Beowulf Quotes

“He  has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (152).

Growing up, everyone has a idea on what a hero looks like. Heros represent a lot of different aspects of bravery. Every culture in history has had a heroic figure. In most cultures heroes portray different aspects of being a hero. In Anglo-Saxon times heroes were considered strong, and fearless. Beowulf is a true epic hero in Anglo- Saxon times because he is very fearless, strong, and honored.

Beowulf is an old Anglo-Saxon story of a terrifying monster Grendel, Grendel travels to the Danes mead hall Heorot and while the danes expect it least he attacks killing countless men purely for the joys of doing so. Hrothgar king of the Danes calls for a warrior to fight this unruly beast. After 12 long years of grendel attacking Hrothgar's calls are answered and the great warrior Beowulf comes to kill Grendel. Beowulf travels to the land of the Danes from across the seas and in the first night he kills Grendel. Sadly for Beowulf Grendel has a mother that now seeks revenge for her son's death and Beowulf is asked to kill Grendel’s mother as well. Beowulf goes to where Grendel’s mother is staying and battled her to the death , Beowulf wins

The night after the day of Grendel’s first attack, some of Hrothgar’s warriors fled Herot’s halls. The wisest fled-knowing that if they sought refuge someplace away from Herot,

Last of all, Beowulf is not scared when his weapons break or they do not work on the monster. “The shining blade/ refused to bite. It spared her and failed/ the man in his need”(1523-1525). Even though the blade failed him he instanly throws it away continues to fight. Beowulf continuing to fight is showing that he has the courage not to give up.

Because it was passed down for many years, Beowulf contains a unique mixture of pagan culture and Christian beliefs. The protagonist, Beowulf, is a mighty warrior who often cries out in petition to the Christian God. In contrast Hrothgar, the King of Herot, is a pagan leader who makes sacrifices to “old stone gods” in times of strife (Beowulf 90). The author may have done this in order to provide the audience with a foundation for the story. Readers of the time were familiar with the Bible and all of its stories. Even today audiences have a firm grasp and knowledge on the events of the Bible. Through allusions to the story of Cain and Abel, and to God’s power and protection, the story applies a stronger and more effective skin to commonly known material.

Before each and every battle that Beowulf takes on, there is always a specific section that speaks about fate and what is to come with death. Gruesome descriptions of battle and fate ending in death is brought about extremely casually and often. When Beowulf first meets King Hrothgar to help him protect his kingdom from Grendel, he immediately tells the king, “Whichever one death fells / must deem it a just judgement by God” (Heaney ll. 440-441). Since this epic poem was composed within an era of blooming Christianity, it is shown that Beowulf is fully leaving his life within the hands of God. Beowulf believes that only God has the power to take a life when he believes it is their time; persuading the audience that it is right to fall into the same belief, causing more of a major impact on the world today. Once God

A. Grendel will return to fight Beowulf again. They may note that Grendel is determined to battle humans and the forces of good. He is also a strong, proud, and brave monster used to winning his battles.

Everybody in the Cain’s clan is cursed only by God and because one of their ancestors committed a sin. The poet incorporates these Christian stories to give reasons to why the Danes hate Grendel and excludes him from society. On the other side, God protects people like Beowulf because he shows courage, honesty, pride, and humility.

Upon entering the Danes' hall, Herot, Grendel is confronted by Beowulf, who immediately seizes Grendel's arms and drives fear into the monster's heart, "... [Grendel] knew at once that nowhere on earth/ Had he met a man whose hands were harder..." (lines 751-752). Through his slaughter of Grendel, Grendel's mom, the dragon, and other monsters, Beowulf proves his amazing strength to the other characters and to the readers.

"How the Almighty had made the earth a gleaming plain girdled with waters; in His splendor He set the sun and the moon to be earth's lamplight, lanterns for men and filled the broad lap of the world with branches and leaves; and quickened life in every other thing that moved."(Line 92)

Further into the story Beowulf does kill Grendel and was suppose to kill his mother, but instead of doing that she tricks him into making another monster with her. Years later, Beowulf becomes older, but is king of the Geats, all of sudden his land is plagued by a dragon, so he fights it. He kills the dragon but only after the dragon bites him, he dies.

The story digressed from talking about Grendel to talking about Cain and Abel. Once again, this digression served more than one purpose. “He had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan”(104-106). Here we see that Grendel is a descendent of Cain. This biblical reference shows the importance of Christianity to the Anglo Saxon people. “The giants too who strove with God time and again until he gave them their reward”(113-114). They had a strong belief in a God and higher beings, as well, that the reason things happen is because God is sending a message. A theme throughout this digression is good vs. evil or Cain vs. Abel. This digressions theme is not just related to the digression, but to the overall story of Beowulf. Beowulf is the heroic warrior, and Grendel is the malevolent monster. This digression purpose was to show the importance of the Christianity culture and an overall theme of the epic

I will meet him With my hands empty-unless his heart Fails him, seeing a soldier waiting Weaponless, unafraid...” Grendel does struggles to escape, while Beowulf rips the monster’s arm off. He then creeps back into the swamp to die and stay

In the second battle with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf uses a sword to attack Grendel’s mother and eventually behead her. Lastly, when Beowulf fights the dragon, he uses the sword he fought Grendel’s mother with, but when he tries to attack the dragon, the sword fails him, which eventually leads to Beowulf’s