Beowulf as an Elite Athlete - Essay Example

of the English of the Teacher 22 February Beowulf as an Elite Athlete Many a time people fail to identify the sportsperson inhabiting the world of literature. This is primarily so because a lot many students of literature identify sports with games. They fail to recognize the fact that sportsmanship may also have to do with a bent of mind, a way of conducting oneself and a sense of courage and sobriety with which one faces the problems and issues that come one’s way (Jay 14). In that context it would not be wrong to say that Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf comes out as an elite athlete owing to his strong determination and the ability to make sacrifices while assuaging the pain of others. The courage, confidence and camaraderie of Beowulf amply get evident as he fights Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon at the end of the epic. Yet, the thing to be kept in mind is that Beowulf comes out as an elite athlete not merely by the dint of his physical prowess, but also by the qualities of heart and mind (North 129). Time and again he comes out as an astute athlete who is not only full of courage and confidence, but who is also ready to uplift the moral of his companions, as they get dismayed by the problems and challenges that come their way. In the epic poem Beowulf the hero Beowulf essentially presents oneself as a character that is imbued with much positivity and a capacity for thriving in the face of risk and danger (Puhvel 96). The grappling and contests that Beowulf engages in with the monsters in the epic poem do reveal his ability for retaining a sense of poise and courage, the qualities so typical of elite athletes. Beowulf comes out as a hero who tends to contend the game called life with a spirited attitude and a marked sense of confidence. These are the abilities and virtues which highlight the sportsman like abilities and character of Beowulf. Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon are veritable lessons in the true qualities of sportsmanship and team spirit. In his first meeting with the Danes Beowulf presents oneself as a person who had indeed learnt to practice and carry the true athlete like virtues in one’s life and character (Risden 58). When Beowulf arrives at the place of the Danes, he presents oneself as a character who is loaded with confidence and courage. Not only is he willing to help the Danes, but he also exhibits the requisite courage and physical prowess that is so much required in a true personality and a true sportsman. He boldly claims before Hrothgar that not only is he qualified and competent enough to fight the monster Grendel, but by doing so he infuses the Danes with a sense of hope and positivity. Like a true athlete, Beowulf did know that it is very easy to intimidate and scare a group that is immersed in negativity, fear and a sense of defeat (Irving 95). So when Beowulf arrives at the place of Danes, the first thing he does is to uplift the spirits of Danes and his warriors. He tries to convey to the Danes and his companions that he does have the capacity and the wherewithal to do away with Grendel as he says to Hrothgar- “Hail thou, Hrothgar! I am Higelac’s kinsman And vassal forsooth; many a wonder I dared as a stripling. The doings of Grendel, In far-off fatherland I fully did know of: Sea-farers tell us, this hall-building standeth,” (VII, 5-39) The way Beowulf introduces oneself to Hrothgar depicts a very positive and restrained sense of pride and confidence. He testifies before Hrothgar that his people, the Gates do have witnessed his courage in varied acts of courage and warfare. Thereby, in his first meeting with Danes, Beowulf does not carry forward oneself like a shallow braggart, but rather comes out as a celebrated and trusted athlete who has a remarkable reputation backing him. Beowulf conveys to Hrothgar that he was an astute and proven warrior who has taken upon himself to do away with the race of demons from the earth. He conveys to Hrothgar that he had swam in the seas of darkness to fight with the ocean demons and does try to convince Hrothgar that by placing his trust in him and his men, he has actually tied his fate to the winning sides. No wonder Beowulf in his meeting with the Danes does not present oneself as a naïve greenhorn, but rather as an astute and seasoned athlete who knows how to play on the psychology of his team mates to fill them with the confidence, respect and self esteem which is so necessary to win any game in life (Reisner 92). He does tell the Danes that so far he has mitigated almost nine monsters and thereby allude to the fact that he does have the capacity to kill Grendel and any other monster that is spoiling the peace, confidence and sense of honor of the Danes. The other thing that Beowulf tries to convey to the Danes in a tacit and indirect way is the fact that he happened to be an experienced athlete who had much practice and experience in the sport of killing demons and that they could readily trust him with the feat of killing the monster they dreaded that was Grendel. Any young athlete knows that of the many attributes that characterize a great athlete, courage, confidence, a track record of persistent success and the capacity to boost