Answer one of the following questions citing evidence from the text.
1. Wealhtheow, Hygd, Hildeburh, Grendel’s mother, the Geat woman wailing at the end—what do the women in Beowulf do? How do they do it? Do they offer alternate perspectives on the heroic world (so seemingly centered around male action) of the poem?
2. Why are there so many stories-within-the-story or “digressions” in the poem? What is the relation between the digressions and the main narrative in Beowulf?
3. In between every story and its audience stands a narrator who tells the story; the narrator has certain attitudes, opinions, interests, and objectives which direct the audience’s understanding of the story. This is one of the most basic, and yet most complex, facts of literature. Describe the relationship between the narrator and the story, and between the narrator and the audience, in Beowulf.
Check out some of the essay topics below and begin to think about your essay for this text. Possible Essay Topics for Beowulf
The following topics may be "refocused" or restated. They are listed here to give you an idea of how you may want to approach your Beowulf essay. Agree or disagree with any of the following statements.
1.Beowulf is steeped in a pagan tradition that depicts nature as hostile and forces of death as uncontrollable. Blind fate picks random victims; man is never reconciled with the world. Beowulf is a failure.
2.Beowulf is the story of a dual ordeal: an external battle with vicious opponents and an internal battle with human tendencies of pride, greed, cowardice, betrayal, and self-concern.
3.Beowulf is the universal story of man’s journey from adolescence to adulthood to old age. It charts the growth in wisdom about self and the world gained through the pain and triumph of experience.
4.Beowulf represents the successful blending of pagan and Christian elements. These elements were often incorporated side-by-side in the epic. Describe and explain the placement of these elements including readers’ acceptance of both.
5.Beowulf is the blending of Christian traditions with a story that extols virtues of loyalty, courage, and faith in the face of extreme dangers and even death. It presents a model of man willing to die to deliver his fellow men from terrifying evil forces.
6.The epic Beowulf often digresses to include other legends or stories. Describe two or three of these and relate the significance and relevance to the epic itself.
7.In Beowulf, the distribution of wealth is an essential part of the social structure, the bond of comitatus. How important is wealth in Beowulf, and how does it relate to other major values of the Germanic code i.e. werguild?
See values below:
Values in Beowulf
Revenge: The death of a kinsman must be avenged by his male relations, in blood or in money.
Wergild: The wergild is the law of vendetta, which specified that a person who had suffered damages through the killing of a relative might exact a sum of money from the murderer as an expiation of the crime. The value of the wergild was set depending on the social status of the person killed. An earl was assessed higher than a freeman, and a freeman higher than a commoner (or churl). Men were assessed higher than women of the same class.
Kinsmen: The Germanic tribe had an enlarged definition of kin, including friends and those to whom one owed favors, even over generations.
Burial Practices: Burial at sea is the most familiar form of Germanic tribal burial, but they also buried warriors and kings in mounds and in a stone barrow. Burials often included the weapons and wealth of the corpse. Sutton Hoo, the remains of a burial ship discovered in Suffolk, England, was discovered in 1939. This find proved that the ostentatious descriptions of the burial of kings at sea were not just descriptive language, but a true description of life during this time period.
Boasting: Boasting was considered an art and the prerogative of a warrior.
Fate: Pagan tradition depicts nature as hostile and the forces of death as uncontrollable. Blind fate picks random victims. It is sometimes referred to “wyrd” which could be pronounced as “word” or “weird.” Fate was out of human control, but man could control the way in which he met his fate.
Women: The female role in Beowulf is twofold. First it involves peacemaking biologically througha woman’s marital ties with foreign kings as a peace-pledge or a mother of sons. Secondly, it involves peacemaking socially and psychologically as a cup-passing and peace-weaving queen within a hall.
