“Don’t get mad, get even.” In other words, get revenge. The word ‘revenge’ has many negative connotations. How much can be accomplished by achieving it? In the epic poem, Beowulf, revenge seemed to be the driving force behind every major event. It seemed ironic to me that ‘Revenge’ seemed to be the leading role in this poem, and God seemed to play the supporting actor. In a poem that seemed set on bringing forth God and religion, the plot was composed of situations and characters that were overwhelmed with the need for revenge.
After reading the introduction to the poem, I became very interested with the idea of Christianity within the poem. I paid close attention to any mentioning of God I came across. God was brought up countless times within the poem, leading me to believe that it was intended to reflect Christian beliefs. For example, line 92 says, “how the Almighty had made the earth.” This line almost directly correlates to the Nicene Creed which says, “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” In line 927 and 928, Hrothgar says, “First and foremost, let the Almighty Father/ be thanked for this sight.” This is relevant because within the Christian religion, God is also referred to as Father. The characters within the poem referred to God often, which made the theme of revenge ironic for this poem.
Almost all of Beowulf’s events were stemmed by a character’s need for revenge. Right from the beginning, Grendel was described as “Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark/ nursed a hard grievance” (86-87). Grendel killed the Danes to seek revenge for being condemned. Once Grendel was killed, his mother wanted to avenge her son. She sought after and killed more Danes including Aeshere, Hrothgar’s advisor and friend.
It wasn’t only Grendel and his mother who acted out of revenge. Beowulf was the hero in the poem who was a great believer in revenge. In like 1384 and 1385, Beowulf said, “Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better/ to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.” It seems almost hypocritical with the views of Christianity. When he actually killed Grendel’s mother the poem talked about Beowulf saying, “Beowulf in his fury now settled that score… Beowulf cut the corpse’s head off” (1584-1585, 1590). Beowulf had agreed to avenge the death of Aeshere, Hrothgar’s advisor and friend, however he took it to an extreme next level. The only need to cut off Grendel’s mother’s head was as a clear symbol of revenge.
In the end, for a poem that talks so much about God and by the seemingly monotheistic practices of the characters, it seems ironic how everything is triggered by revenge. Even our epic hero, Beowulf, is thirsty for revenge, which I thought to be a very interesting controversy within the poem.
I don't think it's more revenge as it is keeping people safe. And, if I remember correctly, the only things that they are taking revenge on are not people, but creatures - the dragon, the demons. So if they are indeed Christians, then I think these instances of killing are OK because they aren't people. But I definitely get where you're coming from.
ReplyDeleteKristen: I love a good comment that questions the author's viewpoint, but, if you truly disagree, then I think you let Jennah off the hook too easily with your last sentence. Feel free to pose a question and spark more dialogue here! Thanks, both Jennah and Kristen, for helping to get the Ruminations and comments rolling.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kristen. I don't think Beowulf is really acting in a revengeful way- it's more that he is so prideful that he wants to be famous and known for saving this kingdom and being an outstanding warrior. I also do think this ties in with Christianity- he wants to do/act in a way that would be pleasing to God, or if it is revenge, it is because God wouldn't approve of Grendel's and his mother's actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree that he is acting to save people from dying. And that's a very good point to say it was simply towards beasts. However, some of Beowulf's actions are what in football they call "unnecessary roughness." I mean this more specifically towards Beowulf killing Grendel's mother. Beowulf was asked to kill Grendel's mother, but he felt the need to chop off her head and bring it back for Hrothgar for revenge.
ReplyDeleteJen: That's a good point that I actually was thinking about writing my Rumination about also. Beowulf did bask in the glory of his accomplishments and wanted the pride.
I definitely see a very strong element of revenge in the poem. Its true that the three best examples of revenge killings are all against non-human creatures but the stories within the story also tell of the necessity of gaining vengeance through blood in Pagan society because of its relationship with a person's honor. Beowulf's own father fled to Hrothgar because he was fleeing from a murder he had committed and was sure to feel vengeance for.
