One of the biggest questions, not only in literature, but in natural life, is if revenge is an acceptable excuse to take a life? In simpler terms, can revenge, under any circumstance, ever be justified? People across time have tried to argue for and against the idea that taking a life for revenge is justifiable. People like Heinrich Heine, a German poet, journalist, and literary critic, believe that “we should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged.” In other words, take revenge on enemies and then forgive what they have done. However, on the opposite spectrum are lobbyists of peace such as Ghandi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, who say “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.” In other words, forgive …show more content…
In the opinion of the anonymous writer who wrote Beowulf, revenge can only lead to one unquestionable and unchangeable outcome–death. The poem Beowulf was written sometime in between the eight and tenth centuries and is a story about a man’s heroic quest to find fame through his God-given strength, courage, and generosity. In order to achieve the fame he seeks, he courageously volunteers to encounter three resilient mystical creatures in battle. All of which are inspired to inflict harm on others in the name of revenge. Interestingly, each one of the evil characters, Grendel, Grendel’s Mother, and the fire-breathing dragon, seek revenge for something that had affected their life. When Beowulf confronts and battles Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon, at the core, every confrontation is because something is seeking revenge against something else. Intriguingly, every character who hunts for revenge, eventually looses their life in the end. In addition, each of the three monsters in this poem exemplify three human weaknesses: envy, jealousy, and revenge which seemingly all lead to a fixed outcome. That outcome being …show more content…
After the death of her son Grendel, Grendel’s mother yearned for vengeance for the person that ripped her son’s arm off, eventually causing the death of her son. In a conversation between King Hrothgar and Beowulf after the death of Grendel, Hrothgar claims that Grendel's mother is, "hiding, glutting on [Grendel's] corpse"(ll.1331-1332). Grendel's mother, just like any other parent would, mourns for the loss of her son. Even though Grendel's Mother is presented as an evil mystical character, she still inherits a common human trait–anger. She feels that she must return the pain that Beowulf had bestowed upon Grendel. This anger inspires her feelings for vengeance for it is hard to just forgive Beowulf after killing her son. Hrothgar continues in his conversation about Grendel’s Mother, "This force for evil [is] driven to avenge her kinsman's death"(ll. 1339-1340). The anger weld up inside Grendel's mother surrounds her like a cloud where the only thing she cares for and desires is revenge for her
Consequently, Grendel’s mother was furious once she found out her son had been killed. She blamed Hrothgar and the entire village, but she later found out Beowulf slaughtered Grendel. For example, “Grendel’s mother sad heart, and her greed drove her from her den on the dangerous path of revenge. When Grendel’s mother was coming up with a plan she thought about taking Grendel’s head back so Beowulf could get credit for killing him. It was too late for Grendel’s mother, she already made her decision, she wanted to kill Beowulf too. Hrothgar
Grendel’s mother is portrayed in a negative and objectified image. First, she has a sexual appeal. Grendel’s mom wears no clothes; her skin is gold, which covers her body. She is half woman and half monster. She has a promiscuous look that draws in attention from the opposite sex. In addition, she has a sexual attitude. Right when Beowulf enters the
Revenge motivates many plots in the poem but the greatest one would be of Grendel’s mother. Her loyalty and love for her son helped her during her battle. I still feel like she did no wrong when it came to trying to kill Beowulf. The anger and pain he caused her was worth his death. If the tables were turned Beowulf would have tried to kill her for killing his significant other or
Another part of the text which is evidence to Grendel not being the monster he is made out to be, is the relationship dynamic between Grendel and his mother, and also his mother’s actions after his death. The actions of Grendel’s mother are not those of a monster, but those of any normal woman who has children. After her son was killed (murdered and then part of his body was taken as a trophy), she just wanted to seek revenge. “But now his mother/ had sailed forth on a savage journey,/grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.” (1276-1278). Grendel’s mother displayed the emotions of complete sadness and despair over her son; it seems more of a human response rather than that belonging to a monster. Considering that the bond of a mother and son is supposed to be the strongest bond of all, her actions after his death are in a way justified. It is easy to see that the character of Grendel is much more than just a monster through his mother’s subsequent actions of taking down Grendel’s arm from hanging in Heorot, and feuding (in her own way she was trying to feud, to obey the code as it was in this time. When she went to Heorot to seek her revenge, she did not
When Grendel's mother arrives to torment the Danes, seeking vengeance for her son’s death, Beowulf’s fight with Grendel's mother
Anglo-Saxon culture consisted of receiving fame, glory, and wealth through acts of vengeance and courage. “Beowulf” portrays these parts in great detail and shows how destabilizing it can be. Through acts of vengeance, a never ending war occurs.
