Beowulf
Quotation Analysis
The
following quotes are excerpts from Seamus Heaney's translation of Beowulf.
Weapons - p.33, l.432-42
"'I have heard moreover
that the monster scorns
in his reckless way to use
weapons;
therefore, to heighten
Hygelac's fame
and gladden his heart, I hereby
renounce
sword and the shelter of the
broad shield,
the heavy war-board:
hand-to-hand
is how it will be, a
life-and-death
fight with the fiend. Whichever
one death fells
must deem it a just judgement
by God.'"
These words were bravely spoken by Beowulf following his
declaration to destroy the gruesome Grendel. In King Hrothgar's hall, Hereot,
the mighty Geat refuses to use weapons to defeat the monster. Here he claims that his power remains not in
man's swords and shields, but in God's sovereignty. But taking a deeper look, we find that the author
may have also intended to hint that the Beowulf sought not man's armor, but the
"Armor of God", described in Ephesians
6. A reason why Beowulf would want
to wear spiritual armor as opposed to man-made armor is because, as a leader, he
would need to stand against distractions which would lead him away from
glorifying God. In Beowulf's last
battle, against the dragon, he seems to have lost his trust in the Almighty. This is symbolized as he wears man's armor and
therefore loses the battle and perishes–he trusts his own way of doing
something.
Lives Centered on Fame - p.45, l.659-61
"'Be on your mettle now,
keep in mind your fame,
beware of the enemy. There's
nothing you wish for
that won't be yours if you win
through alive."
Through these words, spoken by Hrothgar to Beowulf, one may
sense the common source of motivation for men of this time. Informingly, the king reminds Beowulf, as the
time came to wait for Grendel's return, that he should be strong in spirit by
remembering his renown and his reward should he defeat the monster. The strive for fame and glory contradicts the
constant crave demonstrated by Beowulf to give glory to his Creator. But the author makes it clear that Beowulf
remains loyal, at least for the earlier part of his life, to God through his sadistic
battles.
"...the Geat placed
complete trust
in his strength of limb and the
Lord's favour" p.45, l.670
Hrothgar's Wisdom - p.117-121, l.1698-1768
"Then everyone hushed
as the son of Halfdane spoke
this wisdom.
'A protector of his people,
pledged to Uphold
truth and justice and to
respect tradition,
is entitled to affirm that this
man
was born to distinction.
Beowulf, my friend,
your fame has gone far and
wide,
you are known everywhere. In
all things you are eventempered,
prudent and resolute. So I
stand firm by the promise of
friendship
we exchanged before. Forever
you will be
your people's mainstay and your
own warriors'
helping hand.
Heremod was different,
the way he behaved to Ecgwala's
sons.
His rise in the world brought
little joy
to the Danish people, only
death and destruction.
He vented his rage on men he
caroused with,
killed his own comrades, a
pariah king
who cut himself off from his
own kind,
even though Almighty God had
made him
eminent and powerful and marked
him from the start
for a happy life. But a change
happened,
he grew bloodthirsty, gave no
more rings
to honour the Danes. He
suffered in the end
for having plagued his people
for so long:
his life lost happiness.
So learn from this
and understand true values. I
who tell you
have wintered into wisdom.
It is a great Wonder how
Almighty God in His magnificence
favours our race with rank and
scope
and the gift of wisdom; His
sway is wide.
Sometimes He allows the mind of
a man
of distinguished birth to
follow its bent,
grants him fulfilment and
felicity on earth
and forts to command in his own
country.
He permits him to lord it in
many lands
until the man in his
unthinkingness
forgets that it will ever end
for him.
He indulges his desires;
illness and old age
mean nothing to him; his mind
is untroubled
by envy or malice or the
thought of enemies
with their hate-honed swords.
The whole world
conforms to his will, he is
kept from the worst
until an element of overweening
enters him and takes hold
while the soul's guard, its
sentry, drowses,
grown too distracted. A killer
stalks him,
an archer who draws a deadly
bow.
And then the man is hit in the
heart,
the arrow flies beneath his
defences,
the devious promptings of the
demon start.
His old possessions seem paltry
to him now.
He covets and resents;
dishonours custom
and bestows no gold; and
because of good things
that the Heavenly Powers gave
him in the past
he ignores the shape of things
to come.
Then finally the end arrives
when the body he was lent
collapses and falls
prey to its death; ancestral
possessions
and the goods he hoarded are
inherited by another
who lets them go with a liberal
hand.
"O flower of warriors,
beware of that trap.
Choose, dear Beowulf, the
better part,
eternal rewards. Do not give
way to pride.
For a brief while your strength
is in bloom
but it fades quickly; and soon
there will follow
illness or the sword to lay you
low,
or a sudden fire or surge of
water
or jabbing blade or javelin
from the air
or repellent age. Your piercing
eye
will dim and darken; and death
will arrive,
dear warrior, to sweep you
away.'"
After having completely defeated Grendels' mother and
Grendels head now displayed in Hereot, King Hrothgar commends Beowulf and
shares his own wisdom. The aging king
points out differences and struggles for kings–he most certainly desires
Beowulf to take the narrow road here. He
gives the example of King Heremond, a man who surpassed the pleasure of
leadership and character for his own personal indulgences. Similar to King Solomon, this king gave up
good to indulge in evil–a warning which King Hrothgar proved assertive in
advising against.
Grendel - p.9, l.99-114
"So times were pleasant
for the people there
until finally one, a fiend out
of hell,
began to work his evil in the
world.
Grendel was the name of this
grim demon
haunting the marches, marauding
round the heath
and the desolate fens; he had
dwelt for a time
in misery among the banished
monsters,
Cain's clan, whom the Creator
had outlawed
and condemned as outcasts. For
the killing of Abel
the Eternal Lord had exacted a
price:
Cain got no good from
committing that murder
no because the Almighty made
him anathema
and out of the curse of his
exile there sprang
ogres and elves and evil
phantoms
and the giants too who strove
with God
time and again until He gave
them their reward."
This is near the beginning of the story when the background
of Herot is narrated. Here, Grendel begins
to wreak havoc on the country of Dene.
The main idea of this passage is basically this: The beast is a dreadful,
malevolent monster who malignantly marauds the masses through the mucky
marches. This may sound like poetry, but
looking deeper, we see that this fiend did not simply pop out of a magic cloud
of monsters. The vagabond has a story
and an origin: Cain's clan. In the
preceding passage, his origin is quite directly described.
There is also possible symbolism in the characters of
Beowulf and Grendel: Grendel/Satan came and destroyed a beautiful thing
(creation/Heorot); next, a mighty hero (Beowulf/Jesus) comes; He binds and destroys
the dragon (Grendel/Satan).
Although the rest of Beowulf's story would not align with
the prophecies in the Bible, there is a redemptive theme here.
