Beowulf

Beowul
Manimar Druselle V. Operio

PSY 3A2-2
Mrs. Consolacion Zabala

LIT3
Plot Summary
King Hrothgar, the ruler of the Danes, is troubled by the rampages of a demon
named Grendel. Every night, Grendel attacks King Hrothgar's wealthy meadhall, Heorot, killing Danish warriors and sometimes even eating them.
Hrothgar was a great warrior in his time, but now he's an old king and can't
seem to protect his people. Fortunately, a young Geat warrior named Beowulf
travels to Heorot Hall from his own lands overseas to lend a helping hand
literally.
After explaining that he owes Hrothgar a favor because Hrothgar helped out his
father, Beowulf offers to fight Grendel himself. King Hrothgar gratefully accepts
his offer. The next time Grendel attacks Heorot Hall, Beowulf is waiting for him.
Choosing to fight Grendel in hand-to-hand combat, Beowulf wrestles the
demon into submission and eventually tears off his arm at the shoulder.
Mortally wounded, Grendel flees into the wilderness and dies. Beowulf,
Hrothgar, and their followers throw a wild party to celebrate. Hrothgar also
gives Beowulf many presents and treasures to reward him for his heroic defeat
of the demon.
Unfortunately, Grendel has an overprotective mother who decides to avenge her
son. While all the warriors are sleeping off the party, she attacks Heorot Hall.
But when the warriors wake up, she panics and flees back to her lair, a cave
underneath a nearby lake.
Beowulf, his Geatish warriors, and some of Hrothgar's Danish warriors track
her there. Beowulf dives into the lake and finds the cave, where he takes on
Grendel's mother in another one-on-one battle. Seizing a nearby sword from
Grendel's mother's stash of treasure, he slays her, even though her poisonous
demon blood melts the blade. When Beowulf returns to the surface, carrying
the sword hilt and Grendel's severed head, the Danish warriors have given him
up for dead, but his own Geatish followers are still waiting patiently. When
everyone sees that Beowulf has survived this second challenge, there's even
more partying and gift-giving.
Finally, the Geats take their leave of the Danes; Beowulf says goodbye to King
Hrothgar and sails back to Geatland, where he is a lord in the court of King
Hygelac. Eventually, Hygelac and all his relatives are killed in different bloodfeuds, and Beowulf becomes the King of the Geats. Beowulf reigns as king for
fifty years, protecting the Geats from all the other tribes around them,
especially the Swedes. He is an honorable and heroic warrior-king, rewarding
his loyal thanes (warrior lords) and taking care of his people.
But one day, Beowulf finally meets his match: a dragon, woken by a thief
stealing a goblet, begins attacking the Geats, burning villages and slaughtering
people. Beowulf takes a group of eleven trusty warriors, plus the thief who
knows where the dragon's lair is, to the barrow for a final showdown with the
monster. When they see the dragon, all but one of the warriors flee in terror.
Only one man, Wiglaf, remains at Beowulf's side. With Wiglaf's help and
encouragement, Beowulf is able to defeat the dragon, but he is mortally
wounded in the process.
After Beowulf's death, the Geats build an enormous funeral pyre for him,
heaped with treasures. Once the pyre has burned down, they spend ten days
building an enormous barrow (a large mound of earth filled with treasure) as a
monument to their lost king.
Reflection
Beowulf is an awesome epic tale that has brought me into the Anglo-Saxon
society. It is rich in use of imagery. Even though being an Old English literature
translated into the modern one, the translation has never failed to portray the
great story of the epic hero. With a few research, it is reportedly told the poet
has used the richness of the Old English language to perhaps its full extent.
Through this use of language, it has perfectly displayed both the vast
imagination of the poet and the daily lives and ideals of the people in the
writers society.
Beowulf is an exemplary person. He is a good and brave man. He is an ideal
man, both of the Anglo-Saxon and the modern man. Through his adventures
he has subliminally told us to be like him, that we should desire to be like him:
a man of valor and courage. Though there may be a Grendel in our lives, we
should not cease to fight him, until we come to defeat him. Until his death, he
is a revered man. His physical body may have withered, but his prowess will
always be remembered.
Culture of the People

Beowulf is an epic poem that reflects the culture of the people to whom it
belongs. We can assume that the character traits of Beowulf that make him a
hero were valuable to Anglo-Saxon society. Beowulf is dauntless, noble,
respectful of his father and ancestors, skilful in battle, and believes that his
good acts and triumphant performance would be his means of being immortal
in the minds of his people. Even though he appears to be high-and-mighty, he
does give great respect to others and concedes destiny. Therefore, these traits
were important to the Anglo-Saxons.
It is not only that the poem represents the ideal traits desired or revered by the
Anglo-Saxons,
it
also
represents
the
society
where
the
Anglo-Saxons
themselves thrive in. There was no government, peacekeeping force, or laws in

Anglo-Saxon England. Kings were not as grand as we think of today. Knights
did not yet exist as they appear in another story, those of King Arthur, and
chivalry was not a practice back then. The Anglo-Saxon society was unstable.
Kings only ruled on but a piece of land and merely perhaps a handful of people.
That may even be already an exaggeration! Invasion was such a problem back
then. People can easily overthrow another kingdom by taking their mead hall.
Having no main government that overlooks the whole Anglo-Saxon land made it
easier.
In essence, this is what happens in the epic. Who is Grendel? He brings such
immense agony and places them on the hearts of the Anglo-Saxons begging for
their measly lives. He destroys every mead hall, putting everyone into exiles
and wanderers. He is the worst thing an Anglo-Saxon can have, wishing it be
once, but unfortunately, goes in his mind, making him worry every day that
one time Grendel may come. The unknown poet has made a monster to portray
the unstable nature of the Anglo-Saxon society. Grendel may be a monster, but
actually he does what one invading king does to another one. This is what has
been unveiled in the epic poem. The monster may be a mere creation of the vast
imagination of the poet, but destruction of the mead hall and the loss of people
brought about by it is not his.
Message of the Author

The purpose of the epic tale can only be inferred from, suggesting reasons
behind its creation. Some have expressed that its intention is to elevate the
traits of the Anglo-Saxon culture to be ones which the people deemed most
important. Hence, by labelling particular characteristics as valuable, other
people would endeavor to be more like the people in the tale, mirroring the
desired conducts and beliefs.
It also gives us the idea of glory, benevolence, and religious belief of god. It
inspires the common Anglo-Saxon to be more than what he already is. The
story is not only close to what an Anglo-Saxon life is. It is also to the modern
man. It is to make men fight for what is good. The principles of the story were
to encourage people to be a man of greatness. Beowulf was a brave hero,
though with flaws like any other man of any other country, but he does not
falter and continually trusts in himself that he is a good man.
In essence, Beowulf functions similarly to the mythical tales of other cultures.

These tales function to give its readers perception in to value of morality, origin
of specific thoughts and ideals, and the preference of specific traits.

Beowulf

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Beowulf

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Beowul

Manimar Druselle V. Operio

Mrs. Consolacion Zabala

Culture of the People

themselves thrive in. There was no government, peacekeeping force, or laws in

Message of the Author

In essence, Beowulf functions similarly to the mythical tales of other cultures.

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