His victory over Grendel's dam occurs at the ninth hour; he reappears after his descent into the pool and the lair to greet his grieving followers and then returns to assume the throne of his people. The irony is, however, that Beowulf's likeness to Christ stops short of his ability to cure man's internal evil, his sin nature. Thus, even this ancient work of literature by its symbolism points man to the only true Deliverer. TE, pp. 21-22
b. As Beowulf descended into a realm of evil and death, returning with a gift of the jeweled hilt, so did Jesus descend “to the lower, earthly regions” (Eph. 4:9; the verse evokes the Hebrew concept of Sheol, the shadowy afterlife common to all that was sometimes pictured as “the Pit”) only to ascend with “gifts to men” (v. 8, meaning spiritual gifts). 16. Personal responses will vary. While eternal grief is not right or healthy, neither is converting grief into revenge. Beowulf’s maxim also may be read as an ironic comment on how vengeance can turn human beings into “monsters” though this probably is not the intent of the storyteller. As for extending Beowulf’s maxim to Grendel’s mother, there is an irony in this. Beowulf certainly sees Hrothgar and his people as the original victims, therefore Beowulf takes revenge on Grendel for his crimes and then on his mother for her crimes. However, Grendel probably sees himself as the initial victim taking revenge for offenses against himself, as his mother does. The reason vengeance so often devolves into a feud is that each side sees itself as the offended party, justified in taking revenge, and does not give credence to the other party’s perceived victimhood. Beowulf probably would not extend his maxim of revenge to Grendel’s mother because he would consider her the instigator of the offense not the victim of an offense.
c. Beowulf seems more and more a Christian hero. Beowulf—wise, blameless, selfless, submissive to the will of God, and a champion of right—comes as the head of a righteous band to save a helpless race struggles alone while his companions sleep; achieves victory (over Grendel’s mother) at the ninth hour; reappears after his descent (into Grendel’s pool and the lair of Grendel’s mother) to greet his sorrowful followers; and then returns to assume the throne of his people.
7. Since the traditional aim of the poet is to teach by delighting, this means that wisdom can accompany pleasure. Furthermore, this means that wisdom can be implanted by pleasurable means. What wisdom can be gained from this epic poem? (Answers will vary.)
a. (1) the importance of virtues constituting the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideal and (2) the superiority of Christian to pagan belief.
b. Using fiction to inculcate moral and spiritual truth is a time-honored and Biblical practice.
8. List the three major contests that Beowulf faces in this epic poem.
a. Fight with Grendel, fight with Grendel’s mother, fight with dragon
b. What do you notice about the contests?...they increase in difficulty as the hero’s strength wanes (he has to fight Grendel’s mother on her home territory after a tiring descent through the water to reach her lair).
c. Dragon was also fought on his own home turf.
d. Beowulf must rely more and more upon weapons and the help of others. (He attacks Grendel’s mother with a borrowed sword and defeats her with another sword he finds in her den.) He also must rely on the help of his soldiers and weapons when he fights the dragon.
9. In the first part of the book, for what is the hero Beowulf recognized? (attributes/actions)
a. He is recognized primarily for his courage and strength, though wisdom is also attributed to him.
b. Primarily a fighter, though he is also a ruler.
10. In the second part of the book, for what is the hero Beowulf recognized? (attributes/actions)
a. Beowulf is recognized still for his courage and strength, but the emphasis is on his wisdom.
b. Fortitude naturally peaks in youth; wisdom, in age. If great wisdom appears in youth or great strength and courage in age (as in Beowulf), their occurrence is exceptional and, indeed, a curiosity.
c. In the first part, primarily a fighter, though he is also a ruler. In the second part, he occupies the position of ruler, from which, however, he is summoned as fighter. His last fight requires prudence, as much as or even more than fortitude, in managing his defense.
d. The two parts of his heroic career define and emphasize the two main parts of the heroic ideal he embodies.
e. What is the heroic ideal? fortitude, (loyalty, and generosity) prudence
f. In the poem, structure reinforces theme.
g. The ideal of fortitude and prudence is defined positively in Beowulf and negatively in the warriors of the nations for which he fights.
11. This epic poem can be divided into two parts. Think back over the poem where would you divide the poem in half? Justify (Defend) your division of the story. (In other words, why would you divide it here? Think about what happens in the one section compared to the other. Think about how people act and change.)
a. The first part contains two incidents: the contests with Grendel and with Grendel’s mother. After Beowulf defeats Grendel, Heorot is invaded again, this time by Grendel’s mother looking for revenge. Beowulf seeks her out in her underwater lair and overcomes her, though with some difficulty, this time by sword.
b. The second part presents Beowulf fifty years later as king of his people, the Geats, entering into combat with a dragon that is terrorizing and destroying his people. The dragon has been provoked by the theft of a goblet from its gold hoard the cause of the people’s misery is greed whereas in the case of the Danes it was pride. Beowulf arms himself with his shield and weapons and accepts the support of his comiatus. All forsake him except one, Wglaf, who helps him defeat the dragon. The poem ends with the flames of Beowulf’s funeral pyre ascending to the sky and with Wiglaf reproaching his countrymen for forsaking their leader in his time of need.
12. What is the main theme of Beowulf? (What lesson can we learn from this story?) Justify (Defend) your answer.
a. Main: The necessity of heroic virtue to the preservation of the human community. *see question 16
b. Important theme: Christianity is superior to paganism. *see question 14
c. Important theme: There is a constant battle of good versus evil in our world.
13. Discuss the battle between good and evil in the poem. Who represents good? Who represents evil?
a. Grendel is evil. The monster’s hatred of songs of praise celebrating God’s creation and the poet’s implication that Abel’s death has been avenged through this “offspring of Cain” place the creature in direct opposition to the forces of good.
14. Where do you see evidence of the mixing of pagan and Christian elements in Beowulf?
a. The Danes are afflicted because “they prayed to the Devil”; “Their Maker they knew not”.
b. Beowulf seems more and more a Christian hero. Beowulf—wise, blameless, selfless, submissive to the will of God, and a champion of right—comes as the head of a righteous band to save a helpless race struggles alone while his companions sleep; achieves victory (over Grendel’s mother) at the ninth hour; reappears after his descent (into Grendel’s pool and the lair of Grendel’s mother) to greet his sorrowful followers; and then returns to assume the throne of his people.
c. Grendel, his mother, and the dragon are supernatural agents of the devil as well as instruments of God’s wrath. Wyrd, the pagan conception of the supernatural forces of destiny, competes with Christian deity as responsible for the outcome of human struggle. Whereas God is personal and benevolent, the “Ruler all-wise”, Wyrd is cold, impersonal, distant, blind, unpetitionable, and inexorable. Whereas Hrothgar’s dwindling war-band is being “driven by Wyrd/into Grendel’s grasp,” “God may easily/End this monster’s mad career”. Wyrd seems in the poem to represent the negative, inscrutable, seemingly arbitrary acts of God as they appear in an earthbound perspective. The poet’s point seems to be that Wyrd is Providence.
15. Discuss the behavior of Beowulf’s men in each of the battles.
a. Beowulf’s king, Hygelac, and his band of warriors perish in a foolhardy raid on the Franks (a digression in part one). They exhibit fortitude without prudence.
b. The Danes are led by a wise but old and physically decrepit king, Hrothgar, who is attended by lords who make excuses to leave the mead hall during Grendel’s nightly visitations; they exhibit prudence without fortitude.