Ideal

The most important bond in Anglo-Saxon society was that between a lord and his retainers. How do “The Seafarer” and “The Wife’s Lament” reveal the Anglo-Saxon ideal of loyalty and the tragedy of separation or exile from one’s lord?

Loyalty between a lord and his vassal characterizes one of the ideals of Anglo-Saxon society. It was believed that fame, happiness, success could only be gained through loyalty. “The Seafarer” illustrates this idea of loyalty as well. After line 64, the seafarer laments that there are no rulers present on Earth anymore. He then gains solace from his isolated lifestyle through allegiance to his only lord, God. “Under his lord, Fate is stronger and God mightier than any man’s mind.” (pg 91) In contrast, in “The Wife’s Lament”, the wife remains loyal to her lord, her husband. Despite being banished by her husband’s kinsman, unable to see her love, she reflects on the grief her husband may feel. “Full often here the absence of my lord comes sharply to me.” (pg 93)

Grendel’s Mother

6. In a brief essay, describe Grendel’s mother. Base your description on the details you find in the text, and add details of your own. Tell what she looked like, how her voice sounded, how she smelled, how she walked. Describe what she ate and how she passed her time. Use as many sensory details as you can: You want your readers to feel they are meeting the monster face to face. How do you want our readers to feel about the monster? Do you want horror, or are you interested in making her somewhat sympathetic? The words you choose will make the difference.

The thought of Grendel’s mother brings terror to the hearts of the Danes. However, she is gravely misunderstood. Cursed to live as an outcast as a result of her descendant’s sin, Grendel’s mother “lives in secret places, windy cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours from the rocks, then runs underground, where mist steams like black clouds, and the groves of trees growing out over their lake are all covered with frozen spray, and wind down snakelike roots that reach as far as the water and help keep it dark”. It is only in these places where she and her son are safe from men, seeking to hunt them down. Feared for her monstrous appearance, Grendel’s mother’s claws constantly drip blood as a result of protecting her lair from surrounding monsters. “The fight brought other monsters swimming to see her catch, a host of sea beasts.” She spends her days doting on her only son. Every day, she wakes up in the morning and prepares breakfast. Slithering on the floor like a snake, Grendel’s mother cleans the cave from top to bottom. Then she drives off the beasts constantly attacking her cave. Towards the end of the day, she prepares dinner. One day Grendel, sorely spoiled and envious of the sounds emitting from Herot, decides to seek his feast there. Though fearful of the wrath that may befall them but unable to deny her only son, Grendel’s mother allows him to leave. Every night, she waits patiently for her son, recalling the troubles that befell her ancestor, Cain, who decided to commit murder.
After learning of the attack on her only child, in grief, Grendel’s mother attacks Herot. Upon seeing her son’s arm hanging high from the rafters of Herot, Grendel’s mother attacks blindly with grief and carries off one of Hrothgar’s men and her son’s arm. Lying in wait for her son to die, she notices a stranger invading her lair. This stranger, the man who attacked her son, has come to kill her. She welcomes the opportunity for revenge. Unable to pierce the warrior’s stranger outer skin, Grendel’s mother drags him back to her lair. “And all at once the greedy she-wolf who’d ruled those waters for half a hundred years discovered him, saw that a creature from above had come to explore the bottom of her wet world. She welcomed him in her claws, clutched at him savagely but could not harm him.” There a fierce struggled ensued. Her voice, rugged with grief and rage, cried for revenge. Finally she had her chance. “And in an instant she had him down, held helpless. Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew a dagger, brown with dried blood and prepared to avenge her only son”. However, she was unable to pierce his chain mail. Then the warrior stole a sword from the walls, an ancient sword made by giant ancestors and passed through Grendel’s mother family. Using this sword, he slew Grendel’s mother. There, in her dark lair, she died unable to avenge her son and destined to return to the hell of her ancestors.

Elements of Literature

Anglo-Saxon poetry, like that of the epic Beowulf, contains many of the same literary elements. For example, they all embody Anglo-Saxon ideals, such as allegiance to a lord. All Anglo-Saxon poems contain alliteration in order to obtain a singsong effect and stress syllables. These literary elements can also be observed in the lines of Caedmon’s Hymn. The hymns praise God, thus showing loyalty to the Lord. “When Caedmon awoke, he remembered everything that he had sung in his dream, and soon added more verses in the same style to a song truly worthy of God.” (pg 85) Caedmon’s Hymn also contains the alliteration present in Anglo-Saxon poetry. For example, examine lines 2 and 3. Line 2 states “The majesty of his might and his mind’s wisdom” while Line 3 states “Work of the world-warden, worker of all wonders”. The alliteration in Line 2 (majesty, might, mind) is also where the stressed syllables occur. The same applies for Line 3 (work, world-warden, worker, wonders). Similar to Anglo-Saxon poetry, Caedmon’s Hymn also contains four stressed syllables per line and a caesura in each line.

