Beowulf is an epic concerning the adventures of a pagan Teutonic hero of the same name. The poem is mainly pagan in sentiment, but Christian poets who put it into writing throw a specific allegorical coloring over it.
The main events in the epic are three fights that Beowulf has to fight against three dangerous forces of darkness. Two of them are Grendel and his mother, and the third one is a foul Dragon.
Beowulf kills Grendel and his mother, but in his final battle with the Dragon, Beowulf receives a mortal wound. The poem concludes with the funeral of the hero.
These fights fought by Beowulf have allegorical significance – they appear to be the fights between good and evil. Secularly, the allegory of the fights takes the form of a struggle between the beneficent and malevolent forces in the world.
Beowulf’s Fights Convey Symbolic Significance of Christianity
Beowulf is the champion of good, and the Monsters and the Dragon symbolize evil. On the natural level also, the fight has symbolic significance. Grendel and his mother stand for welting the north sea against which the sea-farer like Beowulf and the Nordic people, in general, have to wage constant war.
As the mouth-scribe gave the poem a Christian coloring, a Christian interpretation is also possible. Beowulf, the leader of his people, fights a heroic battle against the force of death, the Dragon, and sacrifices his life in the process. He is like Jesus Christ, fighting and ultimately defeating Satan at the cast of his own life.
The Encounter Between Beowulf And Grendel
Grendel, a fierce daemon, starts attacking Hrothgar mead-hall every night and kills many of his men while they are asleep. The poet makes Grendel’s origin clear by making him a progeny of rain, the cursed son of Adam and therefore a force of evil. Beowulf comes to tackle Grendel with his followers from Geatland.
The first encounter between Grendel and Beowulf takes place on a night when the monster attacks Herot again.
Beowulf watches Grendel enter the hall, attack a sleeping thane, and eat him up. Then the fiend graves off and then engage in a fierce battle. The Danes hear the terrible sound of God’s enemy, Grendel, wailing with pain. Beowulf’s powerful grip on Grendel destroys the monster that flees to the fen to die.
The Encounter Between Beowulf And Grendel’s Mother
The second encounter Beowulf has to make is with Grendel’s mother, who is even more monstrous than her son.
After Cain kills his brother, Grendel’s mother is doomed to live in icy waters. She broods over the loss of her son and hates for the hall of the Danes to avenge the death of Grendel. Mad with anger, she breaks upon the hall door, sizes one of the men, and flees to where she lives.
Beowulf was absent from the hall on that night. Hrothgar quickly summons him to deal with this female monster. Hrothgar promises other treasures to Beowulf to seek out and destroy the monster woman in her dwelling place.
The poet presents Grendel’s mother with more evil significance than Grendel. She has an air of mystery around her, and she represents the primeval force of evil inhabiting the earth. Beowulf jumps into the swirling pool and comes to the bottom of it. He then encounters Grendel’s mother, frim and greedy guardian of that part of the water. She grabs Beowulf and carries him to her under sea-home.
Beowulf struggles with her in a hand-to-hand fight. He pulls her to the floor by the shoulder, but she is about to pierce Beowulf with her dagger. Beowulf’s corselet protects him from sure death. Beowulf springs to her feet and sees a sword of the giants among the monster woman belonging. With this, Beowulf stabs her. She dies, and Beowulf rejoices over his victory.
Beowulf’s Fight with Grendel’s Mother Represents The Good And Evil Conflict
Beowulf’s fight with Grendel’s mother is beset with more symbolic meaning than in the case of the fight with Grendel. Here God has a more critical role to play.
Beowulf realizes that his mortal strength in the face of such evil would be inadequate. The encounter fully demonstrates the poet’s central theme of conflict between good and evil.
A thoroughly Christian theme of God’s grace has been integrated artistically within the framework of a pagan struggle between the hero and the monster.
Beowulf’s Final Fight with The Dragon
The final fight Beowulf has to fight is that dragon. This occurs in his own country, Geatland. After the death of Hygelec and his son, Heardred, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats, and for fifty years, he governs his people as a wise ruler. Then a fire-dragon begins to ravage the countryside because a man of the Geats steals an ornamented cup from a treasure-hoard guarded by the fire dragon.
With eleven comrades, Beowulf goes to face the Dragon. He goes near the barrow of the Dragon, leaving his comrades behind to watch the fight. He shouted defiantly to the Dragon, and a blast of firing serpent breath came from the cave.
Beowulf faces the enemy and draws his sword. The flame-breathing Dragon is ready to attack, and Beowulf advances to kill the creature with his sword. Unfortunately, the sword does not pierce the Dragon’s flesh. It becomes furious until, ultimately, it almost envelopes Beowulf in flame.
Seeing in distress, his companions flee for their own lives to the forest, except one, Wiglaf. Beowulf and Wiglaf fight side by side against the dragon. The Dragon Clutches Beowulf’s neck with its tusks and wounds him severely. Beowulf then draws his dagger and slides the monster. The Dragon is killed, but Beowulf also dies of his wounds.
The Allegorical Significance of Beowulf’s Final Fight against The Dragon
This third fight of Beowulf has more allegorical significance and symbolic value than the earlier one.
In this final war, the hero waged war against the devil itself. All his followers desert him except Wiglaf. The circumstances in which Beowulf is betrayed by his followers and dies reminded the Christian readers very quickly of Christ’s desertion and his death on the cross by the apostles.
The Dragon itself is a symbol of earthly pride; the treasure she is guarding is the emblem of worldly riches – Beowulf’s victory over the Dragon is the victory of civilization over the forces of chaos and darkness of reason and order over destruction.
All three fights epitomize the eternal fight that a man has to fight against the forces of evil lurk amid hostile nature.