Comitatus: Germanic tribes which invaded Britain held strong beliefs in the basic family unit and were industrious and warlike. They chose their kings for birth and their generals for merit. Even poor tribal members could become rich and powerful if they were willing and able to prove themselves brave and adept in battle. The practice of comitatus (a term used by the early historian Tacitus) was an agreement by which a youth would attach himself to a strong leader for the purpose of gaining riches and prestige. This arrangement could have been the precursor of the lord-thane relationship of feudal institutions of the time, which can also be observed in Beowulf.
Christianity: The poet of Beowulf is Christian, but the society he describes is not. Sometimes the narrator’s voice comments from a Christian perspective on pagan values, beliefs, and customs.
Classes: There were two classes of people in Anglo-Saxon society: members of the aristocracy (the privileged ruling few) and the common people, including bondsmen and captives. Only a few exceptions were called “freemen,” a status held as some type of reward or special favor.
Warriors: Warriors kept their armor and weapons at their sides at all times. The Beowulf poet praises the Geats, “They were always prepared for war, whether at home or in the field, as their lord required” (1246-50). The warrior’s kit would include a helmet, shield, spear and chain main, and, if he had high status, a sword. They used crested or combed helmets from the 7th and 8th century, with a very sturdy all-iron construction. Mail shirts consisted of rows of riveted rings alternating with of butt-welded rings. The rings were of gray steel, skillfully formed into an intricate mesh, and they linked and jingled on the move. Shields and spears were part of the basic fighting kit of the war-band. Swords were powerful heirlooms to be prized for their power and might; they may have had names, or carried owner inscriptions and images of the mythic past. They had richly decorated hilts, and with their iron blades were fierce, double-edged weapons, which needed two hands to swing them. The seax, was a single-edged weapon, just as effective as the double-edged sword.
War: For Germanic tribes, war was considered a natural, desirable, and constant part of life.
Wealth: One of the roles of the king was to share wealth. Part of the function of a hall was to provide a setting for the sharing of wealth with the king’s warriors and thanes.
In the poem, the narrator of the tale is depicted as Christian, through his evident use of Christian references, even though Beowulf is set in the pagan times.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator establishes familiarity with the reader, such as when he begins the poem with "Yes, we have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes' kings in the old days--how the princes of that people did brave deeds" (Donaldson, 1). This shows that he both knows his audience, as he refers to "we" and that the audience already has a background of the story. Personally, the opening line painted a clear picture for me--an old man in a drinking hall, slowly recounting the epic tale to a group of locals, all drinking a pint of ale by the fire. I feel that using this narrator is more welcoming and enthralling to the reader, rather than just having a third person narrator with out any objective. This way, the reader is presented with facts, as well as personal opinions and attitudes that appear in epic tales handed down from generations to generations, such as when the narrator is accounting Beowulf in Heorot hall, "I have never heard that a people in a larger company bore themselves better about their treasure-giver" (Donaldson, 18). The use of "I" shows the objectivity in the narration. (Did that make sense??)
I also think that the use of a Christian narrator was to contrast the pagan society Beowulf is set in. When the narrator accounts Grendel's mother's attack on Heorot, he states "[t]here the monster had laid hold upon him, but he was mindful of the great strength, the large gift God had given him, relied on the Almighty for favor, comfort and help" (Donaldson, 23). I think that by depicting Beowulf as thanking God and believing in Him, the narrator may be appeasing the Christian audience he is talking to. Or, it could be used to combat the fact that some people interpret Beowulf and the pagan society as rather barbarian, so by saying Beowulf is Christian, then he may have more humanistic qualities. But, that's just an interpretation.
In my opinion, the women in Beowulf work quietly behind the scenes for the good of the people (with the exception of Grendel's mother). For example, when Beowulf and the Geats come to visit, Wealtheow, Hrothgar's Queen, offered the cup (of drink) "first to the keeper of the land of the East-Danes..[and then to] each of the retainers, young and old" (Donaldson, 11). Wealtheow, by passing around this drink, is ensuring that peace will be maintained at Heorot. Hygd, another Queen, also takes a "behind the scenes" role, but as she is "wise and well-taught" (Donaldson, 34), and none "too sparing of gifts to the men of the Geats"(Donaldson, 34), she helps keep her subjects happy.
