Triumph is an intriguing word that can mean to be victorious in a test of ability or to accomplish a goal. The victory can be little minor accomplishment that you achieved to one of the biggest victories achieved in human history. In Beowulf, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and Ebscohost, victory is exhibited through triumphs over the evil lurking, accomplishments in the steps to become a unruly tyrant, and the feat of overcoming prejudice in order to obtain equal rights.
Triumph can not only be a thing attained by good, but evil as well. One such example, in Beowulf, is when Grendel caused terror and took over Herot from the Danes. Grendel hated that the Danes were enjoying themselves and the music that they played caused pain to him.
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He mercilessly killed many of the soldiers to take over Herot. As a result, Herot was abandoned for 12 winters. Grendel had managed to triumph over the Danes and kept Herot along with their king, Hrothgar, in fear. He also fought against the righteous and killed them as well. Grendel’s triumphs where told far and wide as he stalked Hrothgar’s men. Most of the time, however, victory is attained by a force of good triumphing over a force of evil. An excellent example of good triumphing over evil can be shown in Beowulf when Beowulf managed to claim victory over Grendel and killed him. Beowulf had managed to wrestle with Grendel inside of Herot after he set up a trap for the beast. Grendel had come in and he killed the first of Beowulf's soldier. He then tried to eat Beowulf, but was unable too because of Beowulf's strength. Grendel had then become filled with fear. He attempted to escape then, no longer seeking the dinner that he wanted. Beowulf and Grendel then wrestled in Herot. The Danes shook in terror as they saw Herot being shaken back and forth with both of them inside as well as hearing the shrilling screams from inside. These screams belonged to Grendel from which Beowulf had ripped off his arm. Grendel was then able to flee, but just to his den where his fate led him to die because of his wound. Beowulf had managed to triumph over Grendel and he had his torn off arm as proof of his victory. Sometimes good needs the help of divine intervention in order to triumph over an evil that is very powerful. A perfect example of this in Beowulf is when Beowulf must fight against the mother of Grendel, who is even more powerful and aggressive than the Grendel himself. Grendel’s mother seeks vengeance for the death of her son. The Danes yet again ask for Beowulf’s help against such a beast. Beowulf then leaped in the lake with Ring-woven mail armour and a sword. He then started fight her under the water. She tried to hurt him with her claws but was unable to because armour didn't let her penetrate. She then took him to her humble abode where they would continue the incredible battle. Beowulf attempted to end it quickly with a swing of the sword towards her head, but no sword could penetrate her evil skin. She persisted to attack Beowulf with her claws and “Edgetho’s son, and died there, if that shining woven metal had not helped” (Beowulf 628-629). He then swung the sword with all of his remaining strength and managed to behead the evil creature. He then took back Grendel’s head and showed it as proof he truly killed Grendel for good. It took four of Beowulf’s soldiers to hold the head. As mentioned before, triumph can not only be when it comes to testing ability, but also when it comes to a person achieving an accomplishment. One great example of this is in the story of Macbeth. This scene in Macbeth takes place at Inverness, which is Macbeth’s castle. Macduff enters the castle after everyone has woken up in the castle. He has found out the dead King Duncan along with the guards with the bloody daggers that killed him. Everyone thinks that the guards may have killed Duncan. What everyone doesn't know is that this was a plan made by Macbeth and mainly his wife, Lady Macbeth, so that Macbeth can gain the crown and become king. Macbeth then almost screws up the plan by killing the two guards and then Macduff becomes suspicious of him. A stroke of luck then comes on to him when Donalbain and Malcolm, who are the sons of Duncan, flee from the scene because they don't want to be accused, but now everyone except Macduff accuses them of killing Duncan. This is meant it was a huge victory for Macbeth because he managed to get away with Duncan’s murder and it is being blamed on someone else that's not him. Just like Lady Macbeth says “A little water clears us of this deed” (Shakespeare 734). It is a triumph but only a temporary one. There are also minor triumphs that you can achieve to secure and maintain your position in a certain hierarchy. A perfect example of this is in Macbeth is when Macbeth goes out and sends three murderers to go and kill Banquo and Fleance. This scene takes place in a park near the palace of Dunsinane. Macbeth wants to kill Fleance and Banquo because of the prediction of the witches saying that Banquo’s sons will become kings. He wants his own son to be king so he must kill Fleance. He agrees with three murderers that if they do kill them, he will pardon their crimes. He specifically chose these criminals because they feel a hatred towards Banquo Macbeth even asks Banquo where he is going to tell them of the location. Macbeth wants to kill Banquo because he is suspicious of him and thinks he could cost him the crown as well. The 3 murderers stop Banquo and Fleance on the road when they are heading back. They then reveal themselves as murders and launch at Banquo. Banquo then yells at Fleance to run away from them. The murderers manage to kill Banquo, but not Fleance. The murderers report back to Macbeth and the people think that Fleance killed his own father. This is meant it was a minor victory for Macbeth because it means he retains his position as the undisputed king and cannot be overthrown, for now at least. The main character can sometimes go from a hero to a villain and this calls for a new hero to step up to the plate to claim their own triumph and make this right.
