Nearing the end point of this epic (the type of poem) poem, it pulls together the importance of family, bonds to your friends, and to have your own inner strength to overcome any challenge that may face you. Even though this tale is over a millennium old, it still enforces ideals that are still quite relevant to this day. It begins with King Hrothgar's kingdom, where a monster named Grendel terrorizes the land and kills all who attempt to stop him. Enter the Geat warrior Beowulf, who offers to take upon the task of slaying Grendel, for his father Ecgtheow had once received a great favor from Hrothgar; this is basically payment and respect from Beowulf to Hrothgar and his kingdom for the help he and his father had once received. Beowulf successfully fights Grendel in unarmed combat and tears off his whole arm, thus killing him. Beowulf rises to the challenge to protect both himself and Hrothgar's people. Later when Grendel's mother goes after the Danes for revenge, Beowulf is again called on by Hrothgar to protect his people; again he saves them for Hrothgar's good deed from the past.
Even the monsters in the epic have ties to family, for shortly after Grendel was slain, his mother comes out of the swamp and starts killing Danes. This actually relates to old warrior heritage, for one family member to go out an avenge a fallen member by killing the opposition, which while Grendel's mother stiff represents just as much evil and filth as Grendel did, even the monsters have honor for their own kind, showing just how important family is to all types of beings.
It kind of creates a vicious, never-ending cycle of violence, don't you think? Feuding like this either lasts till the whole family dies off or it escalates till its too big to stop. I feel like this is how some gang rivalries started, revenge followed by revenge. Reminds me of the family feud in Romeo and Juliet.
ReplyDelete-Yahya H.
Yes, this is the downside to having good family ties. If one family is against another family and both have a history of violence, then even just one act of violence or being provoked can spark furious disputes. Even in modern day, warriors are replaced by gangs and big business, though the fabled accomplishments aren't usually as grand (save for gangsters during the mid 1900s in America, there are some high valued thefts and crimes committed during this time).
ReplyDelete- Luke M.
i really like that you mentioned that true literature is timeless. the morals and themes still are relevent despite the time period they came from. it seems that from what you have posted, family is the unifying theme. It seems only natural that the most simplistic theme would be fortold. family is the first thing we are brought into and most commonly it is the last thing we are around. Family is the driving force as well as the constant force within our lives.
ReplyDeleteToni G.