the morale of one’s team mates are the attributes that go a long way in assuring success, fame and a positive reputation (Murphy 187). Thereby, in his first meeting with the Danes, Beowulf like an experienced and seasoned athlete makes sure that he conveys to the Danes that he does have these attributes and that they could readily depend on him to ameliorate the physical threat that was stealing their peace of mind. The other amazing thing is that Beowulf’s self confidence is not merely restrained to his public relations adventures and his capacity to manage his image, but that he does practically evince this courage in his actual grappling with Grendel (Wilcox 59). Not only Beowulf decides to wait for Grendel in the mead hall with a sense of anticipation, but his warriors trust in his prowess and abilities does show that he is a true athlete who approaches any contest with a sense of surety and a positive anticipation of victory. Nowhere in the contest with Grendel does Beowulf exhibit any type of fear, hesitation or doubt. Irrespective of the fact that at night in the mead hall, his soldiers do fear that they may never get to see their country once again, Beowulf remains untouched by any such hesitation or fear. He does evince a sense of restrained and bold aggression in his context with Grendel. Finally when Grendel arrives at the scene of context, he is portrayed in the epic as a really fearsome and scary opponent who could rip apart and devour even the most seasoned warriors like a raw carrot. Yet, before Grendel could devour any more of Beowulf’s warriors, Beowulf seizes him in a bolt like grip, instilling Grendel with a sense of awe, confusion and fear. Beowulf gives Grendel not even a single chance to loosen his grip and to run back to the safety accorded by darkness. This does show that the awesome reputation for victory and courage that Beowulf conveys to the Danes in his first meeting with them is amply backed by a practical capacity for action and courage. When it comes to evincing actual action in his contest with Grendel, Beowulf does not profess any type of hesitation or doubt. He approaches the scary, wrathful and powerful monster with a classic athlete like confidence and stamina and does manage to wrest victory for his team, irrespective of all odds set against them. Beowulf does not show the desire to resort to any special advantage by using any sort of special weapons against Grendel, but rather chooses to fight the monster with bare hands as he says- “No battle-skill1 has he, that blows he should strike me To shatter my shield, though sure he is mighty In strife and destruction; but struggling by night we Shall do without edges, dare he to look for Weaponless warfare and wise-mooded Father The glory apportion, God ever-holy” (XI- 20-25) No doubt, Beowulf’s sense of intensity and boldness in his battle with Grendel also reveal the kind of commitment and sincerity that permeated his sense of confidence in his abilities and his daring to grapple with the most ferocious of monsters. He leaves no doubt that his years of training and worthiness had instilled in him a deep sense of commitment and sincerity that one often traces in the best of athletes and sportspersons. His athlete like worthiness is indeed infectious and does succeed in bolstering the confidence of his team of warriors. There is no denying the fact that Beowulf is able to back one’s lofty claims and a reputation for courage, boldness and victory with real success and ability to do away with even the most bothersome of demons (Jurasinski 2). This is indeed the mark of a true athlete because it is a known fact that athletes with reputation not merely command a big following by virtue of the words they say, but are also able to back these words with practical action and success. This is exactly what Beowulf did in his battle with Grendel. The other big thing about any elite athlete is that one never happens to be a onetime success that rests one’s hope and reputation on a single contest or victory. Elite athletes are always able to yield a series of persistent and continual success events that eventually add to their stature and sense of self worth. One must say that the readers are able to trace this elite athlete like characteristics in Beowulf as he fights a risky and dangerous contest with Beowulf’s mother and manages to defeat her and kill her. Irrespective of being cognizant of the fact that tracing Grendel could place Beowulf and his men in grave danger, Beowulf dares to go after him. Not only that but he does manages to engage in an underwater combat with Grendel’s mother as he picks up a contest against her in a cave. Beowulf attempts a decent to Grendel’s cave when he is picked up and attacked by Grendel’s mother. The amazing thing is that irrespective of being ill prepared for such an eventuality, Beowulf does manage to muster the requisite presence of mind and courage to engage in a deadly combat with Grendel’s mother. Beowulf time and again attacks Grendel’s mother with his thrust but is not able to breach her tough skin. However, being a worthy and true elite warrior, Beowulf does not give way to dismay and cowardice, but attacks her with his bare hands like a worthy sportsman and a true warrior. His combat with Grendel’s