Not Modern English but Close Enough

While reading Old English in the epic poem Beowulf it was difficult to discern that the word ‘Eorlas’ means ‘Earls’ in what I will be referring to in this blog post as Modern English.  While it was easier to figure out that the word ‘gōd’ means ‘good’ in Modern English. **I would like to note that when I use the term Modern English I do not mean Early Modern English, instead I mean the form of English that is commonly used today.** After taking a closer look at the Old English version of Beowulf and Canterbury Tales in Middle English it became a little bit easier to figure out what certain words meant but my confidence in my translation of many of the words on the page was still nowhere close to what it is when reading Modern English or even when I read in French, a language that I have been studying for a little over five years.Does this make Old English and Middle English as foreign of languages as French, Spanish, and German?

Beginning to read Canterbury Tales was almost as scary as reading Beowulf at first, if not scarier because at least Beowulf was completely translated on the next page, where as Canterbury Tales just had a few words translated in the margin. I was able to comprehend the text especially the first few lines “whan that Aprill with his shoures sote/ The droghte of Marche hath perched to the rote” (ll.1-2). Many of these words look very similar to the Modern English counterparts such as ‘whan’ meaning ‘when’ and ‘droghte’ meaning ‘drought.’ Once I looked at the text as being an older form of English verses an the entirely different language that it had seemed to be at first it became a lot easier. I found that more and more words automatically translated themselves into Modern English in my head the more I read.

After learning how to pronounce words in Middle English, I was amazed at how much easier it was to comprehend the Canterbury Tales when I was reading it aloud, even though it sounded like the monk's chant from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. After rereading the General Prologue while listening to it, I was amazed that I understood about eighty percent of what I read. When comparing the language in Beowulf and Canterbury Tales it is apparent that even though the text of the Canterbury Tales is in Middle English it is a lot closer to the version of English that we read today than the Old English of Beowulf is. Many of the words in Middle English look similar to the words we use today though the spelling of many of them is a little different. For example: “that fro the tyme that he first bigan/ To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,/ Trouthe and honour, freedom and curteisye” (ll. 44-46). The word freedom is the same as it is today however the word honour has an extra letter and the word trouthe has two extra letters. I’m not sure there are specific words that I wish we still used but I wish that we kept the original spelling of many of these words. 

This is what I think of when I am read the Canterbury Tales out loud, it certainly is not Modern English...but it is close enough: 

Hero???

What is a hero? Who are the heroes in Beowulf??? Well according to the oxford dictionary a hero can have several definitions. It is ”a person, typically a man, who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities and/or the chief male character in a book, play, or film, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.”

Although Beowulf was more than likely written before this definition came out, it really describes Beowulf. HE is the main character who is admired and known far and wide for his achievements, bravery, and strength. Beowulf’s first achievement in the epic poem is his defeat of Grendel. He rips off Grendel’s arm with his bare hands. “Sinews split and the bone-lappings burst…Grendel was driven under the fen-banks, fatally hurt, to his desolate lair. His days were numbered.” ll 816-820. This heroic man then had to defeat Grendel’s mother, which was not as easy a task as it was Grendel. Beowulf’s last and final task was defeating the dragon. He has saved his land from a dragon, which was destroying buildings and setting things on fire. Is Beowulf a hero for killing all of these monsters????

Grendel is a descendent of Cain. Cain was punished by God for killing his brother. Grendel does kill men every night from Heorot Hall, is this what makes him evil? One way to look at Grendel is to see him as a three year old who is throwing a temper tantrum. He first starts to attack Hrothgar Hall because it is built and made way too much noise for his liking. The reader does not know exactly what Grendel is or how old his kind can live up to. The poem states, “Spurned and joyless, he journeyed on ahead and arrived at the bawn. The iron-braced door turned on its hinge when his hands touched it. Then his rage boiled over, he ripped open the mouth of the building, maddening for blood” ll 720-724. Grendel sounds like someone who is mad and holding a grudge. He is an outcast, who probably just wants someone to understand him. He had to have been eating something before Heorot Hall was built. Has anyone tried to talk to Grendel???

Grendel’s mother is also seen as a monster in the poem. Is she really? Or is she just doing what any other mother would do??? Beowulf does state that it is better to seek vengeance than to give into mourning. What mother wouldn’t want to fight for her child? Grendel’s mother only kills ONE person. A life for a life. That is all. Is that not fair in their day? I think so. Beowulf has to GO to her lair and seek her out and kill her.

