Beowulf

Okay. This is the second time I'm posting this entry. The last one didn't take. Where's Hrunting when I need it? I'm gonna take the three themes of my list and apply them to this work:

Campbell's idea of the Hero: Works well here. Beowulf does go on a cyclical journey battling three monsters. His successful defeat of each monster does provide a boon to the communities he serves (Heorot and his own kingdom). His cycle is part of a larger cycle of which he occupies a middle spot - we have aged Hrothgar, too weak to defend his kingdom, Beowulf who in his prime is the hero, and later Wiglaf must assume the future role of protector of the kingdom. Beowulf himself undergoes three decisive battles that play into his development as hero. The first pits him against Grendel in Heorot - this battle shows his ability to fight a cause not his own - it's not his own kingdom. His pivotal battle with Grendel's Mother takes him through a symbolic death and rebirth ritual. He plummets the depths of the swamp (death) to defeat G'sM in her lair. The killing of this mother figure makes the battle more personal - it is the killing of a tie to humanity and earth. It is also a symbolic striking out on his own. Untying the strings that hold him to youth. When he re-emerges through the bloody (virtual amniotic fluid) swamp - his rebirth is signaled. He's defeated a monster and garnered honor for himself. In old age, his battle with the dragon is a way of passing on and passing off of his heroic role to a more youthful replacement. He, like the hoarding dragon, must die physically. His death serves as a beacon to future heroes. This is the boon he bestows on his weakened kingdom - it is not material in this case.

Outsider: By token of the fact that he's a hero, Beowulf already stands out from his community as an outsider. The reader even has trouble relating to him on a human level - he doesn't seem to have any visible weaknesses beyond the the physical ones that come with age. His first battle physically places him on the outside as he is battling for a kingdom not even his own. Each battle (with the exception of the final one) is fought alone. He must defeat each monster on his own. The battles are for others, but personal to himself. Beowulf is ultimately unknowable.

Religion: The poem has all of the accoutrements of religion - praises to the Lord, reliance on God's strength, but these apparently were an Anglo-Saxon addition to the poem. Its Nordic beginnings ground it firmly in paganism. Beowulf's death only holds symbolic afterlife - he will be remembered along with other heroes. The blood revenge is another pagan attitude present in the story. Yet there is something distinctly spiritual in the poem. Each of the battles Beowulf faces take on spiritual significance for the hero - he must destroy an aspect of himself in each of the battles. The death/rebirth imagery of the second battle resonates with Christ's discussion with Nichodemus "ye must be born again." The funeral pire acts as a sort of symbolic ressurrection. His example will point the way for others. There is a certain Christ-like sacrifice in his final battle - he knows that this battle will end his life, but save others.