ReplyDeleteHildeburgh also worked for the good of the people. "Hildeburgh, daughter of the former Danish King. was married to Finn, King of the Jutes" (Donaldson, 19). In doing this, Hildeburgh was ensuring peace between the Jutes and the Danes (if only for a short amount of time).
The Geatish women at the end of the book "sang a sorrowful song about Beowulf" (Donaldson, 54). By doing this, she makes sure that he will never be forgotten. All in all, these women take care of the aspects of Beowulf that are not dominated by men, such as keeping the peace between nations.
I think, however, that it is mostly Grendel's mother who offers an alternative perspective on Beowulf that differs from the predominately male views. The text says "Grendel's mother....was mindful of her misery"(Donaldson, 23) After Grendel had been killed, Grendel's mother IS portrayed as evil, but, as the quote shows, the author also shows her sorrow for Grendel's death. Because of this, the author in fact offers the strongest perspective of the story from a woman's point of view. The heroes in the story usually think only of glory, but in fact leave a trail of slaughter behind them. Grendel's mother is able to show the other side of this story- the pain of the relatives of those who have been killed (by "heroes").
I definitely agree with Meg that by portraying Beowulf as Christian, the author is appeasing the audience. I don't think that the audience would truly consider Beowulf's society barbaric, but by making him Christian, Beowulf becomes more likeable and acceptable to the Christian audience, like Meg said.
Wealhtheow, Hygd, Hildeburh, Grendel’s mother, the Geat woman wailing at the end—what do the women in Beowulf do? How do they do it? Do they offer alternate perspectives on the heroic world (so seemingly centered around male action) of the poem?
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Beowulf, I noticed some very interesting things about the women mentioned above. First of all, most of these women offer a different, more realistic perspective on the story. When most of the men are caught up in the “heroic” code, women seem to give the reader a more down-to-earth perspective. For example, while the warriors are building a pyre for Beowulf, they discuss the possible invasion that awaits them from the Swedes, and although it is obvious that they are depressed about their leader’s death, there is no sign that they are scared for the upcoming fight, rather they are ready to fight back, and destroy their invaders. However, the Geatish women “sang a sorrowful song about Beowulf, said again and again that she sorely feared for herself invasions of armies, many slaughters, terror of troops, humiliation and captivity” (54), showing the reader a different perspective on the possible upcoming war.
That same women offers foreshadowing of the up-coming confrontation, as she keeps singing endlessly about slaughter and captivity it seems to the reader that she knows definitely of what awaits the Geats. Women in Beowulf also help with foreshadowing. Wealtheow, Hrothgor’s wife, at the feast after Grendel’s slaying asks Beowulf to look after her sons when he becomes king, even before the reader is told that he might become king. Although Beowulf doesn’t become king of the Danes, he does become ruler the Geats, so in a sense she was right.
3rd Essay topic
I really don’t agree with this statement. To me it seems that Beowulf’s persona doesn’t change from beginning until the end; we first find out about who Beowulf is during his boast at Heorot, when he vividly describers the annihilation that he brought upon the great sea monsters, when all he used was a wimpy sword, that night he continues to fight Grendel weaponless. Ironically the story ends with Beowulf boasting before a battle, and then fighting weaponless.
I agree with both Michaela and Meg about the author giving Beowulf Christian characteristics to appeal to the audience, but I think it isn’t make him more likable but rather accept Christianity, emulating Beowulf and his great strength.
