Donaldson's Beowulf
"Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good"
-Beowulf (Donaldson, 12)
The passage that I analyzed spans the action when Beowulf returns to the halls of Heorot after a harsh battle with Grendel’s mother. He returns to king Hrothgar in the great hall of Heorot to say that he has successfully completed his boast and killed Grendel’s mother. Beowulf states that it has been a very difficult underwater battle and that he has barely escaped with his life, “The fight would have been ended straightway if God had not guarded me” (Donaldson, 29). Beowulf mentions this due to the fact that the sword given to him by Unferth, called Hrunting, was powerless against Grendel’s Mother. Hrunting is useless against Grendel’s mother due to the fact that she has the same charm upon her as Grendel did, which is that no normal sword can pierce her skin. Then, by chance, Beowulf finds an ancient sword on a wall during the battle and uses it against the monster. This sword, which was crafted by the giants, is able to pierce the monster's skin and after one swing, the monster was cut in half. After using this ancient sword to murder the monster, Beowulf watches the blade of the sword melt away due to the toxicity of the monster's blood, until only the hilt was left. A hilt is the handle of a weapon or tool. The hilt is decorated with runic symbols and was given to King Hrothgar of the Danes as proof of Beowulf’s exploits. The King is also given the severed head of Grendel as further reassurance that their troubles at the great hall of Heorot is over.
Hrothgar then tells Beowulf, “Lo, this may one say who works truth and right for the folk, recalls all things far distant, an old guardian of ...
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...th for his murders. Beowulf, who is also responsible for the killing of Grendel, is killed as well. The dragon and the trolls, as well as Beowulf, are responsible for their actions. They are all killed: “He would repay Grendel for the many attacks he made on the West-Danes . . . devouring Danish” (Donaldson 28). This is another example of “wergild” being applied.
Wergild was a part of the warrior code. After the death of Aeschere, Hrothgar’s great advisor and friend, Beowulf says to his lord, “Sorrow not, wise warrior. It is better to avenge his friend than much mourn” (Donaldson 25). Beowulf was composed during the most noble of times and we enjoy it for what it is. The greatest treasure Beowulf has to offer us is the escape from our reality into our history.
Work Cited
Donaldson, E. Talbot. Beowulf. Ed. Nicholas Howe. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2002.
Beowulf is one of the most bravest legends. He has no fear! This man will go and fight whoever needs to be fought, with or without help. As soon as Grendel's mother came to get her son’s arm back, Beowulf immediately set out to go find and kill her. He went to the place where she lives and after he plunged into the water, Beowulf swam all the way down to her lair. After he reached the lair, “Beowulf got ready, / donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; / his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail / would soon meet with the menace underwater” (1442-1445). This task also seems to be a death sentence written all over it, but Beowulf looks death in the face, and goes after his mother. He knows that they are immortal, but right next to Grendel’s mother, is the only sword that can kill them. Beowulf is brave enough to grab that powerful sword, and kill both Grendel and his mother. Men today would not do that. Beowulf does not just stop at Grendel and his mother: he continues to fight more monsters to defend what is his. He then took a break and now decides to come home to Sweden. The son of Ecgtheow bids Denmark farewell, and has a moment with Hrothgar. Hrothgar says, “You are strong in body and mature in mind, / impressive in speech. If it should come to pass / that Hrethel’s descendent dies beneath a spear, / … and you are still alive, then I firmly believe / the seafaring Geats won’t find a
Then the Danes decide to go back to Herot and while they are sleeping, Grendel’s mother comes to attack them in order to even the score for the killing of her son. Then she leaves, taking the body parts of her son and Esher (which is one of Hrothgar's close friends) with her. Beowulf attempts to save him by entering the monster-filled lake, although the sword that he uses is useless against the skin of Grendel’s mother. As he continues to fight, he grows tired, but then notices that there is a huge sword on the wall of the battle hall where he was dragged to. The sword just so happened to be a magical one that was blessed by the giants that made it.
(1503-05) > Hrunting is the sword that Unferth lends Beowulf for > the battle against Grendel’s mother. Hrunting is a lucky > sword, “No one who’d worn it into battle, swung it in > dangerous places, daring and brave, had ever been > deserted-�(1459-1461) However, Hrunting is useless against > Grendel’s mother, although no swords made by mortals would > have pierced the monster’s skin.
