Beowulf Poem Analysis

“Heremod was different,

the way he behaved to Ecgwela’s sons.

His rise in the world brought lithe joy

to the Danish people, only death and destruction.

He vented his rage on men he caroused with,

killed his own comrades, a pariah king

Who cut himself off to his own kind,

Even although Almighty God had made him

eminent and powerful and marked him from the start

for a happy life. But change happened,

He grew bloodthirsty, gave no more things

to honor the Danes. He suffered in the end

for having plagued his people for so long

his life lost happiness.”

This passage from the poem exists for two main reasons for which I can discover.

First, the poet uses this story to ensure that Beowulf will stray away from Heremod’s path.

The poet continues on with vague examples using figurative languages such as:

“A killer stalks him,

an archer who draws the deadly bow.

And then the man is hit in the heart, the arrow flies beneath his defenses,

the devious promptings of the demon start.”

This killer he speaks of his very fictive. No such person has attacked Heremod.

What he is trying to