The thing that goes bump in the night, the boogey man, the monsters that hide under beds and in closets; they were the terrors of our childhood. We spent many nights cowering beneath a mountain of blankets afraid of the possibilities that lurked in the darkness of our bedroom. We were afraid of the dark. Terrified of the ominous blackness that allowed our imaginations to run unfettered, conjuring images of killer beasts in our closets and hairy monsters under our beds. Just picturing the possibility of their long claws or sharp teeth was enough to plague us with nightmares. So real was this fear, it demanded thorough and nightly inspections of our room before bedtime in a useless attempt to quell our fear with logic. In the end the only antidote powerful enough to defeat the darkness was light. A door left open to the hall or a
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For instance, his armor is always shining, reflecting the light so that as his fights in his “gleaming mail-shirt” (50, 404) and “glittering helmet” (73, 1448) he radiates light like the sun, banishing all darkness with his valiant goodness. This glowing enamel is key to his survival for during his battle with Grendel’s mother, it is his chain-mail that “saved him on the outside” (74, 1504). Yet his glistening goodness is more than skin deep. Its soul deep. After he defeats Grendel’s mother in her dark underwater lair “a light appeared and the place brightened” (75, 1570) and Beowulf is cause of that illumination. He is light, he brings light, he creates light and that emphasizes his goodness and nobility. Even in his death Beowulf is cast in light as his funeral pyre is stacked with glimmering gold and then set ablaze, the fire glowing and sending the great Beowulf into the afterworld. The myriad of light images and lack of images with darkness help to define and expose his
For instance, his armor is always shining, reflecting the light so that as his fights in his “gleaming mail-shirt” (50, 404) and “glittering helmet” (73, 1448) he radiates light like the sun, banishing all darkness with his valiant goodness. This glowing enamel is key to his survival for during his battle with Grendel’s mother, it is his chain-mail that “saved him on the outside” (74, 1504). Yet his glistening goodness is more than skin deep. Its soul deep. After he defeats Grendel’s mother in her dark underwater lair “a light appeared and the place brightened” (75, 1570) and Beowulf is cause of that illumination. He is light, he brings light, he creates light and that emphasizes his goodness and nobility. Even in his death Beowulf is cast in light as his funeral pyre is stacked with glimmering gold and then set ablaze, the fire glowing and sending the great Beowulf into the afterworld. The myriad of light images and lack of images with darkness help to define and expose his