Beowulf: Death and Revenge
The Significance of Death and Vengeance in Beowulf In the epic poem Beowulf, death is illustrated to be inevitable. There is a fluctuation throughout the poem between Anglo-Saxon and Christian ideology, both emphasizing the belief that if an individual is a true warrior they will be united with God after death—leaving behind their legacy. The characters of the play believed in the idea of preserving their name so it could be passed down throughout history. Death was viewed as an unavoidable event, and it was necessary to show respect for those who died through vengeance. As quoted in Beowulf, “…death is not easily /escaped from by anyone” (1001-1002) helps exemplify one of the strongest themes of the poem. The concept of mortality is used to reflect the culture of both the Anglo-Saxon and Christian culture; through their belief in death and preserving ones name through history. One of the greatest honors of an Anglo-Saxon was to die as a warrior. The Vikings culture was based on a ‘wyrgrid’ view of life, consisting of only war and death. The warrior code, or wyrgrid, was viewed as the ultimate man-price and widely accepted. The tribes would “…never/ make parley or peace with any Dane/ nor stop his death-dealing nor pay the death-price” (154-156). Death was everywhere. Death was not considered a tragedy, and each individual was prepared to die. Immediately, the characters inform the audience that death inevitable “None of them expected he would ever see /his homeland again or get back / to his homeland…They knew too well the way it was before, /how often the Danes had fallen prey…”(692-695). Although they are knowledgeable that death is near, they lived with honor hoping to die with enough glory to have their name live on. Throughout Beowulf, the narrator contains both a strong Anglo-Saxon and Christian view of proper conduct. The Anglo-Saxon belief of proper conduct is seen when the narrator explains that “…every many should act, /be at hand when needed;”