The pessimism of the poor Danes was palpable. They had even despaired of appealing to the Christian God and had reverted to offering sacrifice to their heathen idols. Grendel had killed 30 warriors the first night and had taken even more the next night. But their pessimism is dispelled by one Beowulf who is ready and willing to sacrifice himself to repay the debt of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father, to Hrothgar. This Geat warrior possesses almost miraculous qualities: “He was the strongest of men a...
In the beginning of the novel, Beowulf takes interest in the plight of Hrothgar, King of Denmark, and wants to help him fight Grendel. Grendel is a large monster that has been harassing members in the mead-hall of the Heorot. Beowulf owes Hrothgar a favor, due to the fact that Hrothgar saved his father in years past. Hrothgar is honored to have Beowulf attempt to fight the swamp monster, and decides to hold a feast in his name. When Grendel shows up to the feast, Beowulf illustrates his bravery by fighting Grendel without any armor. When Beowulf wins the battle by ripping Grendel’s arm off, everyone in the mead-hall praises Beowulf for his acts of courage. In this scene, Beowulf proves that he is a hero by fighting off a monster that everyone else was afraid of. This made him look
The speculation and the resulting stock market crash acted as the trigger for the already unstable United States economy. Due to the maldistribution of wealth and the unstable economy of the 1920’s, the nation headed into a decade of trouble. In response to its economic difficulties, the United States set up even higher trade barriers with other nations, causing more trouble within the nation. Many of the working class lost their jobs, and since these people did not have savings, they were in big trouble. Unemployment grew to 13 million by 1932 as the country quickly spiraled into a catastrophe. The Great Depression had begun due to the maldistribution of wealth, a bad economy based on over confidence, and the irresponsible erratic of the “bull” stock market.
Most Americans began to live a better life from 1922-1929 otherwise known as the seven fat years. This was due to the government’s relaxed approach towards the economy. The laissez-faire system was encouraged because there was little intervention from the state. Businessmen didn’t have to listen to government they could make their own decisions in order to produce profit and wealth. Government’s approach was pro-industry and anti-labour which meant that there was no protection for the workers thus leading to inequality, long working hours and not a enough pay for the workers to really feel happy or satisfied. Powerful monopolies were able to grow unchecked. Although the laissez is a reason for the crash it isn’t the only one reason. It can be argued that the economic isolationism, loans to Germany and other countries and unequal wealth and income etc. were the causes of the crash because America had many more influences than government not intervening and they were involved with a lot of things and people and would come out on the other side biting more than they could chew during the depression.
Ever since humans first learned how to make music with their voices and with instruments thousands of years ago, music has been changing. Some changes took place over hundreds or even thousands of years, stunted by human isolation or by guidelines set in place by religious institutions. The 20th century, in contrast, experienced several rapid, radical changes in the popular genres of music. This made the 20th century a very rich time period for musical culture. These remarkable genres--including, but not limited to jazz, rock and roll, and the music of the “British invasion”--all influenced one another, and all influenced the culture we still live in today.
Another effect of what are called the ‘historical elements’ in Beowulf – the subsidiary stories of the Danes and the Geats – is to give the poem greater depth and verisimilitude. Hrothgar, the Danish king, is a ‘historical character, and the site of his palace of Heorot has been identified with the village of Leire on the island of Seeland in Denmark. The Geat king Hygelac really existed, and his unlucky expedition against the Franks, referred to several times in the poem, is mentioned by Gregory of Tours in the Historia Francorum and has been given the approximate date of AD521 (127).
Beowulf looked over on the wall next to them and saw a magnificent sword hanging on the wall adorned with beautiful carvings, it was blessed with magic. No normal man could ever have lifted that sword, but Beowulf was no normal being. He waited for the right moment to go and retrieve the sword, and when he found the perfect opportunity and he ran straight towards the wall. He pulled the sword down with great force and began running towards Grendel’s mother. Beowulf took in a deep breath as he leaned back and heaved the sword forward. Beowulf had sliced straight through Grendel’s mother’s scaly neck, blood began to pour everywhere and he heard her bones cracking as the sword passed through her.
