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.
