Beowulf

Paper Summary:

The paper examines a passage of "Beowulf" that seems to be a meditation on the transience of all earthly objects and glory and an examination of what is important and what it is that makes us human. The paper highlights the linguistic, thematic and visual echoes of earlier passages that the poet uses to illustrate the importance of kinship and human society and the all-encompassing inevitability of death. The writer feels that this passage is a key to understanding the general message of Beowulf.

From the Paper:

"Irving says of the passage in Beowulf spanning from line 2709b to line 2820, that '[it] is focused almost wholly on laf', laf being a particularly convenient term as 'no modern word has quite the same range of suggestion: what is left, a legacy, and heirloom (material or spiritual) whatever of the spirit remains for the survivors'. Indeed, this focus comes immediately to the fore in the in the visual imagery and language used throughout the shorter passage between lines 2711b and 2732a. It is in this passage that Beowulf begins his dying speech whilst contemplating, the eorethreced (line 2719) and the treasure within it, all of which are laf of a kind. The enta geweorc (line 2717) being their only remaining legacy, their ce eorethreced (line 2719), as the only eternal hall, being, along with the treasure within it, the only remainder of a society long-gone. The treasure within is also the legacy of Beowulf's battle with the dragon, a valuable legacy for the nation of the Geats. Having seen Beowulf looking w shygende (line 2716) upon these remains, contemplating their significance, the poet then continues to tell us that Beowulf has only a small remainder of his life to live."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Irving, Edward, B., A Reading of Beowulf (Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 1968)
• Jack, George, ed., Beowulf: A Student Edition (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1994)
• John, Eric, 'The End of Anglo-Saxon England' in The Anglo-Saxons, ed. by James Campbell (Penguin: London, 1991)
• Jones, Gwyn, Kings, Beasts and Heroes (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1972)
• Owen-Crocker, Gale, The Four Funerals in Beowulf (Manchester University Press: Manchester, 2000)

More papers on Beowulf:

• Analytical Essay # 134779 : "Loyalty in "Beowulf"
• Poem Review # 116965 : "The Monsters of "Beowulf "
• Comparison Essay # 32818 : "Restoration Vs. Translation of "Beowulf"
• Book Review # 69025 : "Heroic and Elegiac Elements in "Beowulf"

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