mother is really hard and tiring, where irrespective of managing to take over her with his bare arms, he is time and again thrown down by her. It is at this juncture in the epic that Beowulf evinces his true determination and refuses to give up irrespective of the fact that he is on an unfriendly terrain and up against a really lethal and tough opponent (Drout 12). Again it is a reality that even in sports, many a time, lady luck smiles on individuals, who happen to be really worthy and bold. Thereby, Beowulf does manage to gain an upper hand over Grendel’s mother and kills her as the poet says- “That the fiend-woman’s neck firmly it grappled, Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her Fate-cursèd body, she fell to the ground then: The hand-sword was bloody, the hero exulted. The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered,” (XXIV, 10-15) The utterly interesting thing is that Beowulf is time and again able to prove his sense of self worth and expertise by engaging in deadly combats with horrific monsters and other such creatures. However, as is seen in the real world, the epic world of Beowulf is also vulnerable to the fact that even the most worthy of athletes do have to bear with defeat and lack of success at some time in their career (Abraham 278). In that context Beowulf also had to face his moment of truth in his combat with the Dragon. However, irrespective of being badly wounded by the dragon, Beowulf does manage to reveal his elite athlete like courage and spirit by taking this defeat with courage and with a sportsman like poise. Irrespective of being seriously injured in the neck by the dragon, Beowulf not only comes to the aid of his mate Wiglaf, but also manages to inflict a fatal blow to the dragon on his side with his war knife (Sisam 137). No wonder the readers hitherto did find Beowulf in high spirits as he killed monsters like Grendel and his mother. It is a fact that any athlete can express elation while one is on a winning spree, but the true mark of a sportsperson is evinced in one’s capacity for dealing nobly with tough situations. Certainly, even in his end he is able to evince this sportsman like worthiness, nobility and wisdom. “Quickly advanced ’neath his kinsman’s war-target, Since his own had been ground in the grip of the fire. Then the warrior-king was careful of glory, He soundly smote with sword-for-the-battle, That it stood in the head by hatred driven;” (XXXVI, 71-75) He exhibited his athlete like graciousness by actually accepting and reconciling with a tough opponent and making the utter effort to give in one’s best in the actual combat (Wiggins 540. It is this hero like unwillingness to yield to the tough situations and opponents that differentiate Beowulf from the other cowardly followers, who chose to flee, seeing the intimidating strength and power of the dragon. Beowulf is indeed an elite athlete, par-excellence. It is indeed true that throughout the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf comes out as an astute, well motivated and accomplished athlete. Indeed he is able to overcome even the most formidable of opponents like Grendel, his mother and the Dragon by the dint of his physical prowess, tact, skill, courage and boldness. However, there are many other things in the epic that corroborate the elite athlete like image of Beowulf. One is his capacity to approach the challenges posed by life with a game like sense of poise and balance. It is Beowulf’s capacity to hold on and show up even when the things are at their worst that highlight his sportsman like virtuosity and discipline. His commitment to the good of his people and others does evince a high degree of sincerity and loyalty, so often traceable in elite athletes. Beowulf’s sense of fairness, his integrity, his sense of loyalty towards his people is indeed magnanimous and imbued with an elite athlete like charm. Works Cited Abraham, Lenore. “The Decorum of ‘Beowulf’”. Philological Quarterly 72.3 (1993): 267-290. Print. Anonymous. Beowulf. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print. Drout, Michael DC. “”Beowulf the Monsters and the Critics” Seventy-Five Years Later”. Mythlore 30.1-2 (2011): 5-27. Print. Irving, Edward B Jr. Rereading Beowulf. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press , 1992. Print. Jay, Kathryn. More than just a Game. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. Print. Jurasinski, Stefan. “Myth in Early Northwest Europe”. Arthuriana 20.3 (2010): 1-2. Print. Murphy, Shane. The Cheers and the Tears. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1999. Print. North, Richard. The Origins of Beowulf. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Puhvel, Martin. Beowulf and Celtic Tradition. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 1979. Print. Reisner, Gavriel. The Death-Ego and the Vital Self. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2003. Print. Risden, E.L. Beowulf. Troy, NY: Whitston, 1994. Print. Sisam, Kenneth. “Beowulf’s Fight with the Dragon”. The Review of English Studies 9.34 (1958): 129-140. Print. Wiggins, David K. Glory Bound. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997. Print. Wilcox, Jonathan. Humor in Anglo-Saxon Literature. Rochester, NY: DS Brewer, 2000. Print. Read More