ReplyDeleteJennah: I think that the chopping off and presenting of Grendel's mothers head had a specific significance to the people. When Beowulf ripped off Grendel's arm, they put it up as a trophy in their hall, and I was not surprised that a similar action happened with the head.
ReplyDeleteRevenge isn't so much a bad thing in this story, and the way that it contrasts with the religious idea's of the story make it seem like something Beowulf is doing because of his religion.
I was very aware of Beowulf's desire for vengance, but I didn't have a negative reaction to it. The concept of vengance here is not so much "an eye for an eye", but rather Beowulf's dutiful attempt to restore order to the world after the ravages of Grendel.
ReplyDeleteGrendel is undoubtedly EVIL and against the natural order of the world. It's only right that Beowulf not only kill him and his mother, but dismember them and display their remains as proof that good really does conquer evil in the end.
Beowulf's seemingly brutal actions (in his culture anyway), act as a kind of morale booster for the people who have been living under the constant threat of evil and instilling in them confidence in the power of God who works through his servants (in this case Beowulf).
I agree with Joanna. I think that revenge is a small element of the larger picture of the events that are occurring in Beowulf. I think the need for good to prevail over evil is more of the message that the poet was trying to get portray. The gruesome displays of violence of Grendel and Grendel's mother serve to further state that God's will was for them to be defeated because their tyranny over the Danes was not meant to last. I do think that the revenge from the so called evil characters was written much more barbarically. I feel like the poet really tried to make Grendel's and his mother's hatred less human and maybe even a bit more simplistic by reducing them to monsters. Thus, showing that for them, non-humans, hatred was their main fuel against the Danes.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Laura that the idea of good powering over evil was a message the poet was trying to get across. However I did see the revenge aspect as well. Beowulf was a hero to the Danes, and the brutality to Grendel and Grendel’s mother seemed to me to be giving the people he was serving what they wanted. The Danes had undergone so much despair that any humane treatment to the monsters would have been not understood and certainly frowned upon. Displaying the arm and head had to have been “sweet revenge” for the Danes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laura's comment that the triumph of good over evil is a stronger theme in Beowulf than the theme of revenge. It is really critical that Grendel and his mother are portrayed as monsters in the narrative, because that indicates that these characters are evil and inhuman. Sure, there is an element of revenge in the poem, but ultimately I think that Beowulf kills Grendel and his mother to keep people safe. He had other motives too, and I definitely think his pride and his vengeful anger tied into these motivations, but I think that Beowulf's most concrete reason for killing both Grendel and his mother is to keep his people safe from evil. The fact that both characters are made to be monsters really supports this idea, because if they are not human than it's less of a sin to kill them. The original poster, Jennah, stated in her rumination that she feels that it's strange to see such strong messages of revenge in what is understood to be a Chrstian text, but I think that the monstrosity of Grendel and his mother was meant to counteract that contradiction.
ReplyDeleteSince we read in the prologue that revenge for the killing of a family member was hugely important to maintain honor, I am wondering if it's really fair to call the violence of Grendel's mother evil, as Joanna and a few others seem to feel. Beowulf had killed her son, therefore she was obligated to go after him.
ReplyDeleteThat also brings up another problem though, because Grendel's mother caused more violence in the process of attacking Beowulf. This in turn caused a need for Beowulf to seek revenge on her, and to be quite honest I would not have been surprised if she had relatives who then went after Beowulf. I agree with Jennah about the poem being ironic to claim such christian values while encouraging violence. In the end, someone always has family to revenge them, and I think this notion of necessary vengeance for honor would just create a continuous circle of violence.
Jennah i can totally see where you're coming from when you bring up the whole idea of revenge in Beowulf. And enjoyed reading your rumination as it brought a different view of the story into light for me. As for me when reading Beowulf i felt that his reasoning for fighting these battles wasn't so much a revenge issue, but more so he was doing what he felt obligated to do and that was to protect those less fortunate than he was, who were unable to fight for themselves. I felt he was doing this to uphold the honor his family deserved and to do what was right. However the idea of revenge is very plausible and i think you definitely have a great convo going here.
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