The
passage on page 43 lines 99 through 114 really piqued my interest in terms of
the conflict between the Christian and heroic modes in Beowulf. On the one hand,
this passage describes the monstrous Grendel who is assaulting the people of
Heorot, yet on the other it has many mentions to the evils in Christianity. This contrast between the monster of the
heroic mode and the evil of the Christian mode is quite interesting, and also
quite revealing about the author of this myth.
As
it begins, the passage describes the “fiend out of hell,” Grendel, the scourge of
Heorot, who detests the din and reveling of the celebrating people. This evil creature hates the very things that
any hero would love: songs, feasts, and the celebration of grand deeds. At this point in Beowulf it is quite obviously centered on the heroic mode, however,
within the rest of the passage it is painfully clear that the Christian mode is
dominating. The passage makes connections
with Cain, the evil man who murdered his own brother Abel and was punished by
God, and says that Grendel “had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished
monsters, Cain’s clan.” By connecting
these two the passage makes Grendel seem like a demon from hell to be
vanquished by a righteous warrior in the name of God, taking the focus away
from the heroic deeds, and more towards the service to God.
This
contrast of ideas shows the different intents of both Beowulf and the man who
penned the story. In Beowulf’s mind, the
slaying of Grendel will serve to his own gain, giving him riches, fame, and clout
among the people of Heorot. From the author’s
perspective however, Beowulf is a holy crusader come to rid the land of an
unholy demon and serve God. This
contrast is strewn throughout the epic, yet in this passage it is most apparent.
In
terms of questions I have, I suppose it would be interesting to know how
Unferth is related to Beowulf, as it is quite clear that the two know very much
of one another, with Unferth mentioning Beowulf’s failure in a race, and
Beowulf mentioning how Unferth is damned to hell for killing his own kin. Also, Beowulf seems a little to flirty with
Wealhtheow, and I was wondering whether it was normal for men to try to boast
so much to other men’s wives.
Solid analysis Jacob. Definitely the type of blog I am looking for; both specific while taking the time to analyze them. I think these questions are great to ask. Unferth is set up as a type of rival character. The two men are not related, but they are from rival tribes and news travels between them. There is a sense of "deep history", a history that extends beyond that of the poem itself, in part into actual history and also into mythic history. Unferth's actions as a kin-killer set him up as a foil to the more heroic Beowulf, also explaining why Unferth could never kill Grendel; Unferth is not "man enough" because any man that would kill his own kin certainly could not conquer a monster like Grendel.
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