In Beowulf, the narrator takes up the third person view or the "god" view. We know this because the narrator often describes the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters. However, while this point of view is usually impartial, several parts of the text indicate that the narrator has sided with Beowulf. First, the various kennings the narrator uses to describe Beowulf such as "The battle-brave one" (Donaldson 13) "the good warrior" (Donaldson 12) and "good war-king" (Donaldson 45) indicate the narrator's admiration for Beowulf. Second, the narrator refers to the monsters in the epic with negative descriptions. For instance the narrator does this when he describes the thoughts of Grendel, "he would flee to his hiding place, seek his rabble of devils." (Donaldson 14)
ReplyDeleteBeowulf was probably told orally long before it was written down on paper. As Meg mentioned, the audience and the narrator were probably Christian as indicated by the numerous Christian references in the text and that the audience was probably familiar with the tale of Beowulf as indicated by the first line.
While it makes sense as Meg said that making Beowulf seem Christian is more appealing to the audience, a simpler explanation would be that both the narrator and the audience just couldn't imagine a non-christian culture and the behavior that goes along with that culture. While we are more worldly in general in our more connected and more educated modern day society, back then cultures were much more isolated. Just imagine trying to tell a folk story from a remote island culture in the South Pacific to a bunch of Hanover High students. There would be some parts of that remote culture that didn't exist in our American culture and would have to be somehow translated so that the audience could understand the story. The narrator's audience lives in a time long after the time of pagan religion, and that audience might have simply not understood some of the pagan religion's practices, and were thus transformed into Christian practices.
I agree with Michaela that the women in Beowulf, aside from Grendel's mother, stay behind the scenes. When Beowulf first arrives at the feast at Heorot, the narrator describes Wealhtheow, Hrothgar's queen;
ReplyDelete"The woman of the Helmings went about to each one of the retainers, young and old, offered them the costly cup, until the time came that she brought the mead-bowl to Beowulf, the ring-adorned queen, mature of mind."(Donaldson, 11)
This shows how the women in the story serve the warriors food and mead, they have a very different place in society than that of the men. There seems to be a clear code, the men are the strong, brave warriors while the women stay at home and tend to them. A contrast to this code is Grendel's mother, who is given manly characteristics and described as and evil monster. I think it is interesting how the author portrayed her and made it so difficult for Beowulf to kill her even though the author writes this;
"The attack was less terrible by just so much as is the strength of women, the war-terror of a wife..." (Donaldson, 23)
This passage expresses the views towards women from that time, that they were far in-superior than men in strength. But then Beowulf has a very difficult time in killing Grendel's mother it shows and inconsistency. Grendel's mother non-feminism could be a way to demonstrate the affect she had monstrous ways of Grendel and maybe is a contributing factor to the anger and hatred that caused him to commit such violent acts.
I believe that the women in Beowulf are the foundation of society in the text, for they are essential in the continuation of the King's reign by producing heirs. But I also do believe that the code for a good queen follows closely that of a good king. Wealhtheow was both generous and kind, as shown when she "greeted the men in the hall," and "offered them a costly cup," (Donaldson 11). Wealhtheow's purpose is to support the decisions of her king while also exhibiting his strengths as to reenforce them. Hygd is also described as "wise and well-taught" and therefore also exhibits characteristics of a good king (Donaldson 34). Both these women are gracious and wise, yet they do not play a predominant role; they often overshadowed by the heroic deed of Beowulf or by other men in the story. Women are primarily meant to be the support for the characters, not the main ones themselves. This can also be supported by Hildeburgh, who became married to ensure peace in her Kingdom not because she necessarily wanted to, but because it was willed of her people.
ReplyDeleteThe only counter example to the role of women in Beowulf is Grendel's mother. The reason for this could possibly be that Grendel's mother is not regarded as "human" as much as a monster. But in the story, Grendel's Mother is depicted as someone with a great amount of strength and as a "mighty mere-woman" with "grim claws" that dragged him down to her lair (Donaldson 27). Beowulf himself claimed that the fight was hard, saying "Not easily did I come through it with my life," (Donaldson 29). I believe that the only reason Grendel's mother takes any attention and deviates from the normal standard of a woman because she is considered a monster, not a human.
