Skip to main content

Does He Win or Nah? // Jackson Riddle

Of the various questions given to us I will be focusing on the topic of whether or not Beowulf won at the end of his life. After ascending to the throne to rule the Geats, Beowulf is faced with his third and final challenge: the dragon of the barrow. His pride is his eventual downfall as he recalls his days of glory fighting Grendel and Grendel's mother, a time when he was seemingly invincible and could take on both evil entities alone. But now, 50 years later, age has caught up to the valiant hero, and Beowulf is no longer the powerhouse he used to be. Regardless of how age has affected him, Beowulf insists on taking the dragon down alone, ultimately succeeding but dying in the process. 

Before determining whether or not Beowulf won this battle, I think it's important to take a step back and evaluate not just this singular encounter but the entirety of his life. He served as a defender and hero of the Danes by ridding the land of Grendel single-handedly, defeating what the entire army of the Danes could not (or simply refused to) fight. He continues his journey by killing Grendel's mother after she advances on the kingdom in vengeance of her murdered son, and finally he becomes king of the Geats and defeats the dragon that plagued his people. Yes, he did die in his clash with the dragon, which some might say makes the battle a draw considering both parties were defeated, but I believe Beowulf ultimately won not just this fight but won in his life. He helped rid a kingdom of its demon problem, which in turn reinforced the relationship between the Danes and the Geats. He served as a valiant leader of the Geats for 50 years and defeated the dragon that plagued the land, essentially serving as an example for those to come of what a true and noble leader should be. So yes, I believe Beowulf won.

Edit: I commented on Logan and Clabo's posts.

Comments

  1. ClaboMarch 2, 2021 at 1:21 AM

    I also believe that Beowulf won at the end of his life. I mean, not only did he defeat the dragon and save his people from that evil, he also learned a very important lesson that he is mortal. I feel as if this ending was a good moment to close out such a heroic story.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Word Painting in Vesta—Lily Caswell

  Word painting in Weelkes’s As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending is quite interesting. And because that is a really long title, I’m calling it Vesta from now on. Word painting is basically when the melody matches up with the lyrics. So in Vesta, when it says “ascending” and “descending”, there are obviously scales going up and down. The madrigal was written for six voices to sing unaccompanied, so when they start to come together, it matches with the lyrics; so if the lyric says “two by two”, there are only two voices; “three by three” there is another voice added, and so forth. All the parts combine in exclamation before Vesta before it is left “all alone” to the highest soprano. All the way to the end of the piece, word painting continues when shouts of “Long live fair Oriana” with the bass sustaining long notes. Word painting in and of itself is a highly interesting topic because a musician takes the words of a poem or a sonnet and writes a melody line that pertains to cer...
4 comments
Read more

Honor and Gain; Which Do You Seek?

 Pericles.... thanks? I can only imagine that's what the family and friends were thinking after they heard his historic funeral speech honoring the departed. What do I mean? Well, Pericles briefly mentions the men who have fallen at the beginning of his speech, but then goes on to discuss how great Athens is, and how the contributions the city has made to the world are unmatched.. why? I understand that he is also commending the citizens of Athens and empowering them to continue to make their city greater, but I thought this was supposed to be a funeral speech about dead war heroes, not about Athens. Another thing I found interesting is what Pericles said on page five about honor: "For it is only the love of honour that never grows old; and honour it is, not gain, as some would have it, that rejoices the heart of age and helplessness" (Thucydides, page 5). Have you ever watched a show or movie, or read a book, about a duel between two men? There is always an unspoken agre...
Post a Comment
Read more

It Is All About the Intent - Clabo

Augustine shed light on a very important idea that worship is not supposed to be just like every other kind of music. I used to have friends who went to an extremely restrictive church where the pastor believed and constantly proclaimed, "If during worship your toe starts tappin' before your heart starts movin' then it ain't Christian!" While this statement may be kind of excessive, it does reflect the same truth that Augustine touches on. Worship is meant to teach and to help one grow closer to God. It is not about trying to reach an emotional or spiritual high, it is a time a place where we, as Christians, should be striving to focus intently on the words we are singing. This leads to my second point. Our intent and heart posture when worshiping God is always going to be a necessary thing when it comes to truly worshiping, but if the songs we sing don't necessarily reflect the truths that we are trying to live out and apply to our lives, then we are never go...
2 comments
Read more