A perfect example of this is in Macbeth when the righteous Macduff challenges the tyrannical Macbeth to claim back Dunsinane. This scene takes place in the gardens of Dunsinane. Macbeth is ruling as a tyrant and the people want to get their kingdom. Macduff and Malcolm unite forces to defeat Macbeth. They storm into the castle and all of Macbeth’s servants all abandon him. Macbeth is challenged by Macduff to a duel so that they can fight over the kingdom. Macbeth at first refuses, but they do eventually fight. He then gloats saying that he has a charm which was given to him by the witches that no man born of woman can kill him. Macduff then tells him to become worried because he was untimely ripped from his mother’s womb meaning he can kill him. Macbeth then says his final words that he will not surrender. Macduff then comes in later with Macbeth’s head meaning he had triumphed over Macbeth and Malcolm becomes king. The once heroic Macbeth admired for his victories was executed and known for his evil and tyrannical rule. This play truly deserves the title The Tragedy of
Macbeth. There are real-life people who have also triumphed for great causes. One example was when Martin Luther King Jr. led the Montgomery Improvement Association. The black community was mad because Rosa Parks was kicked off of her seat for a white man. King was then chosen to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the course of the 381-day movement, he was arrested, jailed, his home was bombed, and many threats were made against his life. The boycott ended with a mandate from the Supreme Court outlawing all segregated public transportation in the city. This was a huge victory for not only King because it established him as a figure in the Civil Rights Movement, but also a triumph for the black community overcoming the prejudice against them. Sometimes you must take a stand against what is popular to do what is right and triumph. Martin Luther King Jr. did a perfect example of this. The March on Washington is one of King’s crowning achievements. He led the historic march on August 28, 1963. It was on the Lincoln Monument where he then said his “I Have a Dream” speech. It influenced the Civil Rights Act of 1964, providing for the desegregation of public accommodations and for non-discrimination in employment. It was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson and it helped the black community triumph by desegregating them and making them equal. Triumph was shown in many ways such as accomplishing something or a test in someone's abilities to overcome the test. In Beowulf, it was the triumph over Grendel and Grendel’s mother for the safety Danes in a battle of Good vs Evil. In Macbeth, it was the accomplishment of becoming king by murdering Duncan and eliminating all those who defied him. In the EbscoHost Database, it was Martin Luther King Jr. overcoming obstacles so that black people and white people would be treated equally without segregation. These examples were all according to their situation and were pretty similar in that they all required commitment and hardwork to overcome the mountain and to claim victory.
In Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.
Beowulf wants to fight Grendel, a monster wreaking havoc, and is boasting that he is more powerful and courageous.
As a young kid Nate had imagined he was fighting feared monsters, many times more than once. He would defeat these monsters and parade around like he owned the world. Nate was imagining that he had much glory from killing these monsters, like the way that Beowulf had real glory from defeating his monsters. Every time that Beowulf killed a monster he gained more glory and treasure. As the leader of the Geats he had to be fearless to show his glory and prove his ability as a leader. In reality there are two kinds of glory, real earned glory and glory made by telling false stories or making things seem better than they really were.
Beowulf is an epic poem that explores many themes and motifs within the Anglo-Saxon society. The Author, who remains anonymous, composed the epic around 1000 A.D. The literature focuses mainly on a Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf, who comes to the aid of Herot, a small town ran by King Hrothgar. Beowulf arises to rid the town of evil forces, such as the demon monster Grendel, and his savage mother who seeks revenge for the death of her son. As he ages, Beowulf presumes his title as king of Geatland, still eager to protect his loyal followers from danger. Though he is viewed as a godly force, the situations and the behaviors that Beowulf expressed, sometimes deviate how the Anglo-Saxons viewed his character. From this, the theme of "Good vs. Evil", which can be easily depicted in the literature piece, was constantly contradicted throughout the entire poem.
Scyld Scefing often deprived his enemies, many tribes of men, of their mead-benches. He terrified his foes; yet he, as a boy, had been found a waif; fate made amends for that. He prospered under heaven, won praise and honor, until the men of every neighboring tribe, across the whale’s way, were obliged to obey him and pay him tribute. He was a noble king! (BEO 4-11).
