British Lit, etc.

The warrior spirit seems to no longer be a way of life. I imagine that the closest that comes to the idea of glory and honor in battle is in certain armies around the world, fanatics (of any kind), and…sport teams (in a much different sense of the concept). However, in Beowulf, to fight, to have courage in the face of danger, in the face of wanton malice, is the closest to godliness that these barbaric polytheists could come to.

“I Sound my barbaric Yawp over the rooftops of the world”

In Beowulf’s verbal sparring with Unferth, we the readers, can get a glimpse at the respect and magnitude that the Nordic people hold in competition and triumph. Unferth fervently tries to downgrade Beowulf’s valor and rank as a hero, “The ocean swayed,/ winter went wild in the waves, but you vied/ for seven nights; and then he outswam you,/ came ashore the stronger contender” (515-518).

Beowulf’s response is one full of thought about defense to his honor. Beowulf lost the competition so as to fell the “foul things” at the bottom of the sea and keep the sailors safe from the “deep-sea raids” (559-569). Beowulf’s compassion and yet utter regard for strength, courage, and fighting prowess make him a figure that is totally alien to todays age.

He is a fascinating study: a man that can rip a monster’s arm from his shoulder socket; a man who commands the respect of kings and the hospitality of their queens. In class today there was a comment questioning Beowulf’s loyalty for his men while he just laid there whilst his own men were slaughtered by the monster Grendel. Yet I find it hard to denounce Beowulf’s fraternal love for his brethren. Maybe it is a Romantic respect, a longing for a self-conceptualized simple time, where life is split into the binaries of life and death, that makes Beowulf the type of hero not to let his brother in arms die in vain.

Going into the readings for the next class I am worried. I am worried about the connotations that Heorot must come to an end, that so to must Beowulf…