Beowulf Quote Discussion Essay - 980 Words

Megan Lai English 10H DiSalvo 17th September, 2014 HCTA: Beowulf Theme: Wisdom is a more valuable weapon than physical strength. Quote 1: And that night Grendel came again, so set / On murder that no crime could ever be enough, / No savage assault quench his lust / For evil. Then each warrior tried / To escape him, searched for rest in different / Beds, as far from Herot as they could find, / Seeing how Grendel hunted when they slept. / Distance was safety; the only survivors / Were those who fled him. Hate had triumphed. (Beowulf 49-58) The night after the day of Grendel’s first attack, some of Hrothgar’s warriors fled Herot’s halls. The wisest fled-knowing that if they sought refuge someplace away from Herot,†¦show more content†¦/†¦ Suddenly / The sounds changed, the Danes started / In new terror, cowering in their beds as the terrible / Screams of the Almighty’s enemy sang / In the Darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain / And defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel’s / Taught throat, hell’s captive caught in the arms / Of him who of all the me n on earth / Was the strongest. (Beowulf 273-281, 305-313) In this passage, the story teller employs situational irony and imagery to demonstrate the tables turning on Grendel due to the hands of Beowulf. Had Grendel had the wisdom to actually check upon who was in the hall, he would never have been stuck in this predicament of the hunter becoming the hunted. With the usage of the quote â€Å"Grendel’s one thought was to run†, situational irony is extremely apparent. Grendel is now being hunted by Beowulf, instead of him hunting the inhabitants of Herot. To describe the suffering of Grendel, the author employs the use of various lines with adjectives, such as â€Å"In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain†. With the severity of Grendel’s pain having been stressed by imagery, we can now infer that he regrets not having the wisdom to avoid entering the mead hall. The theme of wisdom being a more valuable weapon than strength is not directly, but indire ctly demonstrated by the fact that Grendel could have avoided defeat at the hands of Beowulf if he hadShow MoreRelatedWhat Makes a Hero? Essay1377 Words   |  6 Pagessane individuals in today’s culture, people, even heroes, don’t simply walk into danger, like Beowulf. True, there are people who strive to challenge obstacles in our world. Beowulf does something slightly irregular, however. â€Å"Then the hero, stern under the gleaming helmet, with his stout mail-coat and think-plated shield, strode out to meet his foe.† Beowulf appears a madman after examining this quote. 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