Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf and the Hero Myth

Beowulf and the Hero Myth

Beowulf contains a myriad of different heroic ethical and social

values. Most of these values are ingeniously rooted within, or made evident

by the opposing forces of the poem. The initial opposing force arrives in

the form of Grendel, a vile creature who's rampages mirror that of a modern

serial killer. As the poem draws toward the conclusion, it focuses on the

dragon, a creature developed by the poet to solidify the rise and fall of

the archetypal hero.

After Adolf Hitler failed in his artistic studies at Vienna, he

began to develop what would become a reign of terror on those who were not

like him. His backlash towards a society that rejected him as an artist

spawned his anti-Semitic and political beliefs. The same anti-societal

anger has found its way into the minds of countless other killers, both

past and present. Take for example Theodore (Ted) Bundy, who in 1978, after

watching students drink and dance in a college bar, witnessed "a healthy

ritual of joy from which we know he forever felt exiled". Shortly

thereafter, Bundy left the bar and traveled to the Chi Omega sorority

house where he watched from outside, entered, and then killed two girls and

wounded two others.

Just as Bundy had done, Grendel watched and surveyed from the

distance. He waited outside the great hall, listening to the mirth and

celebration from within. He hated them. The revelers inside felt no "misery

of men." They were not uninvited, outcast, and below the social class of

Hrothgar's company. These feelings of inadequacy propel Grendel to

slaughter those who oppress him. For "twelve winters" he smashes bodies

and eats his victims, creating a bloody rampage and a dire need for a

savior.

The question of Grendel's origin is difficult to trace. The author

remains ambiguous throughout the poem, referring to Grendel as biblical,

but also suggesting that he is human. The original manuscript often refers

to Grendel as "man", but man" with a long vowel meant evil, whereas "man"

with a short vowel literally meant a man. It cannot be certain which

pronunciation the author intended, what has been butchered in the

translation, or whether this was meant to be a crafty play on words.