Beowulf the Conclusion of Beowulf

Beowulf

The Conclusion of Beowulf

Beowulf is a heroic, national epic depicting the triumph of the central hero over seemingly insurmountable obstacles, most famously the threat of the malevolent Grendel and the monster's dam. However, Beowulf's epic tale ends, not on an apparently upbeat note chronicling one of Beowulf's many successes, but with a ritualized scene of the hero's funeral, shortly after his death. Depicting this commemorative end suggests the permanence of Beowulf's memory in the hearts of his people. By memorializing Beowulf in the appropriate fashion, the hero lives on through the act of assigning his past a particular significance in words. However, as significant and unique as his passing and the level of grief attached to Beowulf's death, his death also conforms to the traditional rites of his people. This affirms that Beowulf is not simply a special hero, but part of the history and culture of a tradition. Finally, the chronicling of the death and burial of the hero justifies the poetic project itself, as the reciting of the poem is an act of keeping the spirit of Beowulf's greatness alive. Thus, although Beowulf's body is transient and can burn, his life history can live through the use of the epic poetic form itself, repeating the narrative from generation to generation, like the repetitive nature of a funeral dirge.

Beowulf's death takes place on the battlefield, and his funeral is characterized by martial language. The description of Beowulf's funeral rites notes that his funeral pyre is marked with the trappings of war, such as helmets and harnesses. The end of an era in the physical, lived existence of Beowulf's people has occurred, as Beowulf's status as a protector of his people is being consigned to fire. A better, greater, and perhaps more ethical way of warfare is at an end as Beowulf's spirit enters another realm.

In the same breath as Beowulf's military greatness is praised, so his mildness as a leader. Beowulf's existence on earth had a meaning far beyond the physical feats of prowess and greatness he was able to perform. Beowulf's strength was as a spiritual leader; he was not merely a leader of might and prowess on the field of battle. The religious significance of his death is cosmological in nature, as the "flame consume[s]" the leader of battle, the blaze darkens the sky, as if the sun is being temporarily obliterated, along with the guiding light of Beowulf's life and his body extinguished, like a flame, to ash. As Beowulf was consumed by fiery passion in war, now he is consumed physically by flame and his hour upon and fire on earth are dark. But there remains some notion of light, as the pyre that bears his body is described as precious, more precious than gold, even while he died in a struggle with a gold-keeper of a cave.

The stress of gold upon the inferiority of gold, in comparison to the worth of Beowulf further suggests that the poem casts Beowulf's era (not simply the man himself) as part of purer time. Then, true values were more important. This underlines the intention of the poem to inspire listeners to hold true to these values, as they remember the greatness of Beowulf. The poem is not merely about Beowulf, no more than a funeral is only for the dead. In fact, Beowulf's name is more often referred to by the kenning, or poetic stand in of the words great leader, rather than his individual name.

Beowulf's funeral as a warrior is not an individually celebrated event, like a contemporary funeral. As he was a warrior for his people, his death is a collectively mourned experience in which the entire community participates, and in which warriors and leaders perform the symbolic, ceremonial acts, not only members of the immediate hero's family. Although Beowulf is extraordinary, he belongs to the community. His wife is given only a few sentences of description, not particularly flattering, while the poet treats in loving details the actions of the men who mourn the hero.

Despite the uniqueness of the man and the funeral, there is also a sense of following 'what is done,' as the men do not debate the best ways to mourn, merely act according to the decree of the leader and tradition. The mourners seem certain as to how they should behave and what symbolic 'tools' of memory they should use such as the physically extinguishing fire, and selecting the trappings that represent Beowulf's excellence in life, as requested, like his helmet.

Repetition, and a funeral like dirge is suggested by the circular motion and repetitive language of the rite, the cyclical nature of the ritualistic movement of the warrior, and the repetitive phrases of the epic poetic genre itself. This also echoes the nature of human existence, even that of a great man. The poem does not deny the inevitability of death and the circular nature of human existence. Rather the poet merely suggests that through the act of appropriate mourning, a man's memory may defy the danger that his memory may be forgotten. The dirge of the survivors commemorates Beowulf, just as the poet's act of memory also keeps the values and the person of the hero alive.