I agree with Michaela that women play a "behind the scenes" role in the book. Women are mainly seen but not heard, and they offer more of an image to the public while working more behind the stories lines. I also agree with Bei that the Narrator seems a little biased, as the narrator is always depicting Beowulf in heroic terms (such as "good prince" or "good warrior") while describing Grendel as a demonic creature.
So I'm going to add onto what Lucy said about Grendel's mother deviating from the way all the other women in the story were viewed. I think the author may have done this on purpose. Having one woman who goes against the meak and mild-mannered ways of the rest of the ladies in the story makes her stand out, especially if you believe in anti-feminism like many men did back when the poem was written. Her differences would make her stand out in a negative light. The fact that she isn't spoken of like the other women in the poem personnafies her further as a monster and someone we're not supposed to like. Because she is farther away from what is "normal" (in those times) it is far easier to see her as sub-human, and therefore justifies beowulf's splitting of her bone-locks. If the book had described her as she appeared in the movie (a hot smoking babe all dressed in lykra), the reader wouldn't feel okay with her being slaughtered. Personally, had the author not referred to her as "accursed dweller" (27) or "Mighty Mere-woman"(27), and spoken of her instead as "pretty lady" or "sexy gold chick" I would be more inclined to be upset when Beowulf killed her. So I guess this means that the role of the women, or at least one woman in particular, is to shake up the way we think about things. A woman was thought of as weak back then which, as we find out, Grendel's mother is not.
ReplyDeleteIn a world largely defined by clashes between armies of men and where great warriors and kings lie in the limelight, women receive little attention. Despite this, they play a fundamental role within the community as diplomats and hostesses; without them, communities could easily descend into chaos and be swallowed up by neighboring peoples.
ReplyDeleteThe actions of Weahltheow during the feast celebrating Beowulf's arrival serve as a perfect example of the crucial role of females. "Wealhtheow came forth, Hrothgar's queen, mindful of customs, gold-adorned, greeted the men in the hall; and the noble woman offered the cup first to the keeper of the land of the East-Danes, bade him be glad at the beer-drinking, beloved of the peopple. In joy he partook of feast and hall-cup, king famous for victories...Sure of speech she greeted hte man of the Geats, thanked God that her wish was fulfilled, that she might trust in some man for help against deadly deeds." While displaying the great power of Hrothgar in her clothing and actions, Wealhtheow's hospitality makes the men feel welcome and comfortable; she gives them a favorable impression of the unfamiliar land to which they have come, and this will in turn dispose them to save it from Grendel.
Good relationships among warriors were imperative among such close-knight, isolated societies because without them the community could shatter into pieces, and be swallowed by neighboring peoples. This is why women played such an important role; by preserving relationships, they preserved stability and ensured the existence of the tribe for generations to come.
The women in Beowulf provide a way for the reader to understand the customs and lifestyle of the early Scandinavian culture. They also provide a sense of reality for the reader, who has otherwise been immersed in the boasts and glory of the heros the book revolves around.
ReplyDeleteWealtheow and Hygd are both depicted similarly. They epitomize the ideal queen, they are kind, gracious, and respectful. They both served the warriors mead, sat quietly by their king, and played their part as the hostess beautifully."Wealtheow came forth, Hrothgars's queen, mindful of customs, gold adorned, greeted the men in the hall..." (Donaldson, 11) Hygd is spoken of likewise " Hygd most youthful, wise, and well taught.......For she was not niggardly, nor too sparing of gifts to the men of the Geats, of treasures." This shows some of the expectations and limits set for women at that time.
The wailing woman at the very end of the text sent a message to the reader about the volatile times that the people lived in. " the Geatish woman, wavy-haired, sang a sorrowful song about Beowulf, said again and again that she sorely feared for herself, invasions of armies, many slaughters, terror of troops, humiliation, and captivity." She sings a song of rememberance about Beowulf, out of love and respect. She also sings a lament for the people, who have lost a great leader, and now now may be victim to civil conflict, and invasions.
