Vengeance
In the epic Beowulf vengeance consumes all of the characters throughout the work and eventually leads to more than ones untimely demise.
*The theme of vengeance throughout Beowulf is centralized around Grendel. The vicious cycle begins with Grendel and in a way also indirectly ends with Grendel. Grendel is the one who initially gets revenge on another group of people. To begin with, he takes revenge on the Danes for celebrating in Herot. Grendel was an outcast in the Danish society and shut away from all men. Grendel is described in part one as being in pain, A powerful monster, living down / In the darkness, growled in pain, impatient / As day after day the music rang / Loud in that hall . . . So Hrothgars men lived happy in his hall / Till the monster stirred, the demon, that fiend, / Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild / Marshes, and made his home in a hell / Not hell but earth (Raffel 40). It is unclear whether or not he was angry at them for not inviting him to the festivities or if the Danes were just too loud and merry for Grendels evil ears. Regardless, he felt insulted by them so he took it upon himself to ravage the great banquet hall and feed on every man in sight. This occurrence set the wheels in motion to a constant tag-game of vengeance between good versus evil.
*Once Beowulf arrives in Denmark and visits with Hrothgar, he sees that it is his duty to take revenge on the voracious beast, Grendel. Beowulf feels it is his responsibility and shows no reticence towards approaching the monster. Beowulf is very confident in his battle against Grendel and feels it is destiny that they fight, Now Grendel and I are called / Together, and Ive come. Grant me, then, / Lord and protector of this noble place, / A single request! I have come so far, / Oh shelterer (SIC) of warriors and your peoples loved friend, / That this one favor you should not refuse me- / That I, alone and with the help of my men, / May purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, / Too, that the monsters scorn of men / Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. / Nor will I (Raffel 46). It is his corpse as well as his fame to gain. He mortally injures Grendel because he killed so many young men and erased sons, husbands, and brothers from existence. Not only that, but Grendel also badgered the beautiful hall of Herot for twelve years with no mercy. Beowulf and the Danes believe that taking Grendels life would somewhat make up for all the suffering that he brought to them.
*Grendels mother truly shows the love and nature of a mother through her vengeance. She is heartbroken and deeply disturbed over the eminent loss of her son. She retaliates on the Danes, chiefly for nearly murdering her son. She furtively steals the Danes trophy, her sons claw, and murders one of Hrothgars closest companions, Aeschere. The sorrow and anger that develops inside of Hrothgar and the embarrassment that Beowulf feels for having his trophy taken back from him leads him to accost Grendels mother in the hope of ending her. Moreover, his intrepid and irate manner leads to a well fought match and yet another cessation. During the scuffle Grendels mother takes an almost deadly shot at her sons murderer, Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew / A dagger, brown with dried blood, and prepared / To avenge her only son (Raffel 52). The battle in part two is very much enhanced and creates a throng of feelings in the stomach from fear and anxiety to relief and joy. This reprisal seems like the victorious end to their mighty battles but Beowulf has one more fight yet.
*The final brute represents all evil beings Beowulf has ever fought and slain. In its killing Beowulf, it is their way of giving Beowulf what has been coming to him for many years. In a sense, evil and good both win. Before the battle Beowulf relates this final struggle to his earlier struggle with Grendel, Id use no sword, no weapon, if this beast / Could be killed without it, crushed to death / Like Grendel, gripped in my hands and torn / Limb from limb (Raffel 55). The dragon kills Beowulf for killing so many evil beings in his lifetime. Beowulfs loyal soldier, Wiglaf, states his feelings towards Beowulf finally being conquered, I swear that nothing / He ever did deserved an end / Like this, dying miserably and alone, / Butchered by this savage beast (Raffel 58). However, Beowulf also kills the dragon with much strife. This may not seem like a heroic ending to an epic but the dragon is slain and completes the deed of Beowulf even though it leads to his hapless demise. Vengeance is apparent throughout the epic no matter what character or part one is analyzing. All in all, vengeance is the most central theme throughout the entire epic and ties the whole work together.
Work Cited
Raffel, Burton. from Beowulf. Trans. Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The British Tradition. Ed. Ellen Bowler, et al. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. 40-61. Print.
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