Praise & Blame in "Beowulf"

        When discussing who we should praise and who we should blame for the course of events that take place in “Beowulf”, we are obligated to first look to the giant in the hall: the poem’s hero himself. And so, here we think about how Beowulf can be acclaimed and criticized for key turning points in the narrative. Can he be held responsible for the strife that befalls his kingdom after his demise? Let us see… 

Beowulf: Who should we Praise, and Who should we Blame? 

        When studying Beowulf, we must recognize that the poet sometimes guides readers to praise certain characters for their actions and behavior at the expense of how other characters are presented in the poem. This can be seen in lines 351 – 353 when the poem reads, “our noble king,/our dear lord, friend of the Danes,/the giver of rings” (Heaney, pp. 11) in reference to Hrothgar despite his arguable ineptitude as an effective protector of his people. Furthermore, when translators of the manuscript down through the ages continuously title the poem Beowulf after its primary hero, similarly named, modern readers are predisposed to favor Beowulf’s actions over other complimentary figures in the narrative. 

        We can dispute this preconceived notion of Beowulf’s character by analyzing two key moments of his heroic career within the context of the poem. While he is often celebrated, and rightly so, for his monster slaying skills, he is perhaps less exceptional when dealing with men that are younger than him. We can approach this chronologically by first examining how Beowulf handles Headred’s claim to the Geatish throne. 

        After Hygelac dies in battle during his raid on Frisia, Onela of that land drives his nephews Eanmund and Eadgils into exile. “They are given refuge by Hygelac’s son Headred, who has succeeded his father. Onela invades Geatland and kills Headred” (Heaney, pp. 95). Headred tries to help these young men of similar standing and status to his own, who have been wrongfully treated by their own kinsmen, and is attacked as a result. Furthermore, Headred is young himself and inexperienced in battle, and despite Beowulf’s promises earlier on to help protect his king, he fails to fulfill that boast. Like when Grendel’s mother attacks Heorot after Beowulf kills her son, Beowulf seems to be nowhere to be found when Headred is attacked. Beowulf, although he may have been able to defeat Onela’s army if he had been initially crowned king, only becomes such after Headred dies and he given the Geatish throne by default. 

        While Beowulf cannot be held completely responsible for Headred’s death, his negligence as a battle retainer may be a key factor in the young king’s premature death. Similarly, Beowulf can also be partially blamed for the fall of his people towards the conclusion of the poem. He does not name Wiglaf heir to the throne until he is on his deathbed due to dragon fire, implying that during his long and glorious fifty-year reign Beowulf fails to mention anyone else to take his place. This is more significant than another king making a similar decision because Beowulf is the only reason Geatland is not currently being attacked by outsiders during the times previous to the dragon’s awakening. As a messenger explains in lines 3001 – 3005, those foreign invaders “will cross our borders/and attack in force when they find out/that Beowulf is dead. In days gone by/when our warriors fell and we were undefended,/he kept our coffers and our kingdom safe” (Heaney, pp. 74). While Beowulf has kept his people safe during his reign, he has failed to ensure that they can be properly protected after he is gone. He leaves no children behind, and although Wiglaf’s bravery assures readers that he is the best man that Geatland can offer after Beowulf dies, at the very least there is a lack of foresight to Beowulf’s behavior when he’s king beyond the knowledge of his own peril leading up to the dragon battle. 

         And so, while we can recognize the worthy deeds Beowulf has accomplished in order to acclaim fame and glory throughout his namesake poem, in order to fully understand his character we must also reconcile with his less noble actions. By examining Beowulf’s protagonist as both praise-worthy and blame-worthy, we can open up this chain of analysis to other characters featured in this poem as well. Perhaps even the young Headred and the brave Wiglaf can be held accountable for some of the hardships that possibly stem from their behavior in the world of Beowulf; only further critical and in-depth discussion on how we can judge these characters will tell. 

References: 

Heaney, Seamus (Translator), and Daniel Donoghue (Editor). 2002. Beowulf: A Verse Translation. A Norton Critical Edition. W. W. Norton & Company. Print.

        Now that we have highlighted some of the ways in which Beowulf can be both a quality and poor leader of his people, we can open the discussion to the many other examples of leadership to be found within the same text. Next time, we will analyze the kings in “Beowulf” based on what we know from textual evidence, and thus judge them justly as either good or bad kings by perspectively taking their character objectively. Stay tuned, on “Words About Words”. 

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