Beowulf Setting Analysis

Settings can be one of the most neglected aspects in a story. But setting is a tool a writer can use to great effect. Because the author is trying to convince a reader that the story really happened, having a convincing place for the story to happen is vital. The words and actions and characters present in the story could be exactly the same, but the scene becomes very different when it happens in a different setting. The most obvious function of setting is to give the story a place to happen. The setting does more than provide for a location for events to occur. It adds atmosphere and mood, affect the characters, and influence events or outcomes. The setting also influences what meaning the reader takes from the text. Setting can be

Each of these settings - the mead-hall, Grendel’s mere, and the burial mound are described with language and symbolism use to illicit intense emotions from the reader. A range of symbolic and political sense of land are shown to saturate the

Hrothgar’s hall is the centerpiece and heart of his realm (built when his “kingdom” had become wealthy and powerful) - “fortunes of war favored Hrothgar. Friends and kinsmen flocked to his ranks, young followers, a force that grew to be a mighty army. So his mind turned to hall building” (64-68) - the great mead-hall and a place of socialization, political interaction and celebration. It is describes as “a great mead hall meant to be a wonder of the world forever: it would be his throne-room”(70-71).. This makes it feel less like “just a structure” and more like a formal place where great things would happen; such as ceremonies and rituals of importance in the culture, handing out of riches and rewards to those who earned the recognition. The hall is the centerpiece of the community, thus it is described as “handsomely structured, a sturdy frame with the best of the blacksmith’s work inside and out” (772-774), a sheer keep of fortified gold( 715 -716), and “mead-benches were smashed- gold fittings and all” ((776-777). “it was a paved track, a path that kept them in marching order” (321-322) also suggests orderliness and structure in the