Through the tale of Beowulf, the hero of the poem travels throughout Scandinavia and combats monsters of all kinds, be it undescribed creatures of great strength, fast and cunning sons and daughters of cain, or simply the legendary dragon. The monsters however are used not just to entertain the readers but to also provide commentary on the society in which they live. The author throughout the poem condemns the system of blood feud in place and also berates man for his greed of gold and glory. This is done by having the monsters represent several things wrong with the anglo-saxon community, Grendel being the representation of violence, his mother representing the futility of blood feud, and the dragon embodying greed itself. While the monsters
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While Beowulf is able defeat the physical beasts that are plaguing the Danes and Geats he is unable to fix the social ills that are troubling them. Still by taking on these monsters he himself is perpetrating the ills of society. “The symbolic accomplishment of Beowulf the hero is to reject the role of prey and to establish himself as Grendel’s worthy opponent, in the process he modulates aggressive violence in the poem…” (Ward, 3). The quote mentions how that in order to end the feud that was started between Grendel and Hrothgar, Beowulf had to take part in it and kill Grendel only furthering the violence and the feud. The poet understood this as well and made Beowulf as much as a problem of the society as a savior to …show more content…
When the poet introduces Beowulf he is saving the spear danes from a feud that is killing the king's men. The poet condemns this system of feuding both among the Danes themselves but also with the monsters. “When Grendel’s mother slew Aeschere both sides had to pay with the lives of friends. That exchanges was not good” (Hill, 30). The quote states generalizes not just the feud between Hrothgar and Grendel kin but also feuds across the board. In fact the poet writing in Grendel’s mother to carry on the feud is his blatant denunciation of the entire practice. Grendel’s mother is the way the poet shows that no matter how many monsters or people you kill there will still be those that come after you to avenge them unless you completely destroy a household. The system does have a price you an pay that allows the violence to stop but this fix is only temporary especially for tight knit family groups and the relationship between the two parties is still irrevocably
While Beowulf is able defeat the physical beasts that are plaguing the Danes and Geats he is unable to fix the social ills that are troubling them. Still by taking on these monsters he himself is perpetrating the ills of society. “The symbolic accomplishment of Beowulf the hero is to reject the role of prey and to establish himself as Grendel’s worthy opponent, in the process he modulates aggressive violence in the poem…” (Ward, 3). The quote mentions how that in order to end the feud that was started between Grendel and Hrothgar, Beowulf had to take part in it and kill Grendel only furthering the violence and the feud. The poet understood this as well and made Beowulf as much as a problem of the society as a savior to …show more content…
When the poet introduces Beowulf he is saving the spear danes from a feud that is killing the king's men. The poet condemns this system of feuding both among the Danes themselves but also with the monsters. “When Grendel’s mother slew Aeschere both sides had to pay with the lives of friends. That exchanges was not good” (Hill, 30). The quote states generalizes not just the feud between Hrothgar and Grendel kin but also feuds across the board. In fact the poet writing in Grendel’s mother to carry on the feud is his blatant denunciation of the entire practice. Grendel’s mother is the way the poet shows that no matter how many monsters or people you kill there will still be those that come after you to avenge them unless you completely destroy a household. The system does have a price you an pay that allows the violence to stop but this fix is only temporary especially for tight knit family groups and the relationship between the two parties is still irrevocably