I know its been a little while since we read and discussed Beowulf...ok, maybe its been a long while, but I have had this on my mind for a long time and I finally found the time to express it. Well... I have read Beowulf more times then I can remember for various classes throughout my schooling and the same questions always pops up into my mind every time I read it. How is Beowulf so powerful? Who gave him these powers? WHAT IS BEOWULF? These questions have been haunting until recently as we were having a discussion in class about the story I had an epiphany. Beowulf is a demi-god.
Let me go ahead and explain why I think this and explain what a demi-god is for those of you who do not know. A demi-god is a half man- half god combination where one parent is mortal and one parent is a god. I got this idea from a movie I watched this summer. It is called Clash of the Titans, and I know it is a remake but I just like the newer one better. In the movie the main character Percius is a demi-god that, like Beowulf, goes on journeys and does superhuman things even though he seems to just be a mere mortal. Now I do there is a big difference in how they go about their business but the overall concept of the two is the same.
So, with all that being said I believe I have finally answer the question that has been in the front of my mind for years. I mean it makes perfect sense but I guess I will never know for sure, so unless I can travel back in time and find the creator of Beowulf I will just stay with my thought of him being a demi-god, and picture him saying as he does so many times, "I AM BEOWULF....THE DEMI-GOD."
I must say I very much enjoy this. To call Beowulf a "demigod" is something I've never really thought of. I decided to look this up and discovered that not everyone says he is a demigod, but when I found other mythical characters it made since. Hercules was considered a demigod, due to his awesome strength; then I really got to thinking (kind of) that if we reflect on Hercules' attributes and compare them to Beowulf...they are pretty much the same character in essence.
ReplyDeleteWe are currently discussing Beowulf in class. Perhaps he was a demi-god in the original manuscript. Pagan gods were present prior to Christianity. Perhaps the Christian monk who actually wrote down the story changed Beowulf's status, as well as other aspects of the story, to reflect Christian values, not pagan values. When Hrothgar's men at first pray to pagan gods prior to the arrival of Beowulf, the writer clearly notes their desperation -- and the evil nature of the pagan prayers!
ReplyDelete