Iliad Vs Beowulf Research Paper

Written around 800 B.C.E. and 700 A.D. respectively, The Iliad and Beowulf are epics telling the stories of heroes and their triumphs throughout their lives. While there are heroic characters in both books, some major ones stand out. In The Iliad, Achilles and Hector emerge as heroic since both heroes manage to fight bravely for their homeland. In Beowulf, the hero is Beowulf due to his courage for both his people and the Danes. Although The Iliad is focused on the lives of young heroes while Beowulf focuses on the journey of one from young to old age, there is a common theme of revenge and its effects on mortals and nonhuman entities. In both books, the desire for revenge can change a character's morals by compromising their sense of humanity.

After Achilles kills Hector to avenge the death of Patroclus, he isn't satisfied with the damage he has done and acts out cruelly. In The Iliad, it states, “At last he’d leap to his feet, wander in anguish, aimless along the surf, and dawn on dawn flaming over the sea and shore would find him pacing. Then he’d yoke his racing team to the chariot-harness, lash the corpse of Hector behind the car for dragging and haul him three times round the dead Patroclus’ tomb and then he’d rest again in his tents and leave the body sprawled facedown in the dust”(Iliad 24.14-21). Homer uses diction and a shift in tone to convey Achilles’ cruel and nearly inhumane acts against Hector’s body. The words “leap”, “pacing”, “lash”, and “dragging” use a harsh tone to convey Achilles’ anticipation of relieving his anger. After he drags Hector's corpse, the tone becomes peaceful. He uses the phrase “rest again” to convey that only after completing this act was Achilles able to relax. Imagery is also used in the phrase “flaming over the sea and shore” to contrast the calmness of the sea to the boiling anger of Achilles only relieved after mutilating Hector’s body. This shows that revenge causes Achilles to act viciously towards his enemies. A similar pattern can be seen in Beowulf as well. Beowulf, having already defeated Grendel, challenges Grendel’s

The Iliad opens up in the last year of the Trojan war. The first conflict addressed in the book is Agamemnon disrespecting the high priest of Apollo, Chryses, by taking his daughter Chryseis as a war prize. This angers Apollo, causing him to take action. The text states, “What god drove them to fight with such a fury Apollo the son of Zeus and Leto. Incensed at the king he swept a fatal plague through the army -men were dying and all because Agamemnon spurned Apollo's priest”(Iliad 1.9-12). Homer uses diction and figurative language in this quote to convey how much he cares for his priest. The words “incensed” and “spurned” both have negative connotations conveying that the wrongful actions of Agamemnon enraged Apollo causing him to seek revenge. The phrase “swept a fatal plague” conveys how quickly Apollo punished the Greeks due to the action of their king. Apollo, a god getting revenge on behalf of a mortal shows that he cares about Chryses. This shows that revenge causes Apollo to feel and act on human emotions weakening the divide between humanity and divinity. This is shown in Beowulf as well however not through the divine but instead through the evil. Beowulf’s last battle before he dies is against a dragon outraged at the theft of the goblet he has guarded for three