Feuds, Revenge And Violence In Beowulf
Feuds, Revenge and Violence in Beowulf
Heorot is once again filled with laughter and joy after the mighty Beowulf restores peace to the Danes by disposing of the nefarious monster Grendel. King Hrothgar and Queen Wealhtheow throw a lavish party honoring the great Geatish warrior, Beowulf. Treasure is passed out and stories are told. One scop tells the tragic tale of "The Fight at Finnsburg" whose message about peace weaving does not get through to the King and Queen. When the night comes to an end, all seems well in the land of Denmark, but little do the people in Heorot know, danger is on her way. Grendel's Mother is going to pay a visit to Heorot in the dark of the night and avenge the death of her son by murdering AEschere, the King's right hand man. In fact, revenge is a thread that weaves the past tragedy of Hildeburh, the present state of Heorot and the future treachery of Grendel's Mother together. The feuds caused by revenge only leads to violence which leads to more feuds and we are able to see the unstoppable cycle that inevitably follows.
During the celebration of Grendel's defeat, King Hrothgar is so thankful, he tells Beowulf, "I will love you like a son, /cherish you for life" (ll.947B-948A). Hrothgar acknowledges that Beowulf's strength is a divine gift from God and that he wished he could adopt Beowulf. The praise was probably not meant as a literal adoption, but it displayed a "special and lasting bond of gratitude, as Hrothgar's flowing magnanimous speech indicates" (p.319).
Beowulf replies with a mixture of "heroic pride and youthful courtesy" (p.319). He says that he wished the King had been able to witness the way he binded Grendel in "hard clinches" (ll.963B). Beowulf describes with triumphant irony the way he welcomed Grendel as a guest. Because of the energy of his language we are able to see the "enormous effort" (p.319) that Beowulf went through to defeat his hellish enemy Grendel. The King is touched...
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