Beowulf Dialectical Journal ln 1320-1950

ln 1347-1353
"they have seen two such creatures prowling the moors,...one of these things, as far as anyone ever can discern, looks like a woman; the other, warped in the shape of a man, moves beyond the pale bigger than any man."

Grendel and his mother. ties to the theme of the underworld. Parallelism to the two giants in Branwen daughter of Llyr? Lonely. Theme: banishment, the two characters are alone, banished from society.

ln 1383-1396
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: wise sir do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning....Let whoever can win glory before death. Bear up and be the man I expect you to be."

Theme:Pagan vs. Christianity.....this speech gives Beowulf a pagan influence whereas sometime he is viewed as christian...or as Christ(or anti-Christ)... This also ties into the theme of Fate or wyrd. If a warrior is destined to die than why not make the best of it and die honorably. Why does the author switch from paganism to Christianity so much?

ln 1421
"Aescher's head at the foot of the cliff."

This is Grendel's mothers retaliation for her son's death. Theme: wergild. they pay for Grendel's death with one of there own. Symbolism.... the head means something. Possibly marks victory or vengeance...but really only Feilding knows... Severed body parts symbolize trophies as well, it could be the mothers way of displaying her trophy.

ln1446-1448
"It would keep the bone-cage of his body safe: no enemy's clasp could crush him in it, no vicious armlock choke his life out."

Very similar to Grendel... Grendel was invincible to swords and weapons... it took Christ to kill him. This passage also shows just how invincible Beowulf was; it is possible to be killed even if you have chain-mail on, but not Beowulf. Also a foreshadow to Beowulf's victory. Wyrd...he is destined to win.

ln 1512-1517
"The gallant man could see that he had entered some hellish turn-hole....because the hall-roofing...a gleam and flare-up, a glimmer of brightness."

This is Grendel's mother's lair but it sounds like Heorot when Grendel attacked it the last time. Parallelism between Beowulf's attack and Grendel's? If so, there is a very different outcome, the attacker wins in Beowulf's assault.

ln 1607-1611
"It is a wondrous thing how it all melted as ice melts when the Father eases the fetters off the frost and unravels the water-ropes. He who wields power over time and tide: He is the true lord."

Symbol: the sword symbolizes life and death.... it was created by the giants, who are a race that in some back stories such as Branwen come from the depths o' hell (giving the sword magical powers). The sword "dies" after it kills other things from the underworld. The "fetters of the frost" is like the relieving of Grendel and his mother off of the world and Heorot. the last sentence is a great example of an insert that probably was added by the poet after oral tradition to give the christian flavor.

ln 1713-1722
"He vented his rage on men he caroused with, killed his own comrades, a pariah king who cut himself off from his own kin....He suffered in the end or having plagued his people for so long: his life lost happiness."

Theme: Good King... Heremod is NOT a good king. he is a kin killer and doesn't share his treasure as well as many other bad characteristics. Also foreshadow to his death at the end of the quote.

ln 1873-1876
"Two forebodings disturbed him in his wisdom, but one was stronger: nevermore would they meet each other face to face."

Foreshadows Hrothgar's death. Good King: wisdom. What is the other foreshadow??? is it just Beowulf's departure?