analyzing the story beowulf

I was reading over some old journals, working on my book, when I came across this little entry I wrote after watching the film version of Beowulf, a book I read a few times in college. At the time, I was in therapy, and really interested in psychoanalytic literary theory. I was struck by how our life experiences and new knowledge can deepen our knowledge of a text we thought we knew pretty well. Anyway, here 's my mini psycho-analysis of Beowulf:

The story explores the idea of the sins, or pathologies, of the father, manifesting themselves in the son. Grendel seems to be a manifestation of the id, of unconscious terror and desire and rage. He is a grotesque monster, but he is also (implicitly) the son of the king.

While the king and Beowulf value the preservation of community and family, Grendel seeks destruction. If the story is to be read as an expression of cultural values, it is perhaps an exploration of the dual drives for community (as symbolized by the mead hall) and destruction (as symbolized by Grendel). This creates a schizophrenic culture. This is also suggested by the competing values of the "pagan" warrior culture of the Danes, and the newer Christian culture being brought from Rome.

Also, the mother plays a significant role--Grendel 's mother. It is implied that both King Hrothgar and his successor Beowulf had secret sexual relations with Grendel 's mother, a water demon who perhaps represents their actual mothers. The result of the secret sexual union with this mother figure produces monstrous offspring--Grendel and (later) the dragon. As Freud has suggested, the incest taboo creates neuroses in the heroes, who must slay the physical manifestations of their own forbidden unconscious desires before their house can be safe.

The absence of father figures is also perhaps significant, especially in patrilineal culture in which one 's standing in the community is determined by one 's father. Characters call themselves Beowulf, son of Hrethel, for example. I 'm not sure what this means, but this text seems rich with psychoanalytic meanings. I tend to agree with Stanley Fish that the author 's intentions are not all that matters in literary criticism, based on the fact that psychoanalysis would not be invented for another thousand years.
In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, the characters symbolize good and evil. There are many ways this can be deciphered. The symbolism showed in the text can be used to describe the theme of every scene. The main characters and sometimes even the setting can help in deciding what types of archetypes are shown in the text. It can be easily shown through; situational archetypes, symbolic archetypes, and character archetypes.
The situational archetypes shown in Beowulf would be the good versus evil. Grendel is more than a human, in the story he is portrayed as a horrific monstrous being.
“The God-cursed brute was creating havoc: Greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men. From their resting places and rushed to his lair, Flushed up and inflamed from the raid, Blundering back with the butchered corpses.” ( Beowulf Line 20).
Beowulf is the hero of this epic poem. He is a superhuman being who lives to honor and protect those in need.
“In the grip of each hand. Now Holy God Has, in His Goodness, guided him here
To the West-Danes, to defend us from Grendel. This is my hope; and for his heroism I will recompense him with a rich treasure.” (Beowulf Line 380).
There are many symbolic archetypes in Beowulf, one of them would be the Heorot Castle. It contains all the good people within it. Grendel’s lair on the other hand would be symbolized as the evil archetype. The settings of each of these describe what kind of mood and vibe the area gives off. Grendel’s lair is described as an eerie murky setting. It gives a dark and unearthly feeling to the readers or listeners.
The Geats would be the companion archetypes. They are there to help Beowulf and his men in his great battles and journeys to save Hrothgar from whatever dangers they are faced with.The Geats are reliable companions when they don’t back out and help attack Grendel.
In conclusion, Beowulf has many.

The heroic ideal is perhaps the most important aspect of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. The poetry and literature of the Old English age celebrated heroic deeds and encouraged those listening to emulate heroic values at any and all opportunities. The epic poem Beowulf sets out to articulate this heroic code, which values strength, courage, and loyalty in its warriors. In contrast, John Gardner’s novel Grendel establishes a deconstruction of this heroic ideal. Through its exploration of various veins of philosophical thought, including nihilism and solipsism, Gardner’s work introduces alternatives and challenges to the practice of heroism.
The primary goal of the Anglo-Saxon warrior was to act in accordance with the heroic code and to hopefully perform an action worthy enough to be remembered throughout history, passed down from generation to generation within poetry. The code encompasses several values that men of this era were expected to observe: bravery in battle, loyalty to king and kinsmen, and selfless acts that could help to achieve a greater good. This code was paramount to these societies as a means of understanding their places in the world and the threats that hovered outside their established communities. All people’s moral judgments stemmed from the framework of the heroic code and heroic ideals; individual actions could be judged in a clear-cut manner as either conforming to or violating the code. In this way, the code was an important source of stability for a people whose very society was perpetually in a precarious state, constantly threatened by outside invading forces.
The text of Beowulf exhibits several instances that support the idea of a heroic code. Beowulf himself can be seen as the archetypal hero. For example, Beowulf demonstrates the heroic virtue of fairness by refusing to bring weapons with him to a fight with Grendel, as Grendel is known to rely on brute strength alone (Beowulf, 32). He desires a fair fight, even with the primary...
In the classic adventure poem Beowulf, Grendel 's mother is a strong female villain who threatens the hero 's prowess, as well as his life. She is a strange and rather unflattering portrayal of feminine power in that she represents pure evil. Half woman, half monster, she is descended from the first murderer, Cain, and like her ancestor, is doomed to wander the earth a social outcast. Although she proves a difficult and dangerous challenge for the warrior Beowulf, she is still held back by her feminine characteristics. Grendel 's mother is, we learn, not entirely human in appearance, but "bears the semblance of a woman" (1191). References to her animal-like nature can be found sprinkled throughout the poem. She is, "the wolf of the waters," a horrying sea creature of extraordinary strength (1331). She is also cannibalistic, feeding off the flesh of the king 's courtiers.
Despite these brute qualities, Grendel 's mother still exhibits some common female traits in both her maternal feelings and her physical inferiority. She is, apparently, weaker in battle than her son. Compared with that of Grendel 's, her attack on the mead hall is described as being "less by as much as a maiden 's mettle in war is less than a man 's wielding his weapon" (1129-1131).

References: to her animal-like nature can be found sprinkled throughout the poem. She is, "the wolf of the waters," a horrying sea creature of extraordinary strength (1331). She is also cannibalistic, feeding off the flesh of the king 's courtiers. Despite these brute qualities, Grendel 's mother still exhibits some common female traits in both her maternal feelings and her physical inferiority. She is, apparently, weaker in battle than her son. Compared with that of Grendel 's, her attack on the mead hall is described as being "less by as much as a maiden 's mettle in war is less than a man 's wielding his weapon" (1129-1131).