Beowulf's an okay read. Too much of it is about information of the rebuilding of Herot though and it gets boring relatively quickly. After the week of reading I am now forced to do a thesis upon five topics. I chose the stuggle between good and evil using objects from the poem. If you want to read the into of my thesis, I'm posting it below.
Martin Lau
Between Good and Evil
Want to read a book about a complete and utter killing machine on the side of goodness that has no remorse for decapitation and malicious amputations of his evil adversaries? Like Dante’s Divine Comedy, the epic poem Beowulf, recently translated from Old English by Seamus Heaney, there are several references to the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil. A depiction of a heaven and hell in the poem is one of the more prominent notes.
Herot itself was a representation of a heaven that was supposed to be as if it was one of the wonders of the world. “He handed down orders for men to work on a great mead-hall meant to be a wonder of the world forever” (L. 68 ). Herot is portrayed as an eternal palace that would stand to the ends of time. Additionally, Herot can be described as this magnificent tavern that towers over all. “The hall towered, its gables wide and high and awaiting a barbarous burning” (L. 81). Herot seems as if it is meant to be this awe inspiring paradise so to speak. Furthermore, it seems as if Herot was meant to amaze everyone who saw it. “He took over Herot, haunted the glittering halls after dark, but the throne itself, the treasure-seat, he kept from approaching; he was the Lord’s outcast” (L. 166). It’s shown as this dazzling hall but I find it ironic that Grendal cannot reach the throne at the end of the hall. It seems to be a reference how Satan was banished from heaven and was never allowed to return.
Hell, in Beowulf can be represented as Grendal’s marsh. “In off the moors, down through the mist bands God-cursed Grendal came greedily loping,” (L. 710). Grendal can be shown leaving his marsh in a manner as if he were a demon from hell. Likewise, Grendal’s marsh is Grendal’s final resting place that seems only fit for a demonic creature such as Grendal. “With death upon him, he had dived deep into his marsh-den, drowned out his life and his heathen soul: hell claimed him there,” (L. 849). The words,” hell claimed him there,” seemed like when Grendal died in his marsh, he died in hell. Furthermore, when Grendal was raiding Herot, many times he took soldiers captive and butchered them to eat. “… he grabbed thirty men from their resting places and rushed to his lair, flushed up and inflamed from the raid, blundering back with butchered corpses,” (L. 122). This can be portrayed as a punishment of hell such as in Dante’s Inferno, those who were wrathful, ended up in a pit ripping each other to shreds day after day.
A depiction of a heaven and a hell in the poem is one of the more prominent notes. Herot itself was a representation of a heaven that was supposed to be as if it was one of the wonders of the world. Hell in the poem though can be represented as Grendal’s Marsh. So if you want to read a book about a complete and utter killing machine on the side of goodness that has no remorse for decapitation and malicious amputations of his evil adversaries, pick Beowulf.
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Wow! I love your piece of writing!