There’s Hope in the Darkness The emphasis on light and dark in Beowulf helps more easily tell the story of a hero who fights many victorious battles. In Beowulf, light represents victory and well being while darkness represents defeat and evil. In the first battle of Beowulf, light and dark thoroughly exemplify different emotions and states of being. For example, on lines 192-193 it says, “There was panic after dark, people endured raids in the night, riven by the terror.” Within this quote the audience learns two things. If the audience knows Grendel attacks at night, then the audience can assume the panic in the dark refers to the attacks Grendel performs at night. The second thing the audience can take from the quote is that darkness
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Although Beowulf can see, darkness overcomes the lair. Beowulf, however, is representative of a being that comes to the darkness and turns it into light. When he defeats Grendel’s mother, lines 1570-1572 say, “A light appeared and the place brightened the way the sky does when heaven’s candle is shining clearly.” This quote essentially says that Beowulf brings purity, represented by light, to a place full of corruption, represented by darkness. When Beowulf overcomes the corruption, his light shines through the darkness, brightening the area. When Beowulf celebrates this overcoming, the author uses lines 1802-1803 to say, “A hurry of brightness overran the shadows.” As the men celebrate their victory, the happy spirits overrun the corruption of the …show more content…
Beowulf must fight his toughest battle yet against a slick-skinned dragon in order to protect the people of the land. The dragon, that due to what line 2271 says, becomes know as the “old harrower of the dark.” This dragon lets out his fierce anger when a slave takes a goblet from his lair. This awakens the dragon causing him to terrify the people of the land. Beowulf gathers up 11 men to go with him to take down the dragon. When Beowulf arrives in the darkness of the evil dragon’s lair, he attacks the dragon with his sword. Lines 2584-2586 say, “The glittering sword, infallible before that day, failed…” The dragon who represents the darkness in this scenario draws such great strength from corruption that not even the greatest of lights, in this case the sword, can overcome it. As the battle continues, Beowulf is finally able to overcome the dragon, but in the process sacrifices himself. The author continues the effective use of light in other ways. In lines 2804-2805, the author uses the sun rising as a reminder as follows, “It will loom on the horizon at Hronesness, and be a reminder among my people.” Here, the author uses something as natural as the light of daybreak to be a reminder to the people of the battle between good and evil, or in other words light and darkness. The author says that every time
Although Beowulf can see, darkness overcomes the lair. Beowulf, however, is representative of a being that comes to the darkness and turns it into light. When he defeats Grendel’s mother, lines 1570-1572 say, “A light appeared and the place brightened the way the sky does when heaven’s candle is shining clearly.” This quote essentially says that Beowulf brings purity, represented by light, to a place full of corruption, represented by darkness. When Beowulf overcomes the corruption, his light shines through the darkness, brightening the area. When Beowulf celebrates this overcoming, the author uses lines 1802-1803 to say, “A hurry of brightness overran the shadows.” As the men celebrate their victory, the happy spirits overrun the corruption of the …show more content…
Beowulf must fight his toughest battle yet against a slick-skinned dragon in order to protect the people of the land. The dragon, that due to what line 2271 says, becomes know as the “old harrower of the dark.” This dragon lets out his fierce anger when a slave takes a goblet from his lair. This awakens the dragon causing him to terrify the people of the land. Beowulf gathers up 11 men to go with him to take down the dragon. When Beowulf arrives in the darkness of the evil dragon’s lair, he attacks the dragon with his sword. Lines 2584-2586 say, “The glittering sword, infallible before that day, failed…” The dragon who represents the darkness in this scenario draws such great strength from corruption that not even the greatest of lights, in this case the sword, can overcome it. As the battle continues, Beowulf is finally able to overcome the dragon, but in the process sacrifices himself. The author continues the effective use of light in other ways. In lines 2804-2805, the author uses the sun rising as a reminder as follows, “It will loom on the horizon at Hronesness, and be a reminder among my people.” Here, the author uses something as natural as the light of daybreak to be a reminder to the people of the battle between good and evil, or in other words light and darkness. The author says that every time