I agree with Meg's statement: "I think that by depicting Beowulf as thanking God and believing in Him, the narrator may be appeasing the Christian audience he is talking to. Or, it could be used to combat the fact that some people interpret Beowulf and the pagan society as rather barbarian, so by saying Beowulf is Christian, then he may have more humanistic qualities." The text started out with the characters believing in a predominantly pagan faith, while the narrator was the only one with Christian influences. After the attack on Grendel, the characters tended to speak with more Christian overtones, which might indicate that maybe after experiencing something close to a miracle (Beowulf having the strength to rip off a monsters arm) , the narrator might have assumed that one would naturally believe in God.
I agree with several of the previous commenters (which, I guess is not a word) who said that the narrator's rhetoric in regards to Beowulf and his faith plays no small role in the story. His (or her) use of faith-based phrases and ideas contributes to his provided background on the time and place where the story is set.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator also tells the story from a generally objective standpoint. He provides plenty of details about each of the characters while trying to remain an objective storyteller. Thus, the question's premise that the narrator directs the audience's understanding of the story is true to an extent; however, I think the narrator in "Beowulf" does a much better job of being a "fly on the wall" than do the narrators of many of the other stories and novels that I've read.
Digressions serve many purposes within "Beowulf." Most of the digressions help to embellish the story with important themes and character descriptions, which make the narrative more colorful. Since "Beowulf" was originally intended to be sung aloud, and the digressions would make this form of entertainment more interesting, and probably easier to memorize.
ReplyDeleteDigressions also help develop the characters in "Beowulf." One digression is when Unferth tries to insult Beowulf, and Beowulf is forced to defend himself. By boasting at great length about his many accomplishments and heroic feats, Beowulf is introduced to the audience as a true hero.
There are also many digressions and references to God in "Beowulf." Beowulf's super-human abilities are often referred to as gifts from God. For example, Beowulf's strength is described as, "the great gift that God had given him." (Donaldson 38). I think the author includes there references to show his own Christian beliefs and appeal to a Christian audience.
I agree with Michaela that women serve an important, behind-the-scenes role in Beowulf, and that all of them, except Grendel's mother, work to serve for the good of the people. Although Grendel's mother does not serve for the good of the people, she still has an important role in the story. Throughout the "Beowulf and Grendel" section of the book she adds depth to the plot, and personifies herself and her son.
Though what Sarah said is true about women being "essential in the continuation of the King's reign by producing heirs", I do not think that they were viewed as important people at all aside from that. With the exception of Grendel's mother, the women seem to be expected to be seen but not heard, and to do their husband or man's bidding. Like at the welcoming feast for Beowulf, Hrothgar's queen Wealtheow, waited on all of the visiting men, "Then the woman of the Helmings went about to each one of the retainers, young and old, offered them the costly cup" (Donaldson 11).
ReplyDeleteGendel's mother serves in this story as a dramatic contrast between what women were expected to be like and just how far off they could be. While women were expected to stay in the back ground and leave the politics to the men, Grendel's mother takes her son's death into her own hands and had "taken hold on one of the nobles...whom she destroyed at his rest" (Donaldson 23). This is nothing like all the other women act throughout Beowulf.
The women also show the different aspects of the Scandinavian culture. Without the mention of them, it would be easy to forget entirely about everything other than warrior-heros and conquering monsters. The text describes Hygd as "most youthful, wise and well-taught" (Donaldson 33). This mention helps establish a different type of person in the story from the warriors.
Lastly, the women show another aspect of hero's. The text focusses on the hero's great feats like killing monsters and conquering armies. However the women show how the hero's were loved and admired. One such woman is the wailing Geat woman near the end of the tale. She shows the desperation and sadness people feel at the loss of the great hero's.