Grendel

Grendel, the archetype of enemies, represents evil. This evil is apparent in everything from his origins to his lair. Descendant of the first murderer and spawned by demons, Grendel “bears God’s hatred.” Grendel dwells in a deep, dark marsh surrounded by misty hills, bogs, trees and fog. Vexed by the sound of laughter and music emitted from Herot, Grendel decides to terrorize Danes. Becoming an “infamous killer”, Grendel attacks the Danes in the night, chewing and grinding their bones. Dubbed the “afflicter of men, tormenter of their days”, Grendel continues to feast on the Danes until the hall of Herot becomes deserted. The Danes flee Herot, while the remaining ones are so desperate that they attempt pagan ceremonies to rid themselves of Grendel. Grendel, “Almighty’s enemy” symbolizes death, evil, hell, and the devil.

universal themes

Typical of epic poetry, Beowulf embodies the attitudes and ideals of Anglo-Saxon Society. Warfare dominated Anglo-Saxon society. Therefore, warriors were highly important members of society. Superior physical strength, valor, and honor represented the ideal characteristics of a warrior. Beowulf consisted of all of these characteristics. By even declaring that he would fight Grendel, Beowulf displays courage. Crossing the treacherous seas to Denmark proved his courage. Finally, the Danes had someone to rely on. In addition to courage, Beowulf had honor. Not only did he come to Herot to protect the Danes, Beowulf came to repay a debt. “My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king.” Hrothgar once helped Beowulf’s father so Beowulf wanted to repay the favor. Beowulf also had superior physical strength. For example, though no weapon could pierce Grendel’s body and none could kill him, Beowulf succeeded. “The infamous killer fought for his freedom, wanting no flesh but retreat, desiring nothing but escape; his claws had been caught, he was trapped.” Loyalty was also an ideal characteristic of Anglo-Saxon society. Accompanied by 14 loyal men, Beowulf successfully crosses the sea to Denmark. With the help of a loyal follower, Beowulf defeats the dragon plaguing the Geats. Through loyalty to the liege or lord, Anglo-Saxons could gain fame and success. Boasting, a typical practice in Anglo-Saxon society can be seen in Beowulf. For example, upon first meeting Hrothgar, Beowulf brags about his strength. “I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth.” “I swam into the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one, death was my errand and the fate they had earned.”
The epic of Beowulf also reveals some universal themes. For example, heroism is a theme widespread in literature and society everywhere. Like Anglo-Saxon society, present-day society value courage, loyalty, and honor. Americans honor their soldiers for the valor in battle by awarding them the Purple Heart. Veterans, valued members of society, receive priority for employment. Loyalty in battle is important, with one motto being, “Leave no man behind.” Fame and success is an ever-present goal, whether it is those hoping to becoming celebrities or gain success in school. Fictional heroes embody the characteristics of superior physical strength and a willingness to protect the people. The exploits of these heroes, such as Superman, Spiderman, and Batman, have been passed from generation to generation. The theme, everyone needs a hero, is expressed thoroughly by the epic Beowulf.

theme

The poems of the Anglo-Saxon period contain themes and techniques common to heroic narratives like Beowulf. For example, “The Seafarer”, “The Wife’s Lament”, and Beowulf all contain the theme of loyalty to a lord. In “The Seafarer”, this loyalty is to God. “Under his lord, Fate is stronger and God mightier than any man’s mind.” (pg 91) In Beowulf loyalty is displayed through the actions of Beowulf’s followers. One lone man, Wiglaf, returns the help his lord, Beowulf, fight against the dragon. It is because of this loyalty that Beowulf is able to defeat the dragon. In “The Wife’s Lament”, the wife displays loyalty to her husband despite being banished by his kinsman. “Full often here the absence of my lord comes sharply to me.” (pg 93) These three poems also contain sea imagery and a similar theme lamenting their inevitable fates. For “The Seafarer”, his inevitable fate is to return to an isolated life on the sea. The inevitable fate of the wife in “The Wife’s Lament” is to remain in exile. Beowulf’s fate is to die.
Bede also contains similarities to Beowulf. These similarities involve structure and the section called “Caedmon’s Hymn”. “Caedmon’s Hymn” contains the same rhythm as epic poems. There are alliterations in each line, “The majesty of his might and his mind’s wisdom”. In addition, there are four stressed syllables, and a caesura. Like Beowulf, “Caedmon’s Hymn” uses certain terms to describe God. In “Caedmon’s Hymn”, God is described as “Lord of Glory”. In Beowulf, Hrothgar calls God, “King of Glory”.

tone

The epic closes on a somber, elegiac note—a note of mourning. What words or images contribute to this tone?


An epic extolling the adventures of Beowulf, the epic begins a somber note and ends the same. Beowulf, responsible for freeing the Herots from the exploits of the monstrous Grendel and his mother, rules Geat for 50 years in peace. However, this peace is threatened when a thief steals a jeweled cup from a dragon’s lair. Enraged by the theft, the dragon lays waste to the land of Geat. Though considerably old, Beowulf succumbs to his heroic nature. To save the lives of the people of Geat, he and a group of eleven warriors travel to the dragon’s lair to kill it. The ensuing battle results in the desertion of Beowulf’s warriors. However, with the help of one warrior (Wiglaf) who returns, Beowulf is able to defeat the dragon. Yet a fatal wound obtained during the battle results in the subsequent death of Beowulf. While the plot of the ending of the epic is tragic itself, the author of Beowulf uses words and images to contribute to this somber and tragic tone.
The author of Beowulf contributes to the somber mood of the epic by describing Beowulf’s final request. Beowulf, fatally wounded during the battle with the dragon, requests that Wiglaf brings him the dragon’s treasure. Upon seeing this treasure, Beowulf states, “To the everlasting Lord of All, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been thus allowed to leave my people so well endowed on the day I die” (47). It is unceasingly tragic that a hero such as Beowulf, who worries not of death but of how his people will live without him, should die. The mood is further darkened by the request of Beowulf regarding his burial. Asking that his pyre be placed in a tower so that all may see it, Beowulf bestows his war attire on the young Wiglaf. To Wiglaf, Beowulf says, “You are the last of us, the only one left of the Waegmundings. Fate swept us away, sent my whole brave high-born clan to their final doom. Now I must follow them.” (47-48) With these final words lamenting the end of his clan, Beowulf dies. The epic ends on a final mournful note with the Beowulf’s warriors praising his heroic deeds and bewailing his tragic death. “They said that of all the kings upon earth, he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.” (48)