Beowulf

Response





In the twelve episodes of Beowulf, I thought that the story was going to be a big poem of boring battle tales. On the contrary, I found the story to be interesting because it tells of a good honest king who worked hard to earn his title and maintain his title as king. Beowulf actually defended his people as a king, leader and protector of his people, and put his own life before anyone else's. He was always prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice of his own life to defend his people and those of his allies. I was interested in the story because it is different than those of kings "defending" their countries by sitting on their throne. This was a king who was a warrior and had lived the life of a man, not a spoiled royal.


The parts of the story that stuck out to me the most were when Beowulf triumphed in his battles. In the battle with Grendel, I admired how Beowulf says that he will fight Grendel with his strength and not with his sword do that there will be a battle of strength between himself and Grendel. The reason that this part stuck out to me was because he was not a coward in his battles, he was sure of himself and his main interest was always to protect the people. In the battle with Grendel's mother and the dragon he demonstrates his care for his people by going to fight them in the first place. He demonstrates his desire to protect by always being the first to put his life on the line for his people and his warriors. He was a good king, interested in the well being of his people by his generosity of gifts to the people and those who fought, and his generosity in the respect of his sacrifices. This story to me was a story of a man who truly earned his title and position as a king, not by blood or ancestry, but by his deeds.


The Anglo-Saxon culture seems to be one unique to that of others in the sense that they concentrate on the protection of their people and good kings that participate in the protection and well being of their country. They emphasized what they thought of Beowulf by the writing of the poem. They were proud of the king that they had and were focused on his deeds as a warrior. They paid close attention to his deeds and keeping his alliances in good relations. For example, Beowulf crosses a sea and risks his life and his warriors for another king primarily because the Danish king was his ally.


The Anglo-Saxons also seemed to emphasize a great importance on the memorials and funeral process of kings and warriors. The importance of the funerals of kings and warriors ties in with their beliefs and what they hold high in their morals. They hold protection and loyalty with the utmost importance in their culture. Therefore it makes sense that the funerals and deaths of the men who carried out these morals would be treated with high respect. The people would want to treat the men who protected them, their country, and their king with loyalty and respect just as the warriors had done for them. Like when Beowulf dies, his men treat him and his funeral by respecting his last wishes to the exact word and made sure that it was done right. As all good kings that are mentioned in the story, the people send their "high protector" in his death ship full of riches to his next life. This indicates that while they held protection and loyalty high, the protectors were held in the same respect.