In the story "Beowulf", the women at the time are mostly depicted as weaker than the men and are seemingly there to serve the men. A prime example of this generalization is the role of Wealtheow; in her appearance in the story, she offers a drink to Beowulf and all the other men at the party, and is to mostly be there to entertain them. She seems to have the typical role of a woman back then — a housewife. Grendel's mother, although very strong, also shows part of this depiction; she is somewhat "serving" Grendel in that she is trying to avenge his death. The poem mentions that she is, in fact, weaker, but she definitely does not show this. Hygd does not show this generalization as much to Beowulf or the other men, as she is their ruler, but is also somewhat there to serve her husband, who has the same kind of societal position as she does, but is depicted as her superior.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt in that women preserved relationships and played a big role in keeping people and the tribe peaceful and stable. With all of the violent men, there had to be someone to keep them in line and to keep them humane.
The women of Beowulf are protective, Grendel’s Mother shows protection over Grendel when she comes back for the arm and then later fights Beowulf. There Grendel’s Mother takes on more of a more masculine role, than the other women in the story, by engaging herself in battle.
ReplyDeleteThe story-within-the-story often relate to the characters lives or what is going on in the story at that time, they may help the reader relate to the characters emotions since there is little emotional detail about what the characters are feeling during the story.
The narrator in Beowulf would have originally been a person reciting the story in a mead-hall, so in that since the narrator is very close to his or her audience. When the narrator is telling the story he or she is very objective and provides little insight on the characters thoughts or feelings and retells only the cold hard facts. During a fight scene for instance, the narrator only describes peoples actions or what they are saying but never says what the people are thinking. This is because the narrator is telling the story as if it were something he or she had witnessed first hand and was retelling their adventures to all their friends.
Well. Lots of great points on the role of women in this novel, and quite frankly, I am a bit too backed up on work from my three-day weekend in Hell to read them all, so I think I'll write about one subject that personally I had a lot of questions about: the random stories, *ahem*, "digressions", that appeared all throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteI feel like one could make an argument that these stories are a foreshadowing tool, that they mirror Beowulf's saga to the detail. One could say the poet entered them as a memory technique: if a similar story is recited multiple times, it will be easier to remember. And I'm not saying that none of these arguments are absolutely false. I just believe that we can't leave out the option that the poet just included these digressions for effect, that is, to set the feeling of the hall.
Some authors use slight details, like "in the corner, a man sung tales of dazzling heroes", yet this author went into great detail on the specifics of those tales. "The wooden harp touched, tale oft told, when Hrothgar's scop should speak of hall-pastime among the mead benches..." The line could end here, where the ink was blotted out, and yet it continues, "of Finn's retainers when sudden disaster fell upon them," (Donaldson, 19) demonstrating the poet's masterful level of detail in the poem.
So really, I don't believe that the digressions in this poem should be recognized as much for any slight hints of foreshadowing recognized in them, but really just as a beautiful detail to set the scene of a celebrating mead-hall after the slaying of a terror (Grendel's mother, not Grendel. Grendel was a poor, dejected soul who deserved no torment and cannot be held responsible for his actions.)
In the poem "Beowulf" the women of this heroic tale play major roles even if seem like excluded figures. Wealtheow and Hygd both queens, play the role of hostesses and have certain influences in their respective halls. Wealtheow is given a positive light, a women who knows the customs and offers Beowulf drink in order to create peace between the Geats and Scylding. Wealtheow knows the customs of her hall and it is her duty, as depicted by the narrator, to create peace and keep the battle-hungry men at rest. These women who are to serve their king seem to have less power among the men but with closer examination one can clearly see that these women have equal if not more influence to the mens decisions. As Matt Jin pointed out, if not for these women the communities would easily descend into chaos and be defeated by neighboring clans.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand we have Grendel's mother, who is depicted as an evil, masculine and monstrous women. She is never given positive terms as Wealtheow was but we must also take into account that she was not a violent women, at least not in the sense that she attacked for no reason. She attacked in order to avenge her son. Grendel's mother also is described by the narrator as much more powerful than her son, Grendel. She gives off more fear in the men when she attacks because it was so unexpected and quite. As a result Beowulf is more cautious when confronting her and uses weapons to defeat her, as apposed to defeating her weapon less like he defeated Grendel. The women depicted as monsters are hostile and more dangerous because of their wits, they are the counter-parts of the women who serve their hall.
