Wealhþeow

The Beowulf poet creates a thoroughly detailed narration of the event, particularly on the sequence of the cup’s passing by Wealtheow’s hand. It is told that “Wealhtheow went forth… mindful of courtesy; with gold adorned she greeted the men in the hall, and then the cup she offered, noble lady, first to the guardian of the East Danes’ realm, and wished him joy... Then the lady of the Helmings went to and fro every…

Throughout time the definition of a “hero” has been shown to be interchangeable with everybody's views being comparative as well as contrasting that’s why we as people view the idea of heroism as dynamic for example, Thor Heyerdahl once said, “I was in uniform for four years, and I know that heroism doesn't occur from taking orders, but rather from people who through their own willpower and strength are willing to sacrifice their lives for an idea.” He describes how heroism becomes achieved with…

After Grendel's first attack, Hrothgar is distraught and turns into a drunk. When Beowulf first arrives at Herot Hrothgar is too drunk to finish his speech and Wealhtheow must finish his toast. Throughout the movie, Hrothgar is constantly dodging Beowulf's questions about Grendel and never reveals the whole truth until after Grendel is killed. Hrothgar finally admits that he only killed Grendel's father because he…

The Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, describes a man with formidable strength and exceptional quality as a leader. As we see Beowulf become the epitome of an idealistic leader, he provided values and morals that most yearned to have in civilization. However, when constructing the idealistic leader in the story of Beowulf, the contrasting relationship between humans and nature plays a pivotal role in the development of Beowulf. Throughout the entirety of this story, we’re presented this binary…

Many of the characters in John Gardner’s Grendel have a direction, purpose and philosophy that changes Grendel when he interacts with theses characters.Wealtheow is self-sacrificing, Hrothgar wants glory to his kingdom, the dragon believed in a purposeless world and the Shaper used his words to create something to believe in. But Unferth and Beowulf are the ones who influence Grendel 's reason to become the monster of the Danes. Theses two who would spend their lives trying to become great…

constantly exposed to dangers of war, naturally, shaped their way of identification. Men were to be warriors, and women were to be housekeepers, teachers, wives and caregivers. This is also present in Beowulf, one of the female characters, Queen Wealhtheow, functions as a peace weaver in the society and encourages her people. Another female character, Hildeburh, also functions as a peace-weaver, but fails in her role. Men, on the other hand, were the ones who held the power in their hands and…

The poem Beowulf tells us several things about authority and what was expected of the aristocratic warrior of that era. It tells what actions should be taken in order for a warrior’s obligations to be meant. At the same time warriors have a certain way they were expected to interact and relate to one another. In order for this to happen a warrior must follow a hero’s code. It requires a warrior to be three things: loyal, respectful, and honorable. These three things are seen as the glue to…

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…

When they were all sitting together they got to confident probably believing that everything was finally over. Could this be a prediction of what might happen later on in Beowulf. There might be something that happens that destroys this peaceful moment that the men are feeling sitting at these benches. Isn’t there a saying that when you believe or everything is going good something will come to destroy that peacefulness. They’re celebrating the end of the fear that surrounded Heorot for quite a…

Beowulf is an epic poem written sometime around 1000AD, it is a tale by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet about a great warrior named Beowulf and his life as a warrior. The epic poem gives readers and scholars alike an insight into the medieval warrior society that took place during this era, specifically Germanic and European warrior society. Beowulf highlights many key aspects of the society. Some of these aspects would include what they as a culture valued, how they treated women and even the…