Within the poem, swords, at one level, are used as a symbol of reward and gratitude. After Beowulf heroically kills Grendel, Hrothgar repays him with a sword, described as, “a victory gift … that was both precious object and a token of honor” (pg. 62 1020-1023). This sword represents Beowulf’s brave battle with Grendel, in which he chose to fight without a weapon, in order to avoid an unfair advantage. Beowulf is portrayed as inhuman because of his phenomenal strength, murdering a monstrous beast with his bare hands, and rewarded with an object he has no use for. Further, a noble king is thought to be someone who rewards his brave citizens and is generous. During this time, kings were among the few people to own weapons of such great value, which expresses the great honour it was to receive one. In addition to the generous gifts from Hrothgar, Beowulf receives a “gem-studded sword” from King Hygelac to celebrate his numerous accomplishments (2193). Further, King Hygelac presents Beowulf with “land as well, seven thousand hides; and a hall and a throne” (2195-2196). By gifting Beowulf with land, his social standings would have risen immensely. However, a single sword, not to mention multiple weapons of such value, would have done this as well. Beowulf became an incredibly respected person after his battle against Grendel. He went from a lower class
Beowulf is called upon again to defeat this monster. Beowulf puts on his armour and takes the sword Hrunting and descends into the monster’s lair. Grendel’s mother quickly grabs Beowulf and takes him to the battle arena. Once there, Beowulf fights and finds his sword cannot pierce the monster’s hide. So once again, Beowulf throws his sword aside and fights hand-to-hand. Yet, he could not defeat her with his hands alone. Then Beowulf sees, “hanging on the wall, a heavy, Sword, hammered by giants, strong And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons.” Taking the sword and holding it high above his head he strikes the monster in the neck cutting deep into the skin, breaking bones and all. Thus ending his second heroic battle with a mythical beast and proving that he is indeed worthy of praise. Yet, this is not the greatest of his deeds.
Authors’ Steven Crane and Jack London are known for their stories using naturalism, the struggle between man and nature. Naturalism is like realism, but it explores the forces of nature, heredity, and the environment on human beings, who are faced with the forces of nature. Both “The Open Boat” and “To Build a Fire” demonstrate how inferior and small humans’ really are to nature. Humans cannot control nature or determine its outcome. In both stories nature is the antagonist constantly challenging the humans’ ability to survive. I chose the topic over naturalistic elements because I enjoyed reading these stories. Both stories have a strong since of naturalism in it and both authors’ are known for naturalistic features existing in their writings. In this paper I will give you more of an insight to what naturalism is and what naturalistic elements are present in the two stories listed above.
The most significant down side to technology is the loss in revenue from album sales. Illegal downloading of music has become prevalent in today’s society, and many artists—major or independent—receive little to no profit from album sales. Many companies, such as Apple, have tried combating the issue with protected file formats, but a loophole has always been found to bypass the protection. Unsigned and independently signed artists hurt the most, as they pay almost everything out-of-pocket to produce their music. The only feasible response to the loss in revenue, artists have found, is to increase tour dates. In today’s age, it is not rare to find artists who tour more than eight months out of each year. Touring has become one of, if not the only, reliable source of income for many
Steve Jones in the article "Music and the Internet" suggests that popular music as well as academic articles relating to popular music were created and distributed by people who didn’t completely understand the idea of the "music industry." He ultimately suggests that today compared to the introduction of popular music, a growing number of consumers are using the Internet to attain music. The internet has drastically changed the distribution systems also creating many ethical problems that weren't found in the music industry before the internet. Because the internet started making a presence in almost every single business, it was almost no question that the internet is bringing about some changes in the music industry; a billion dollar industry. Steve Jones ultimately knew the inversion of the internet would create dominant change in the music industry; one that many popular music artists during the early years didn't think was possible. The article was written in a lot information paragraphs that gave insight to the extreme lack of strong distribution during the early times of popular music compared to modern day. Strong and insightful syntax showed the way many musicians felt that about the way their music was performed and distributed during these times, but had nothing to do about it.