Vengeance is an important value that causes misfortune in the story of Beowulf. It brings not only Beowulf, but many others, fame and glory, plus, wealth as well. It is not a sustainable value for it brings everyone in the story only destruction. The tribes that have been bonded together by this value get destroyed but it. The value of courage is tied into the story since almost the entire story is based on vengeance.
The oldest of the great lengthy poems written in English and perhaps the lone survivor of a genre of Anglo-Saxon epics, Beowulf, was written by an unknown Christian author at a date that is only estimated. Even so, it is a remarkable narrative story in which the poet reinvigorates the heroic language, style, and values of Germanic oral poetry. He intertwines a number of themes including good and evil, youth and old age, paganism and Christianity and the heroic ideal code, into his principal narrative and numerous digressions and episodes; all of which were extremely important to his audience at the time. Vengeance, part of the heroic code, was regarded differently by the two distinct religions.
The story of Beowulf is a heroic epic chronicling the illustrious deeds of the great Geatish warrior Beowulf, who voyages across the seas to rid the Danes of an evil monster, Grendel, who has been wreaking havoc and terrorizing the kingdom. Beowulf is glorified for his heroic deeds of ridding the land of a fiendish monster and halting its scourge of evil while the monster is portrayed as a repugnant creature who deserves to die because of its evil actions. In the epic poem, Beowulf the authors portrays Grendel as a cold-hearted beast who thrives on the pain of others. Many have disagreed with such a simplistic and biased representation of Grendel and his role in the epic poem. John Gardner in his book, Grendel set out to change the
Revenge is presented both as an honest motive and a rhetorical tactic in Beowulf. For Beowulf himself, reprisal of
Throughout the book Beowulf by Seamus Heaney there were many instances of revenge demonstrated by different characters. An example of when a character tries to get revenge is when Grendel’s mother comes to fight Beowulf. Grendel’s mother shows up to fight Beowulf since Beowulf had previously killer her son in battle. Another example of when a character exacts revenge is when Grendel comes to fight Hero and his people. Grendel wants revenge because he strongly dislikes Heorot and the cultural practices of the Danes. Next, at the end of the book the dragon attacks due to an accidental theft of a treasure that was the dragon’s. In the poem Beowulf, which was written, by Seamus Heaney, it is human nature to demonstrate the concept of revenge which was shown by Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the dragon, and Beowulf.
revenge.The characters in the book, they all have their own survival skills also have their own revenge plan .Beowulf fight for his people in the country;Grendel’s mother revenge for her son; Wiglaf fight for his King and loyalty; They all did really good revenge for their own people, for their family and for their loyalty.In the epic poem Beowulf, the idea of vengeance is exemplified through the actions of Beowulf, Grendel’s mother and Wiglaf.
A huge theme in Beowulf is the revenge ethic that all of the characters possess. During the time in
The poem Beowulf includes three battles where Beowulf has to defeat the monsters known as Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon. Although he is successful in defeating the three monsters, his preparation for fighting them, his motivation for going into battle, and the conclusions of the battles demonstrate similarities and differences.
While both blood feuds and wergild deal with murder, a blood feud requires a death for a death, while wergild uses gold to make amends. When looking at this in a biblical perspective, it is important to understand how these relate to justice. Biblical justice is a far cry from revenge. Vengeance, however, takes the shape of both blood feuds and wergild, and while blood feuds are fueled by revenge, wergild is important to bring justice in Beowulf’s society. Vengeance in Beowulf takes two main forms: the blood feuds, such as that of Grendel’s mother, and the concept of wergild; only wergild, however, conforms to the biblical definition of justice.