Towards the end of the poem, Beowulf defeats the dragon. The dragon is upset because a man stole a chalice from in front of his sleeping face. It is not the fact that the dragon has a huge treasure, it is the principal. People have destroyed dragons and chased them to live in caves and such. The dragon kept to himself for a long time and did not bother anyone. Until some random person comes into his “house” and steals. Who wouldn’t be mad? I would. The dragon did not even kill anyone. He only set things on fire. He is not a murderer like Grendel and his mother. In this situation, I feel horrible for the fate of the dragon. However, he is seen like a monster and Beowulf is seen as the “hero.”

Who is the monster?

First, let me get the cat picture out of the way:

The dragon (as well as Grendel and his mother, but even more so) in Beowulf is a symbol of senseless violence, which stereotypically ends in everyone important dying sooner or later, even for the mighty and superhuman Beowulf. Throughout the poem, Beowulf stresses the very real danger he faces of dying a violent and horrific death just about every time he goes off to fight. There are no subtleties when it comes to the consequences of violence in this poem.

 There is some explanation as to why Grendel and his mother attack: because Hrothgar’s hall Heorot is built on Grendel’s territory, he is an outcast, and his mother simply is motivated by her grief to avenge her son’s death. They are also described as having human-like forms, but descendants of Cain, so ya know, obviously considered evil beasts. At the very least, there is some evidence for Grendel and his mother as simply being two very misunderstood human beings, who due to strange circumstances started a killing spree. But Beowulf has been keeping busy on a killing spree too…

The dragon lacks human attributes and the poem doesn’t give us anything to go off of to defend him. The dragon’s only goal is to keep the entire pile of booty, down to every goblet, from getting taken and used for any human’s monetary benefit. The dragon is a stand-in for anything that gets in the way of building wealth and power, so any country that stands against building kingdoms.

Beowulf has a very “Rule, Britannia,” attack now, ask questions never attitude. Beowulf never questions his violent lifestyle, but I have to wonder if his life really meant what he thought it meant, just playing the part of the superhuman whose aim is to merely fight the apparently evil creatures? Or maybe he is the monster?

I still haven’t decided, but here is a funny Disney comparison:

Rep your city Beowulf!

Reading Beowulf for the first time was a very bold and exciting experience! I was pleasantly surprised about the many themes centered around the character Beowulf. One central theme really allowed me to understand in greater detail about Beowulf and his world. Reputation. This was a reoccurring theme that grabbed my attention on numerous occasions. Thus, this theme helped me see the value it had on Beowulf.   

From the start, Beowulf was so concerned about how the rest of the world viewed him. He first introduces himself on line 707 stating, "I am Hygelac's kinsman", "because all knew of my awesome strength. They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts"(29). Beowulf made sure to include all the honor he received from his king in order to enhance his reputation.   

In addition, when Unferth assaults Beowulf at the banquet saying, "Are you the Beowulf who took on Breca in a swimming match on the open sea, risking the water just to prove that you could win" (35)?  This slur was the worst insult for Beowulf. He feels so strongly about how people see him, how dare someone try to ruin his most valuable possession. Since Unferth's insult accuses Beowulf of participating in a swimming contest and losing, Unferth and others may think that if he could not win a silly swimming contest, he surely would not be able to defeat Grendel. Because of this, Beowulf prepares to meet Grendel and further his success as this would only enhance his fame.  

Near the end of the poem, when Beowulf is preparing to meet the dragon, he "KING BEOWULF" considers his reputation. He brings 11 thanes with him to help avenge the dragon. However, he insists on telling his men that this was not their fight. "Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning" (171). Beowulf doesn’t even think about how him dying will affect his people. In fact, Hrothgar even tries to warn Beowulf of the danger of his pride. When reading, I was hopeful that Beowulf would have taken into consideration the bigger picture. It's not about him avenging the dragon by himself but as a leader, he should trust help from his men.  

Concluding this poem "He was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame" (3182). These lines proved that in Beowulf's world, reputation and fame go hand in hand.

Beowulf; who’s your Daddy?

            As I read the epic, Beowulf, I thought deeply about the idea of family, origin, and personal identity relating to these topics.  From the start of the poem every single person mentioned is not their own being, but a son of a great father. In the back of the text one can find a layout that maps the lineage and relation between the characters; that is the definition of a tight-knit family.

