According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary Vengeance or revenge is defined as “a punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense”. Vengeance could be classified as a form of justice at times. And is seen through Beowulf and Iliad. In Beowulf, it seen through numerous characters. Revenge is a unique emotion in which is can be very motivating to accomplish a certain task, to serve for justice. In Iliad, Achilles using the feeling of Revenge to complete his journey. Comparing the two stories, vengeances is shown in both, and both stories have a unique way of related the events of the story to the events and the culture and society at the time the stories were written.
Revenge in Beowulf:
In Beowulf revenge is a motivating
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The love a mother shares for her child is unexpectedly powerful, and although Grendel 's mother may be weaker and smaller in size compared to Beowulf, she has he own advantages, as she is fighting in her own cave which was under the lake. She put up a fight under her mother’s fury, and her spike and heath of revenge as she realizes that it was Beowulf that killed her son, although Beowulf defeated her with the help of his weapons and his skills from being a warrior. Grendel’s mom was the first fight of revenge within the poem, and it served as a warning to mankind, that everyone must not fight based purely on revenge, and it will not end in favor of the city. It therefore, proves that that holding on to someone or something for long periods of time, could eventually destroy oneself mentally or physically. It is interesting to that the revenge of Grendel’s mother almost was a example to take not, that revenge doesn’t solve our problems, this seems to be mentioned again at the end of the poem by Wiglaf.
Another example of revenge seen in the poem Beowulf is the Germanic tribe. With this example, it is unique in the sense that the Germanic tribe was used in hopes of peace in Garland. Hrothgar was hoping to make peace by having his daughter marry into the Hathobards. Although upon, Beowulf return, he saw that this plan had its flaws and was unsure of the success of the plan.
The last main example of revenge seen in Beowulf
The first character did revenge is Beowulf.Beowulf begins with the story of Hrothgar and his warriors are living in the Heorot. Grendel attacks the hall and kills and devours many of Hrothgar's
It was a lot of hate and revenge going on between the characters in Beowulf. The poet of the epic poem Beowulf used revenge to drive to the poet. To illustrate the plot of Beowulf the author added many cases of vengeance starting with Beowulf vs. Grendel.
In today’s society, we see violence as a way to cope with all types problems. Humans have used violence as a way to resolve issues since ancient times. The poem “Beowulf” was written between the eighth and eleventh century by an anonymous author. The poem recounts the story of a brave warrior, named Beowulf, who battles three great monsters. Two of the monsters, Grendel and Grendel’s Mother, terrorize the people of Daneland and the third monster, the Dragon, lives in Beowulf's homeland. The epic poem “Beowulf” illustrates and normalizes the idea of violence within the Pagan Warrior Culture.
“[Grendel’s] mother had sallied forth on a savage journey,/ grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge” (Beowulf, 1276-1278). Her desire to avenge her son is carried out, but it ultimately leads to her death. Beowulf’s desire to garner fame and respect overpowers all of the raw emotion and anger felt by Grendel’s mother. She serves the purpose of showing the purest form of revenge, and how its blindness can lead to one’s demise.
Vengeance has always been a fierce feeling homo sapiens receive. Humans will always ache for revenge when a terrible event occurs to his/her loved one. A mother of a murder victim will always desire revenge. A father of a kidnapping victim will always demand revenge. Vengeance is a vital part of human nature. In Beowulf, Grendel’s mother represents vengeance as part of the human condition. After her son, Grendel, is exterminated, she immediately craves revenge on Beowulf and his people, the people who murdered her son. The fire-breathing dragon also portrays the emotion of vengeance in Beowulf. The dragon becomes incredibly vengeful due to a fugitive stealing its treasures from its cave. The dragon then raids the countryside and burns down homes in
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.
When Grendel's mother arrives to torment the Danes, seeking vengeance for her son’s death, Beowulf’s fight with Grendel's mother
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 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
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.
While today revenge is regarded as an impolite and impractical practice, in times past it was normalized, even celebrated. Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant and the acclaimed Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf describe vengeance as a ceremonious cornerstone of British, Saxon, Geat, and Danish society. In these societies partaking in revenge was widely regarded as noble and morally upright, though from a modern perspective these acts of vengeance would be regarded a petty and unjust. While characters in both The Buried Giant and Beowulf liberally practice and celebrate revenge, Ishiguro and Beowulf’s Anglo-Saxon author seem to critique the medium which their characters observe.
Beowulf’s portrayal of death and violence may be a reflection of the violence in war, more thoroughly derived from, “And he fell as fate ordained the first to perish, rigged out for combat. A comrade from our ranks had come to grief in Grendel’s maw: He ate up the entire body. There was blood on his teeth, he was bloated and furious…” (2077-2081). Given that, the poem is littered with multiple other examples of brothers in arms fighting for the same noble cause; they faced tragedies and utterly gruesome violence as soldiers would. The audience of the time frame can relate to action scenes of war making them that more prideful of their own victories in battle. Consequently, Beowulf’s action would quickly engulf the Anglo-Saxon troops with excitement, and then war would be the demise of an enemy courageous enough to challenge such rallied
However, revenge motivates the people in this pagan society, and before long, news of Hrothgar's troubles reach far and wide, including Geatland. Beowulf feels compelled to come to Hrothgar's aid, not only for fame and glory, but also to settle an old feud between their kin. Before long, Beowulf, "the Geat captain had boldly fulfilled his boast to the Danes: he had healed and relieved a huge distress, unremitting humiliations." (L. 827-830) Before Beowulf killed Grendel, one of his Geats had to die by the hands of Grendel. According to the honour of the heroic code, vengeance had to be imposed "and compensation, a price in gold, was settled for the Geat Grendel had cruelly killed earlier." (L. 1052-1054) This is another example of how revenge is intricated into their society, and in this case Hrothgar, being the noble king that he is, pays the
Vengeance is an important value that causes many 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 vengeance ties courage to it since it takes courage to follow through with someone’s desire for vengeance.
In the poem Beowulf, the most evident theme is the importance of the Germanic heroic code. The heroic code was what made Beowulf so famous and god-like during his renowned life. The code is displayed in the opening lines of the poem and continued to show up throughout the duration of the poem. Heroism is often painted with a protagonist, which causes some acts of heroism to be overlooked when an antagonist follows the heroic code. Throughout the poem, there are many acts of heroism displayed, but many people overlook the way that Grendel’s mother followed the Germanic heroic code. Grendel’s mother follows the Germanic heroic code by showing courage, strength, and honor as Beowulf does throughout the poem, something that is frowned upon in the Anglo-Saxon culture.