Theme Of Vengeance In Beowulf

Literature spans across the entire world, shaping civilizations, and ultimately reflecting the values of the society from which it has risen from. Within every literature is “a preview of human experiences, allowing us to connect on basic levels of desire and emotion; through tragedy and romance, joy and sorrow, in epiphanies and denial, in moments of heroism and in moments of cowardice.1 ” Beowulf, an old English epic poem, is the highest achievement of Old English literature in its often bold and strong quality, but also mournful and elegiac spirit; this poetry emphasizes the sorrow in the futility of an Anglo-Saxon warrior’s life. Beowulf has multiple themes and meanings for readers to explore but the most important theme is vengeance within their warrior code. In Beowulf, vengeance reflects the pivotal values of the Anglo-Saxon society and serves as the main motivations of many of the characters that ultimately lead to the main conflict that pervades and eventually dominates the story, feuds. These feuds are explored through the digressions introduced in the story; the saga of Finn and his sons, and the fate of the Geats after Beowulf’s death with the Frisians.

In order to adequately understand Beowulf, we must discuss the importance of the Anglo-Saxon Heroic code called Comitatus, a system of loyalties, and the roles of loyalty and vengeance which dictated an Anglo-Saxon’s warrior’s life. Each king and their retainers, including Beowulf, lived by such a code. The Germanic code emphasized above all loyalty to one’s chief as one of greatest virtues yet brought with it the darker concept of vengeance to one’s enemies. In their loyalty, a warrior must be prepared to die fighting for their king. In their vengeance, a warrior be ...

... middle of paper ...

...ng three central instances of feuding: Grendel against man, man against man, and man against dragon. However, it is not the monsters, but ultimately the desire for vengeance and consequent feuding between tribes that lead to the demise of these great heroes and kings in Beowulf’s time . Beowulf exemplifies that vengeance is a monstrous appetite, forever bloodthirsty and never filled, where nothing can be born but sorrow – manifested in the last words of the poem to conclude the fate of Beowulf’s people. In this Anglo-Saxon society where the pillar of these kings and warriors is the memory of their defeated valor based on the Comitatos -- there was no other recourse or end. Why? Vengeance, in a sense, is an action but fundamentally human emotions provide the reason and context. These human emotions are innate within our nature and impervious to the passage of time.