Theme Of Chaos And Order In Beowulf

Beowulf faces the internal conflicts, self concern and betrayal, when he is much older and king. Even though he was much older he decided to battle a fire dragon because he was his people’s hero. Though Beowulf had helped so many people when he was young and strong, none of his comrades came to help him. Instead, they ran for their lives. “And only one of them remained, stood there, miserable, remembering as a good man must, what kinship should mean.” (Beowulf 43) Beowulf and his one comrade, Wiglaf, kill the dragon, but Beowulf is injured and soon dies. The last internal conflict Beowulf has before he dies is the betrayal of his people.

It has been many long years since our lord Beowulf returned. Not long after our return home, Lord Beowulf became our king of Geatland and our soil became prosperous like never before. The soil and forest bore more food than all of us could carry by the barrow-full and the people of our land could eat abundantly without fear of hunger. As for Beowulf, he could not come across any adventures as great as that of the slaying of Grendel and his mother. Many warriors came to challenge him but

“[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.

The theme of Beowulf had the good vs.evil theme to the story when the monster is Grendel is the monster and his mother also a threat to herot and Beowulf is the hero to solve the problems of Grendel is making. Beowulf is the hero in the story and Grendel is the villain. Beowulf is the faced with many trials throughout the story with unferth and the Grendel.

Beowulf would be king, and reign for fifty long years over Geatland. A dragon would soon begin to menace King Beowulf’s kingdom. As an old man, Beowulf would have to suit up once again to slay the monster. Beowulf would not fight alone as Wiglaf and his men would join the king in battle. Beowulf and Wiglaf would slay the mighty dragon, a dagger to its fiery heart would end its life. Even though the mighty dragon had been slain, the same fate to came for old Beowulf. As he lies there, in the last minutes of his life he asks Wiglaf to bring the dragon’s riches to him. As Beowulf passed he asked Wiglaf to build him a tower. A tower to remember his greatness, his courage, and his fame. The task would be completed. A mighty tower would be built, filled with the dragon’s riches along with his other possessions.

Theme is the central topic of a given text. In Beowulf, war is the theme that is presented thrice within the progression of the story. The first of the three wars is with the monster, Grendel, the second is with the monster’s mother, and the final battle is with the dragon. Within each of these battles, the author subtly questions the reasons for each of them, and whether or not they are actually practical and necessary. The first of the monsters that Beowulf faced had his grievances plainly stated in lines 104 through 105 when it reveals that Grendel “had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters.” This revelation, although it does neither condone nor justify his actions, provides his reasoning for feasting upon the sleeping men. Some may argue that Beowulf, himself possesses many undesirable qualities for a hero. Chih-chiao Joseph Yang addresses this argument in his essay entitled “Humanizing the monsters: a schematic reading of Beowulf” when he states that

As Beowulf descends to the lair where Grendel’s mother resides, he becomes a guest of hers, though ironically one who strives to kill his hostess. His sword is described as being unable to “bite” (Beowulf 1524) through her body, a term which echoes Grendel’s feasting earlier in the poem. The act of making his sword bite into a creature that is indirectly cast as his hostess breaches the rules of hospitality, and this illustrates how the rules of hospitality have been sabotaged by the monsters in the poem. Even the rhythm of the fight scene between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother is reciprocal: Beowulf flings his sword away, grips her shoulder and throws her to the ground. In retaliation, she clutches him tightly in her embrace, makes him fall, and pounces on him. She draws a knife but fails to cut through his chain-mail, and in return, he swings a sword and slashes through her neck, killing her (1535-68). Once again, reciprocity ends in death. While this dispatching of the second monster seems cause for rejoicing, it also reinforces the notion that there is no way to end the cycle of hospitality and reciprocity without

