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Satire

In: English and Literature

Submitted By krs89srk
Words 605
Pages 3
Jake Manly
Dr. smith
English Literature 122B, 5th
November 13, 2009
Revenge in Beowulf According to Webster’s revenge is defined as the action of inflicting harm in return for an injury. Beowulf and people today encounter many situations of revenge in their lives. Everyone has been wronged by another at least once in their life, so who wouldn’t want to seek some type of revenge on their enemy? In the epic tale Beowulf, Grendel’s mother had many run-ins with the well-known hero Beowulf himself. She despises the protagonist and his fellow warriors for the loss of her son and seeks revenge. In Beowulf Eddie McPherson comments, “I will go to that dwelling outside the dark wood and bring pain to those who have brought pain to me.” This means that Beowulf and his warrior have done something causing all this hatred upon them. This is also important because it is showing how mad she is for whoever caused her this grief. Jane C. Nitzsche states, “Grendel’s mother enters the poem a mere hundred lines later when she attacks the Danish Hall, as the Frisan contingent attacked the hall lodging Hildenburh’s Danish brother in the Finnsburh Fragment. “This tells about her furious attack on the hall for removing her son’s arm and causing him to die in her arms. This is an important key of revenge because the act of her attacking the hall in the first place was caused by Beowulf killing her son. Jane C. Nitzsche also states, “She resembles a grieving human mother inside while outside she is a beast with a masculine aggression to avenge the loss of her son.” This is stating that even though she has feelings of a human on the inside, she is still driven to kill like the monster she is avenging her son’s death. This is important because in her mind she in infuriated and wants to seek revenge upon Beowulf and his warriors. As a result, the concept of revenge is clearly stated when

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