Beowulf Journals

Ln. 1220. “…you are known to all men far and near, now and forever…” she’s making his head grow bigger. He has fame now because he has killed Grendel.

Ln. 1233. “…how could they know fate, the grim shape of things to come, the threat looming over many thanes…” foreshadow to Grendel’s mother coming to avenge her son’s death.

Ln. 1241. “…already marked for death…” Wyrd. He’s fated to die.

Ln. 1250. “…they were the right people…” the men went to sleep that night knowing that Grendel was dead, but still prepared for whatever the night could still bring. All of their weaponry was laid out in a way they could access it easily. They were always ready to protect their lord – they were the right people. BUT. Was Beowulf? He does things for his own purposes – fame and glory.

Ln. 1270. “…Beowulf was mindful of his mighty strength, the wondrous gifts God had showered on him…” he’s completely full of himself. He thinks he’s capable of anything and is forgetting he’s still just a man.

Ln. 1339. “…this force for evil driven to avenge her kinsman’s death…” Theme of good vs. evil. She avenges her son’s death just like any human would do. No one knew she existed until Grendel had died so she only came out and hurt people when she had a purpose to.

Ln. 1385. “…to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning…” This is definitely a Pagan statement; Christians would rather mourn and forgive than wreak havoc upon those who have hurt them.

Ln. 1386. “…For every one of us, living in this world meaning waiting for our end…” This backs up the theme of the transitory nature of life.

Ln. 1435. “…his freedom in the water got less and less…” the water itself is kind of like an underworld or hell in this poem where those who are cursed go. Water may be the one place where they have any freedom at all. This sentence is litotes. He dies in the one place he has freedom… ironic.

Ln. 1455. “…another item lent by Unferth…” an apology from Unferth for giving Beowulf a hard time. Hrunting, the sword, had never failed the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle.   ---It’s weird that this is stated because if that’s the case, and if that’s what was believed, why didn’t the people try to use that on Grendel to fix that problem?

Ln. 1468. “…he was not man enough…” Unferth is officially considered weak, and because of that he lost fame and repute. He should have never questioned Beowulf.