"Let whoever can win glory before death." When Beowulf said this he reminded me of a young war hero who died during the Trojan war; however, when Odyssey talks to Achilles in the underworld, Achilles regrets dying young despite his honor. He would rather have lived as a poor slave who died at a ripe old age. This made me wonder if Beowulf would regret dying young if he lost his battle. But then I noticed Unerf who lent Beowulf his sword was completely honest in his fear and reluctance in fighting Grendel's mother. This led me to the conclusion that there are three types of people. The first is like Unerf who is honest about his fear of death and does what he can to survive. The second is Achilles who in the beginning thought dying for glory and honor was worth sacrificing a long life; however, he revealed his true colors in the underworld. The last is Beowulf who I believe would not regret dying young for honor. The reason I say this is because before jumping into the water he tells the king what to do if he does not win the battle, and then he jumps in before anyone could respond because he was "impatient to be away." He knew the cost and the consequences if he died in battle for glory, so if he had been fatally wounded or been killed by Grendel's mother he would not have regretted his desicion to die young for the sake of glory which makes him a true hero.
P.S. I commented on Abbey Griffins post.
Hmm, I think it would be really interesting to have a scene with Beowulf in the afterlife. Because I almost get the impression that amongst all the honor and the grandeur of the time and language, the characters run headfirst into battle without really thinking about the consequences. I really like those parallels!
ReplyDeleteYeah they pay no heed to the afterlife. It stated many times that Beowulf had no fear when running into battle. I think this also speaks to their view of bravery and courage.
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