Tayler Outlaw

mrs.Hohl
cp english 4
2 October 2014

The Stairwell of Evil

the poem Beowulf was written around 800 a.d by an unknown author. Beowulf is an epic
poem about a hero from the land of the geats(sweden) who saved the danes(denmark). Our
hero faces many foes until he meets his untimely death, but you have to wonder how is the
battle between good and evil portrayed?

In the first part of Beowulf, grendel, the monster slipped into the mead hall killing 30
men(line 30-54). the hall stayed empty for 12 years until beowulf came to get rid of grendel. with
grendel there was no risk to death, beowulf even said behind some broad lintin shield: my
hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life(172-173). he is clearly not afraid of grendel
making the chapter of grendel have no emotional weight. we know beowulf will win, not only
because he has superhuman powers but also because he saysi swam in the blackness of
night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and
fate they had earned(155-159).

After fighting grendel he fought against grendel's mother, who wanted revenge for
grendel's death. Again beowulf shows no weakness or fear of grendels mother. according to the
text grendels mother was killed just like grendel but in a pond. he slays her easily referring back
to line 155-159 showing that he was skilled enough and probably very prepared. he kills her with
no problem again adding no weight to the situation of if he will live or die. we know hes going to

live not just by the info given before the battle with grendel but by how confident he is once
more. this is where the poem turns a bit from beowulf being an unstoppable hero to a vey holy
god believing man.

The third and final fight was against the dragon that sadly killed beowulf but died with
him. now this fight was a bit different beowulf went into the fight well aware that he would
probably die, this adds a lot of meat to Beowulf's predicament. He could die! which is the key
word, whenever anyone faces death as an option their deed becomes even more recognized
and glorified. He also brought a few of his most skilled warriors including Wigloth, but was
abandoned by them in the end. This symbolises that we are only human and we can get scared
of the supernatural task before us but we should press on and do whats right. yet many brave
souls end up like beowulf, they are abandoned by their comrades people who they called their
friends; just to get hurt by the evil or worse. Beowulfs fight with the dragon shows us that
sacrifice isnt easy and sometimes is very hard to do, but at times it is required thus taking a lot
of courage.

In conclusion evil takes different forms and shapes. as beowulf fought, evil kept coming
back but in more stronger forms. first in grendel, and grendels mother, then the dragon;
ultimately resulting in beowulfs death. when he died the sacrifice was extraordinary, not only did
he kill the dragon/evil but he also gained fame; thus making his name live on. People remember
his heroic deeds if he did them for good intentions or not. The messege is a bit mixed near the
end because when Beowulf was dying he wanted to see his treasure before he died and wanted
Wigloth to have his name live on, he was more concerned with his fame than anything else. But
i digress evil is still alive today in many different forms, it could be small. like a bully or mean

student, or it could be big, like isis (the terrorist group). evil will always be a alive and well no
matter what you do unless you choose to fight like beowulf.