Revenge Theme In Beowulf

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ (Matthew 5:38). As stated in the bible, revenge has been around for a long time, since the beginning of time. With this in mind, the epic poem, Beowulf, ties into the idea of revenge. Beowulf is an epic poem, originally written in Anglo-Saxon. Though the original author is unknown, it has been translated by Burton Raffel. The story follows an epic hero, Beowulf, who travels to modern day Denmark, to fight a monster named Grendel who is terrorizing the king, Hrothgar, and his people. Back to the main point, the main theme of Beowulf is revenge, for Grendel’s attack on Herot, Beowulf’s battle with Grendel, and Grendel’s mother’s attack.
To begin, the theme of revenge is evident when Grendel begins his attacks on Hrothgar’s hall, Herot. Grendel lies in the darkness, constantly getting annoyed by the noise of warriors celebrating in Herot, and as a result, he goes to the hall and kills thirty warriors. As proof, Raffel writes, “ A powerful monster, living down in the darkness, growled in pain, impatient as day after day the music rang… when darkness dropped, Grendel went up to Herot… snatched up thirty men, smashed them… ran out with their bodies,” (Beowulf 1-3, 30-39). As one can see,
After hearing Grendel’s attacks on Herot, an eager Beowulf seeks more fame by informing Hrothgar that he will take revenge on Grendel for killing Hrothgar’s men. As Beowulf's men are asleep in the hall, the hero lays in the dark waiting for Grendel to arrive. To show, Raffel notes, “He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulders snapped, muscle and bone split and broke… Grendel escaped… only to die,” (Beowulf 600-07). Evidently, Beowulf took revenge on Grendel by tearing off his arm, which ultimately lead to Grendel’s death. As a result, Grendel’s mother then seeks revenge for her son’s