One other character defined by images of darkness rather than light is the vengeful mother of Grendel. Invariably we tend to define people by their homes, where they choose to dwell. For instance, Grendel’s mother lives in dark “fearful waters, / the cold depths” (69, 1260-1261) where no light can penetrate and “dark moors” (72, 1405) must be crossed to get to her aquatic lair. Because she hails from a cold world of darkness, part of her is the darkness. Thus she is a most frightening monster. A creature that seeks revenge, a concept not foreign to the audience, not for noble reasons, but for motives most wicked and dastardly. Or so we must assume as nothing honorable lives at the bottom of lake near which nothing grows and is always stormy.
…show more content…
For the most part, the dragon is also a character that is largely connected to darkness. He causes darkness in Beowulf, spreads darkness with his destruction, and lives in the darkness of his underground hoard during the day. Furthermore, darker undertones arise when noting that his fury is ignited by “an old harrower of the dark” (90, 2271) for evil begets evil quite cyclically. However, hidden within all this darkness lies the fact that dragons are well known to have a very dangerous weapon – mouths which breathe fire. The hoard-guardian, also known as the dragon, seeks revenge by “belch(ing) out flames and burn(ing) bright homesteads” (91, 2312, 2313) killing many and enacting total decimation of many towns. Thus when Beowulf fights the dragon he is not only fighting a symbol of darkness, but a beast that wields light as a weapon somehow rendering Beowulf’s light null. This dragon that came at Beowulf “swaddled in flames” (96, 2569) did not have any latent goodness as with Grendel. Rather this foe was so dark, so maliciously cunning that he used Beowulf’s weapon against him. By using fire with deadly intent he negated the good it could do and made what was once light, dark. The danger in symbols that hold duality is that they can be flipped and used to either side’s advantage. Thusly, the prevailing image of fire is a highly oxymoronic in a way that calls attention to all the contradictions in the world …show more content…
But a cursory glance leaves many of Beowulf’s subtleties unacknowledged, such as their greater values and morals. Or consideration of the presence of fire in the story which actually presents an irony in the story as a symbol of good is used for evil. And although this secondary investigation may seem to only muddle the careful demarcation of light and darkness, it in reality is a complexity in keeping with the flow of the epic. Beowulf can be divided and understood many ways and yet even those divisions are blurred due to the myriad of interlacing digressions. Yet these intricacies are the key to making the story relatable and humanistic. Absolute darkness is rare. Just as total light is uncommon. Even at night the skies shine with stars and at least a sliver of moon
For the most part, the dragon is also a character that is largely connected to darkness. He causes darkness in Beowulf, spreads darkness with his destruction, and lives in the darkness of his underground hoard during the day. Furthermore, darker undertones arise when noting that his fury is ignited by “an old harrower of the dark” (90, 2271) for evil begets evil quite cyclically. However, hidden within all this darkness lies the fact that dragons are well known to have a very dangerous weapon – mouths which breathe fire. The hoard-guardian, also known as the dragon, seeks revenge by “belch(ing) out flames and burn(ing) bright homesteads” (91, 2312, 2313) killing many and enacting total decimation of many towns. Thus when Beowulf fights the dragon he is not only fighting a symbol of darkness, but a beast that wields light as a weapon somehow rendering Beowulf’s light null. This dragon that came at Beowulf “swaddled in flames” (96, 2569) did not have any latent goodness as with Grendel. Rather this foe was so dark, so maliciously cunning that he used Beowulf’s weapon against him. By using fire with deadly intent he negated the good it could do and made what was once light, dark. The danger in symbols that hold duality is that they can be flipped and used to either side’s advantage. Thusly, the prevailing image of fire is a highly oxymoronic in a way that calls attention to all the contradictions in the world …show more content…
But a cursory glance leaves many of Beowulf’s subtleties unacknowledged, such as their greater values and morals. Or consideration of the presence of fire in the story which actually presents an irony in the story as a symbol of good is used for evil. And although this secondary investigation may seem to only muddle the careful demarcation of light and darkness, it in reality is a complexity in keeping with the flow of the epic. Beowulf can be divided and understood many ways and yet even those divisions are blurred due to the myriad of interlacing digressions. Yet these intricacies are the key to making the story relatable and humanistic. Absolute darkness is rare. Just as total light is uncommon. Even at night the skies shine with stars and at least a sliver of moon