As many pointed out the women play a key role in the story of Beowulf, even if they are defined by the men they are bound to. Without these women scandinavian life would have been drastically different
I would disagree with the idea that the stories are mearly a example of digression. In the very first "story" in my opinion, the one about Beowolf slaying sea-monsters there is almost a direct paralell between the two. For example, both have Beowolf swimming for a very long time, "Seven nights you toiled in the water" "Though it was part of a day before he might see the bottems floor." Upon both the swimming match and reaching the bottem, Beowolf is attacked by sea monsters. The story both gives forswadowing of Beowolf's ability, and at the same tame gives a boost to his epicness, for lack of a better word. His story shows that beating the sea monsters, Grendals Mother is in fact his real foe. Yet at the same time it makes it seem like Beowolf is used to such things as fighting sea monsters.
ReplyDeleteI would personally have to disagree with those who see the storys as mere digressions in the tale and not anything else.
There are many stories within a story in "Beowulf", because it helps tell the backrounds of the characters, provide life lessons for the reader and characters, and helps serve as a memory aid for the poor soul who memorizes the whole poem.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, when Unferth challenges Beowulf's reputation, we learn of how great this warrior is by his tale of battling sea monsters. Unferth said,"He overcame you[Beowulf] at swimming, had more strength" (p.10).Beowulf responded by going into a detailed boast of his story ,"I maintain the truth that I had more strength in the sea, hardship on the waves, than any other man" (p. 10), serving the author's purpose of stating Beowulf's past, his character, and how great he is.
A story within a story was also told by Hrothgar to Beowulf when Beowulf had defeated Grendell's mother. He told a story of a great king who was corrupted by pride, greed, and power. Hrothgar uses this digression to warn Beowulf, "Keep yourself against that wickedness, beloved Beowulf, best of men, and choose better- eternal gains. Have no care for pride," (p. 31). So the author used a story as a life lesson; one that the reader and the character can learn.
Overall the story digressions served to provide the history of the characters, and warn against mistakes of previous men. With no further examples the digressions also help men memorize it.
I agree completely with Emma J about how digressions were used to show the audience Beowulf's good side, and also how little references to God establishes the christianity of the author.
The narrator's perspective is important in any piece of literature. The narrations is inherent to any story, and can change the way a the events are communicated. What makes the narration in Beowulf interesting is the historical perspective the narrator has. We know that the poet created Beowulf long after the death of the characters. A sixteenth century analogy might be the histories of Shakespeare,a twentieth century some of the work of Johnny Hortan. In my opinion history will a ways be inherently different from fiction, a teller of history has a duty to communicate the facts about events past, and in my view that is what the poet of Beowulf was trying to do. One way that this is evident is in the naming of characters with their allegiances, or their lineage. Beowulf is referred to as “Beowulf the Geat” (Donaldson, 12) and as “Son of Ecgtheow” (Donaldson, 32). This attention to the details of the characters show the historical detail put into the poem. Because the narrator was retelling somewhat real events about real people s/he defiantly takes a more historical approach to this work of literature.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the women in Beowulf are very strong characters in themselves, and play a huge role in the time, yet they were not as straight forward and in your face as the main male characters. In the beginning of the story Wealtheow offers the goblet "first to the keeper of the land of the East-Danes..[and then to] each of the retainers, young and old" (Donaldson, 11)By doing this, Wealtheow makes sure that there is peace at Heorot. Most women in the story are a symbol of peace and the soft and kindness of the world. Another female character that was in a side story yet quite prominent was Hildeburgh. "Hildeburgh, daughter of the former Danish King. was married to Finn, King of the Jutes" (Donaldson, 19) Again She shows how peace can be obtained between the two groups depending soley on a mariage. yes though the women were quieter and more hidden than the male charters they were still heroes in the decisions they had to make to ensure peace.
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