The two primary modes in Beowulf are the heroic and Christian
modes. The poem bases all of Beowulf’s actions off these two modes. Beowulf is
the world’s strongest warrior and he uses his talents for the greater good of
humanity. Beowulf comes from his homeland of the Geates to another tribe called
led by King Hrothgar in Denmark. Beowulf shows his Christian morals by leaving
his homeland to help another tribe.
In lines 1651-1660, Beowulf makes a speech to the people in
Heorot. Beowulf has just killed Grendel’s mother and has returned with her and
Grendel’s head. Beowulf says: He is happy to bring the decapitated heads back,
he barely won the underwater battle, the sword Hrunting was defective, and
without God, Beowulf would have lost the battle.
Beowulf’s speech shows the heroic and Christian modes.
Beowulf was fighting underwater for more than half a day. First he had to swim
to the bottom of a lake that no one has been to before, and once he got down
there, his sword was too dull to do any damage to Grendel’s mother. Secondly, he says even though the sword didn’t
work, he could still kill Grendel’s mother with a super big sword that he saw
just sitting on the wall of an underwater house. Beowulf grants this feat to
God. He shows the heroic and Christian modes because he was able to hold his
breath for over half a day and battle an demon underwater and win. He then
dedicates what he did to God.
Bobby, these posts can range on different subjects from here on out (I think we talked about this in class). Also, remember to incorporate some discussion questions into your blog posts. Still, an apt analysis.
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