            Even more catching on the idea of identity is the main reason why Beowulf traveled to Heorot in the first place.  He decided to go to settle a deal that his father, Ecgtheow, made many years ago with King Hrothgar. The gravity of these family ties of identity is especially shown on lines 371 through 389 when King Hrothgar recognizes Beowulf simply by his name, but mainly through his family and this deal.

            Further, I thought of identity as who a character’s family member is and how that affects their outcome in the epic.  For example, Beowulf is seen as a great warrior, not only by his achievements, but also his almost godly bloodline. On lines, 399- 455 (but really the whole epic) Beowulf talks about his great feats, but later he also talks about how he has the support for these killings by his elders. Is he destined to be a great?  

            In contrast, Grendel is said to have a “whole ancestry [full of] demons and ghosts” (lines1356-1357) and if that isn’t bad enough his mother is said to be a “monstrous hell-bride” on line 1259.  Compared to Beowulf, Grendel doesn’t have much going for him or his identity.  Maybe that is why he is such a Hell child: pun intended?

            Which leads me to the end of Beowulf, and the dragon.  This dragon is particularly catching to identity because he really doesn’t have one.  The dragon does not have a flawless blood line to rely on like Beowulf, but he also doesn’t have the scarlet A marking him as the descendant of Cain. So, why is he so fussy about that goblet? Only judging by outside sources, I can assume that he is like all dragons that just loves treasure.  Maybe it’s just that simple? It’s never that simple! I believe that it is the original author of Beowulf sneaky creative writing skills juxtaposing the idea of proud identity, unfortunate family ties, and not having a name tag in the world to show the downfall of each identity issue.  

An Achilles' Heel Full of Pride

This is my second time reading “Beowulf” and even though the text remains exactly the same, the way I have absorbed the poem has completely changed since five years ago. The first time I read it, we were reading merely for plot, and if you can believe it, we were to create a puppet show. With the embarrassing but successful puppet show behind me, and the plot already in mind, I was much more focused on the flow of poetry and the words chosen for this particular translation. Seamus Heaney provides us with a smooth and simple read that is delicately intertwined with great descriptive adjectives and leaves a positive taste on the tongue if read aloud.

After finishing the poem and reading through the first batch of blogposts, it is almost overwhelming to realize how many directions you can run with this in. I have chosen to somewhat run back to the start. I think that the character of Beowulf definitely is symbolic of many things, but I mostly think that he is a forewarning of some sort. At the time that this was written, there obviously were not several copies of this floating around. As Dr. MB shared, this was the only copy of the poem and we almost lost it to a fire. Poems and stories had to mostly be shared by word of mouth. “Beowulf” could certainly be a poem that was spoken to an audience or performed with music and style.

There are so many great verses included, but one in particular stands out to me. Line 1758 states, “O flower of warriors, beware of that trap. Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride” (121). This line of warning stands out to the reader and foreshadows that Beowulf will kill himself with his own pride. It is easy to imagine that this poem could be a warning not only to Beowulf but to a community. It could be a religious warning to not fall towards Paganism and to embrace Christianity, or it could just be a lesson to not be prideful and to love and work towards your community and family.

The verse continues, “For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low…” (121). This line continues to predict the plot. Beowulf seems unstoppable in every swim meet and fight he fancies to join and he certainly seems almighty and superior in the fights against Grendel and his mother. But soon we see Beowulf grow older and he seems to be far from the strong and mighty, unstoppable warrior he used to be. The verse finishes with, “your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away” (121). The last line is chilling and ominous to the audience, but I do not think Beowulf takes it seriously.

The passage reminds me a lot of Greek Mythology and the stories told by the muses about peoples’ fate and how they will meet their downfall. Beowulf does not try to run from his fate, but he does not try to swallow his pride and it is his pride that takes him in the end. Beowulf ventures off towards the dragon claiming that this is his fight and his alone. I wonder if he truly means that this is his fight to die in? It is his pride that kills him as he could have easily fought the dragon with all of his men, but instead, he remains prideful and now goes straight into a fight to the death. It is almost as if he knows that death is calling him in his fight and that it is his time to go. He never rids himself of pride, but he almost accepts it. I believe it truly sinks in when he calls for his men and only Wiglaf appears. He must realize that no one comes, because he has always fought alone because of his pride and ultimately, he must face the results of that pride alone.