Fate in Beowulf

Beowulf is a poem with pagan origins, yet it has many Christian elements. Indeed, the second quotation we are given from this passage assigns fate as the "ruler of every man." A true Christian poet would never assign rule over man to any other than the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Additionally, the gaining of earthly treasures or, specifically the taking of treasure from a defeated enemy, is not an activity that is heroic in the Christian sense.

This leaves Beowulf as the monster, when we believe him to be the hero. For the rest of the poem this leaves us an opening to judge him on character. Because of this fault, one can believe that he is a faulty king and ruler, even though he does what a king is suppose to do; he gives gifts to his Geats.

An epic story is one that combines elements of supernatural powers and heroic deeds with plebeian troubles. In Beowulf , the unknown author paints a typical yet magnificent tale that is one of the great epic chronicles of the Middle Ages. Like the poems of Homer, Beowulf possesses terrible monsters, men with supernatural powers, the search for glory, and deadly defeats. However, this medieval account brings a new element into the folds: the association between established religious forces and personal choices. The concepts of predestination and fate intertwine in this work with the idea of free will.

Fate intervenes, saves Beowulf's life, and helps him kill monsters many times. Beowulf believes fate saved him in his battle with the sea monsters saying “A monster seized me drew me swiftly towards the bottom... fate let me find its heart with my sword” (Beowulf 286). Since the monsters are evil and Beowulf is good, fate saved him and let him live on. Beowulf himself believes that it is fate that the monsters he kills die at his hands. “I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters... and killing them one by one, the death they have earned, the fate they had earned” (Beowulf 155). Since Beowulf is so successful as a warrior he believes he owes all his achievements to fate.

A Twist of Fate for the Great Hero Beowulf Fate seems to be an ongoing theme in the works of Boethius and Beowulf. Whether it is a belief of Christian providence or pagan fatalism, the writers of these works are strongly moved by the concept of fate and how it affects the twists and turns of a person’s life. Fate is most often seen as the course of events in a person’s life that leads them to inevitable death at some time or another.

Beowulf affirms this belief when someone got close to the dragon but didn't die; saying "So may a man not marked by fate easily escape exile and woe by the grace of God" (81). This idea of fate is carried through as Beowulf fights the dragon and dies. "That final day was the first time when Beowulf fought and fate denied him glory in battle" again attributing all his previous successes and his ultimate collapse to the power of God.

In the Anglo-Saxon era, it is believed that fate, its powers, and the gloom which generally ensues with it, often decides the future of mankind. Fate always goes as it must, according to Beowulf, who resigns himself to a sure fate of death when he

marked." (Line 569) Beowulf is saying that God is watching over him, and him seeing

Fate is often a topic of interest in many literary works, as it provides an insight to readers as to how a person’s success or demise can be credited to their own doing or to the world’s chaotic web of tragedy that afflicts those at random. In Beowulf, pagan belief describes fate as an affliction through unmerciful forces of death and destruction that befall people at random. Actions and events that occur around us are mainly out of our control, though we can influence them at times, yet, we are susceptible to the world’s destruction, death, and failure. For these reasons, I believe: nature is hostile and uncontrollable at times, and that Beowulf can be described as a failure due to his inability to prevent conflict that befalls his country after his death.

Throughout Beowulf, there is a heavy reliance on religious principles. In many instances, they describe things as choices of the “Almighty”. For example, Beowulf says the winner of the battle with Grendel will be based on the “judgement of God” in line 441. While the story is clearly riddled with a mix of Pagan and Christian elements, these interesting statements make it seem as though the story also incorporates the idea of fate the same way it appears in Macbeth. This incites the question of whether we control our future, or if it is in the hands of a higher power. Beowulf also goes on to say, in the same monologue as before, “fate goes over as fate must” in line 455. This indicates that not only is our eventual future decided, but that everything

Throughout the entire passage of Beowulf there has been an overarching theme of Beowulf’s fate of life which in this passage is shown through the strong imagery of gain and loss and with the diction of sadness.

Fate is an essential part in the poem "Beowulf" by Seamus Heaney. Fate follows beowulf throughout his life, from starting off as a strong fierce warrior, to his ruling as a king. Fate is shown in Line (455), although he fought all these monsters, he is still alive because of fate and god's will. Seamus Heaney states “he was destined to face the end of his days, in this mortal world, as was the dragon, for all his long leasehold on the treasure.” (Lines 2342-2344), this contributes to Beowulf's life because it shows that no matter how powerful he was or whatever he did, he would be defeated eventually. Line (572), fate refers to saving a hero, but only if he is courageous, a hero such as Beowulf for all his courageous efforts and putting and

The minstrel sings of a dragon who fought Sigemund. In his song, the minstrel claims that Sigemund was by himself while fighting the dragon, indicating a similar fate for Beowulf. At this point, the reader knows that is going to happen because the foreshadowing is almost blatantly obvious. The fact that Sigemund kills the dragon foreshadows that Beowulf will do the same. This is the second time Beowulf has been compared to a great hero of the past; Beowulf is now considered a great hero and his fight against the dragon will be the climax of his story. Also in the same song, the minstrel sings of King Heremod, who in old age got weaker and “was betrayed, ambushed in Jutland.” ( Heaney 921-922) Beowulf is compared to King Heremod, so he is compared to yet another great king of the past. The minstrel sings of how Heremod died when he was old and weak because he was betrayed. Because this song is sang due to celebrate Beowulf’s triumph, the same fate is likely to befall him. This implies that Beowulf will be betrayed while fighting the dragon and that this battle will take place when he is old and weakened. Beowulf relies directly on stories on the past to foreshadow upcoming events. Similar to the ideals of a warrior inside the poem, the foreshadows are blunt and are presented in a straightforward manner so it is easy to identify their meanings.

Beowulf gets called to take care of a monster problem for his friend Hrothgar who is the King of the Danes and his people are getting slaughtered by a monster called Grendel. Long story short, he kills Grendel and that upset Grendel’s mother, who is like a troll, so now Beowulf has to deal with Grendel’s mother, which he does. After slaying the monsters, receiving gold, land from his own king, King of the Geats, Beowulf doesn’t die for many years until he has to go kill a dragon, which he dies from the poison from the dragon not from the loss of blood. All of this is relevant because being the one to bring death make Beowulf a hero and a king, he doesn’t just grow but flourishes. He has already done all the growing up needed to conquer all the problems he may encounter; he probably would have survived the dragon bite if it was not for the poison. Death comes to Beowulf like it does to everyone but that doesn’t stop his story because someone wrote it down.

Similar to most Pagan-based works, Beowulf puts an emphasis on the concept of Wyrd, or fate, while also integrating the Christian notion of God’s will. The Anglo-Saxons believed that every person’s life would eventually conclude due to the vast array of dangers in the world and therefore, they expressed the importance of fame and reputation in order for your name to live on forever. As Beowulf states, “Fate goes ever as fate must” (Heaney 445). Beowulf was aware that his life would come to end when the time was right and he knew that he could not change the outcome. Beowulf and many other Geats and Danes have this outlook on life and they let it