Beowulf could not defeat the dragon on his own and received help from that ancient sword of Grendel’s mother and a loyal warrior named Wiglaf. Beowulf could not win this battle as he grew weak after the dragon bit into his flesh. As Beowulf was close to death, the dragon passed sooner than him. When the hero finally took his last breath, Wiglaf ordered the kingdom to bury all of the found treasure with Beowulf in order to show their mournfulness and regret for not being able to save their King. The treasure was burned with Beowulf’s body in order to prevent those full of greed from taking the treasure and distributing it unfairly causing abuse and imbalance of power by those who did not deserve that treasure in the first

The theme of Beowulf: A New Telling is dark versus light or good versus evil. The king of Danes, Hrothgar is a king loved by his people and shows great light and good in him. He is a strong, generous king. He is one of the main protagonists of the story and almost dies at the hands of Grendel, until his lovely wife Wealtheow saves him. Wealtheow is also an example of light in Beowulf: A New Telling because she cares so deeply for Beowulf, and gives him a magnificent gold ring. Her love and light thwarted Grendel as she threw herself on top of Hrothgar to die with her love. Grendel is an example of dark and evil in the book. Grendel is a cold-hearted murder who literally leaves a trail of blood wherever he goes. Grendel is fat, greedy, and the Son of Cain, which shows darkness that contrasts against the great light of Wealtheow and Hrothgar. Grendel lives in the Fen, a dark and evil place filled with horrific creatures such as a horse with no head and hands instead of hooves. The Fen is full of

After fifty years of what seems to be peace, the dragon appears to reign terror on Beowulf’s kingdom that he has taken power of. A robber had taken the dragon’s treasure that it was peacefully protecting prior to its terror. By this time, Beowulf is around ninety years of age. He knows it will be a tough fight, and therefore brings warriors along with him. After he calls the fierce dragon out of its cave, all but one of the warriors flee the scene. It is only Beowulf and a man named Wiglaf “Watching Beowulf, he could see How his king was suffering, burning. Remembering Everything his lord and cousin had given him,Armor and gold and the great estates Wexstan’s family enjoyed, Wiglaf’s Mind was made up”(Beowulf 107). Together, they slay the dragon, but Beowulf dies at the end too, making Wiglaf the king. The dragon was protecting the treasure and the thief did not steal for his own desire, it was for his masters in which he was beaten by “But the thief had not come to steal; he stole, And roused the dragon, not from desire But need, He was someone’s slave, had

Hrothgar’s courage and strength diminishes as he moves out of Heorot into huts sitting outside his grand hall. He no longer feels like the king he once was because he cannot protect his kingdom. Even Hrothgar’s men lose their courage and faith that Beowulf will triumph over Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s Mother, the Danes retreat in fear:

“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.

Beowulf is an incredible, and at times unbelievable, hero who can and will attempt to defeat anyone to keep others safe. This will eventually lead to his death as he successfully defeats the Dragon. But as ruling king at the time his subsequent death leaves his people in a worse predicament than before. Now, without a just ruler, the kingdom will possibly undergo uncertainty and chaos as no heir to the throne is

Beowulf is an epic story that relates well to the time that it was introduced by having the stories of the epic battles and the defeats of the treacherous monsters that kept everyone entertained during this era. Not only does Beowulf represent the era well, but it also has very interesting characters, themes and symbols that help teach us lessons that are very much so needed in today's society.

The theme of Beowulf is heroism. Beowulf himself represents the heroic ideal because of his features, strength, and courage, but also because of his intelligence and honor. Beowulf is proud of his strength and great his honor. When Beowulf goes to Heorot, waiting for Grendel, he refuses to keep a weapon. He believes in himself that he can defeat the monster who has devoured many men without using any weapons. It turns out that Beowulf's intelligent approach was right. Glory is also one of the themes in Beowulf. In the beginning, Beowulf comes to Hrothgar's rescue, not just out of generosity but out of a desire to win glory for himself in battle. Beowulf's quest for glory never ends and drives him, in his old age, to face a foe he cannot