In the epic poem
Beowulf, one can see how the writer utilizes both the heroic mode and the
Christian mode, thus expressing how the two were able to coexist during the 5th
century. In lines 1258-1268 these two
modes are seen as Grendel’s mother creeps into the castle in order to avenge
her son’s murder and the speaker then explains how Grendel was created. By
analyzing this passage the reader is able to better understand, not only the
heroic and Christian modes, but also the time period.
During
this section the reader is told that Grendel’s mother, “had been forced down
into the fearful waters, / the cold depths, after Cain had killed/ his father’s
son” (1260-1262). This relates to the heroic mode because Grendel’s mother is a
“monstrous hell-bride” (1259). Monsters are often depicted in epics as
“evil-villains” that the hero must overcome in battle in order to obtain status
and wealth. The Christian mode is
utilized simultaneously in this passage, which allows for a comparison of the
two modes. In the book of Genesis, Cain was the first human to commit murder
when he killed his brother Abel; he killed his brother out of jealousy after
God praised Abel’s sheep over his crops. However, once God realized that the
murder had taken place he cursed Cain from the earth and, according to this
passage, from him “sprang misbegotten spirits, among them Grendel” (1265-1266).
These two modes are able to coexist because they compliment each other and
allow a more complex and intriguing story. Additionally the passage mirrors the
time period where Pagans and Christians were able to co-existed, which can be
seen in how the writer creates Grendel, a monster, but then uses religion to
explain the monster’s origin.
Throughout
the poem one continues to see the various ways in which both the heroic mode
and the Christian mode are utilized as Beowulf fights different creatures in
order to protect the people.
My question is does anyone think
that one of these modes overpowers the other, and if so which one?
Anna, your analysis is solid and the passage you chose is certainly one of the clearest examples of the contrasting modes. I like your use of quotes and certainly want you to keep using those in future blogs. Your question is solid, although in the future at least a couple of questions (they can even be connected) is desirable in these blogs. Definitely a good question for discussion today though.
ReplyDeleteAnna, this blog post was well thought out and I thought it was great that you connected the Pagans and Christians and how they could coexist in the Anglo-Saxon time period. Also, good use of examples like the story of Cain and Abel.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said an example of heroic mode was when a hero must overcome a villain, but used the description of the villain as your example, it opened up another idea for me that not only heroic quotes and direct times of being heroic could be used as heroic mode examples (I hope that made sense!)
Also. I believe that the heroic mode overpowers Christian mode because most acts made for good in this poem can be placed under the heroic mode, whereas Christian mode is a little more difficult to place examples under. And references made directly to the Lord are less used than heroic references, showing how heroic mode overshadows Christian mode in "Beowulf".