How does anyone entertain themselves without cable TV or high-speed Internet? This was a major problem facing many people centuries ago. After a hard day of gathering food, people want to be entertained, and this was accomplished by the “Old English” heroic epic poem (Tolkien 41). A storyteller would stand before the crowd and tell marvelous tales by the use of these heroic epic poems. If you were a storyteller of any worth, he did not tell stories about Bob going up the hill to get a pail of water. You told tales that were bigger than life. The poet needed to have a hero, magic, and monsters to do this. In the poem of “Beowulf,” the readers are taken on an excursion of grandeur and needs to know if Beowulf would overcome his struggle against the evils of this world (Greenblatt 29-100)? In Beowulf, the poet demonstrates his skill by pitting the hero against three evil monsters Grendel, Grendel's mother, and 50 foot dragon that is virtually indestructible. All this was done to bestowed hefty honors onto hero named Beowulf; however, there would be no epic poem about Beowulf without monsters. The character Beowulf would not develop. The audience would lose interest and would forget. Hence, if there were no monsters to vanquish, there would be no “Beowulf.”
The first monster of the three monsters to face Beowulf was Grendel. Grendel was “a large, man-eating monster who lived in a swampy lake. He may be a kind of troll. He hated human joy and lived only to wage war against the Danes” (Stavor 24). What made Grendel very special was the devastation “for the space of twelve years” done by this “demon” (Token 83). “He had no difficulty killing and eating a man” (Stavor 30). Grendel was a very “fierce, evil monster” that needed to be killed (Stavor 34). This evil is notice in other kingdoms. It opens the door for a hero to come save the day, and if a monster needed to be killed, Beowulf would be summon because “fighting monsters is Beowulf specialty” (Stavor 101). Beowulf did have some experience killing sea monsters; however, he had never faced an evil like Grendel. Beowulf performs his duty, and Grendel is killed with his hands. The legend of Beowulf is born and is tested right away. Another monster is lurking in the woods, and it is Grendel’s mother.
The second of the three monsters is Grendel’s mother. The purpose of Grendel’s mother is to keep the substain elavation to the poem and grab hold of the readers once more. “Grendel’s mother, seeking vengeance for the death of her son, renews the attacks” (Tolkien 43). If Grendel’s mother did not arrive, Beowulf would have no reason to stay with the Danes. The legend would have disappeared; however, the evil has returned yet again, and this monster seems to be greater than the first. The mood of the poem is changing. Beowulf now has to enter into the “enemie's hall” (Stavor 75). This fight would not be won as easily as the first. When Beowulf slip, “Grendel’s mother does not play by the rules and puts a knife on to him” (Stavor 75). This monster uses weapons! Beowulf performs his duty for a second time; “he takes a” magical “sword from the wall and brings it down on her neck, beheading her” (Stavor 75). The readers cannot believe it. Beowulf wins, but by the use of this magical sword. The legend of Beowulf is enhanced because the robust Beowulf is now very intelligent too. Now, Beowulf’s mission to the Danes is fulfill, and he returns home with his Geats. Beowulf continues to build on his legend, but the cycle of the poem goes into a trough. The audience would start to lose interest because “the hero is not occupied killing monsters” (Tolkien 52). At this point, after many years in the trough, a 50 foot dragon that is virtually indestructible enters the poem.
The third and the last of the three monsters is the dragon. “Beowulf, King of the Geats, is now about seventy-five old” (Stavor 99). The dragon takes vengeance on the Geats, and “Beowulf royal hall is burnt to the ground” (Stavor 99). The audience sees that the Fates or the wyrd have turn against King Beowulf as seen in Beowulf canto 2341 to 2344:
After many trials, he was destined to face the end of his days, and in this mortal world, as was the dragon, for all his long leasehold on the treasure.
(Greenblatt 83)
The poet has placed the pieces on the sixty-four squared board. The mood of the poem has changed once more. The audience knows what is going to happen, and has become incarcerated. King Beowulf knows what is going to happen. The audience wants to know if King Beowulf is still the great warrior that defeated Grendel and his mother. Both the audience and the protagonist have doubt which keeps the tale in substain elavation. King Beowulf performs his duties and kills the dragon. The dragon dies and this “is important cheifly to Beowulf himself. He was a great man. Not many even in dying can achieve the death of a single dragon” this bestowed hefty honors to King Beowulf (Tolkien 52). Like Beowulf, the epic poem about “Beowulf” has to come to an end; however, grand excursion is still alive in the audience (Greenblatt 29-100).
The epic poem of “Beowulf” is a very simplistic tale which delivered a hero, magic, and monsters (Greenblatt 29-100). The audience could enjoy after a hard day’s work. The epic poem entertained the people and fulfilled its purpose, but it could not do this feat without the monsters. In the epic poem of “Beowulf,” the monsters are a very crucial element in the poem (Greenblatt 29-100). The monsters keeps the poem going and gives it sustain elevation. They even change the mood of the poem. The monsters keeps the people entertained. And most important, the vanquished monsters developed the character of Beowulf. The skill of the poet is seen during these conflicts, and the poet developes King Beowulf into a great man even onto his death. This is a death that echoes into the minds of the readers or listeners. So, truly it can be said, if there were no monsters to vanquish, there would be no “Beowulf” (Greenblatt 29-100).
Works Cited
Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. “Beowulf.” Literature: The Norton anthology of English literature.” Trans. Seamus Heaney. 8. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1962.
Stavor, Route Johnston. “A Companion Beowulf.” Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005.
Tolkien, J.R.R. “Beowulf and the Critics.” Tempe, Arizona: Arizona State University, 1937.
By Manuel B. Larson
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