A victorious person always comes out of the event with a trophy, whether it be a certificate or a monsters head like in the epic poem, Beowulf . Trophies are an object of value that demonstrates the effort that went into it to receive it. Beowulf himself is a trophy to the Dane kingdom because he is they're valued warrior and in return is spoiled with the treasures of the kingdom in order to convince him to stay. The fight didn't end with Grendel's arm being torn off bloodily and single handedly, the vengeance followed through the family of monsters. Furthermore prompting another monster that had been hiding in it's dark and vengeful shadow waiting to come out and find revenge, this monster being Grendel's mom. She ends up killing one of King Hrotghar's best soldier in her revenge spite because to her it was an eye for an eye situation, but she didn't stop there.
The epic poem Beowulf translated by Heaney is a quest story as the protagonist Beowulf is guided through the five steps of a quest to eternal life.
It is common opinion that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. This was probably true because at the time when it was written, most of the few people who knew how to read and write were in the clergy. There are various references within the poem to elements of the Christian religion. However, the story is about Pagan people and certain aspects of their culture are even glorified. The ambiguity of Beowulf’s religious content has caused confusion as to what significance religion had in inspiring the author and in what manner the author meant to inspire or influence his audience. I do not think that Beowulf is a Christian allegory because Beowulf had very little in common with the Biblical figure of Jesus Christ. I think that religion was not the primary thematic concern of the writer. Although there are discrepancies between the two styles of thinking, Beowulf seems to praise values which were considered moral and good among all humanity, both Christian and Pagan.
In Beowulf's adventurous life he undertakes challenges that normal men cannot even conceive of engaging. He lived by honor and glory and sought them in everything he did. The greatest honor to him was to die in a valiant battle; therefore he was fearless and fought with ferociousness, not caring if he lives or dies. Knowledge of his past conquests had been spread throughout the land and people revered him everywhere. This great success in battle won him great honor and also made him very confident. Beowulf readily boasted of his victories:
Throughout the epic Beowulf attempts to introduce himself as someone worthy of glory by boasting of his skills and deeds. These boasts show Beowulf’s glory seeking tendencies. One of these boasts
As the welcoming celebration for Beowulf goes on, Unferth begins to ridicule Beowulf about his swimming competition with Breca. Unferth is jealous and feels threatened by Beowulf " for he would not allow that any other man of middle-earth should ever achieve more glory under the heavens than himself." (Norton p. 33) Unferth is a very peculiar character. Although he has committed the horrific crime of killing his brother(s), he is privileged enough to sit at the feet of the king, a very respected position. His sin,an enormous violation of the comitatus, suggests that there is something wrong in Hrothgar's kingdom and perhaps helps to foreshadow its destruction. Ultimately, it will be destroyed, as the text says, by a fire after " sword-hate between son-in-law and father-in-law to awaken after murderous rage." (Norton p. 28).
There was a huge influence of both paganism and christianity that can be noticed in Old English Poetry. To better understand these two values, let us explain what paganism and christianity mean. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. As presented in New Thestament, Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God and the Messiah prophesied in The Old Testament. Christianity began in the 1st century AD as a Jewish sect, and shares many religious texts with Judaism, specifically the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. The name Christian means belonging to Christ or partisan of Christ. As far as Paganism is concerned, the word comes from latin paganus and means a country dweller, rustic. It is a term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or cultic practises or beliefs of any folk religion a nd of historical and contemprorary polytheism religious in particular. (...) Characteristic of pagan traditions in the anscence of proselytisation and presence of a living mythology which explains religious practice. The term Pagan is a Christian adaptation of the goy of Judaism.
It is in human nature that the more power one desires the more corrupt actions one must do to attain it. In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, a Scottish noble's craving for power leads him to do terrible deeds that leads to his demise. Shakespeare shows that power corrupts by using Macbeth who corrupts under the thought of have power over others. Macbeth becomes corrupt under the thought of becoming king and gaining almost complete control over the people that he rules. Macbeth wants the power badly enough to do horrible deeds such as commit regicide. Lady Macbeth becomes very ambitious and allows herself to become seduced to the idea of becoming Queen. Her ruthlessness urges Macbeth to commit regicide by questioning his love for her and his own manhood.
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions.
A good first example of this principle can be illustrated by the subsequent murders that Macbeth committed after he killed Duncan. Macbeth had just killed the King of Scotland and blamed it on his son. It worked, and he became King. However, he remembered the witches' prophecies. They claimed that Macbeth would be King, but it would be Banquo's children that would follow after him. This made Macbeth very angry, and he risked everything to become King. Unfortunately, his family would never wear the crown after his death.