Beowulf t554t

Erin Mannix

Mannix 1

Mrs. Tieman English 12 11 February 2014 Dramatic Monologues in Beowulf In writing, dramatic monologues are used to make stories more theatrical and inform the audience of what is happening. Dramatic monologues are mainly used in poems because they add a sense of point of view through the words of a character. Throughout Beowulf, they are used to add interesting details and facts to the overall story. Beowulf, along with others, likes to enliven the audience before a fight or adventure to make sure they believe he can defeat the monster that is terrorizing them. One of the first dramatic monologues occurs when Unferth discloses his opinion with Beowulf about his fight with Brecca. “You’re Beowulf, are you—the same/ Boastful fool who fought a swimming/ Match with Brecca, both of you are daring/ And young and proud, exploring the deepest/ Seas, risking your lives for no reason/ But the danger? All older and wiser heads warned you/ Not to, but no one could check such pride.” (3:240245). Unferth thinks Beowulf is rather senseless and immature. Beowulf’s power will be put to the test when he fights Grendel and he will have to make wise choices in order to defeat him. Unferth implicitly shows his lack of confidence in Beowulf and then he reminds him that his sheer strength was no match for Brecca and for Grendel. “But the/

Mannix 2 Truth is simple: No man swims in the sea/ As I can, no strength is a match for mine.” (3:266-267). Beowulfs monologue back to Unferth and the rest of the people is him reinforcing his ability to defeat all things evil. As a follow up to Unferth’s monologue, Beowulf talks of his great power and his pure eagerness to defeat creatures of all kinds. “Lucky or not, nine was the number/ Of sea-huge monsters I killed. What man/ Anywhere under Heavens high arch, has fought/ In such darkness, endured more misery, or been harder/ Pressed? Yet I survived the sea, smashed/ The monsters hot jaws, swam home from my journey.” (3: 307-312). Beowulf’s monologue shows that he is very boastful and not afraid of anything. Beowulf also challenges Unferth by saying that he is not as a good of warrior as him. “I’ve heard no tales of you, Unferth, telling/ of such clashing terror, such contests in the night!/ Breccas battles were never so bold;/ Neither he nor you can match me—and I mean/ No boast, have announced no more than I know/ To be true.” (3:313-320). Beowulf basically tells Unferth he is weak and is unable to compare to him. In addition to all of the monologues, I believe the most moving from the epic is when Hrothgar gathered everyone and told them of the hero that is going to purge Herot from evil. “ No one strange to this land/ has ever been granted what I’ve given you/ no one in the years of my rule./ Make this best of all mead-halls yours, and then/ keep it free of evil, fight/ with glory in your heart! Purge Herot/ and your ship will sail home with its treasure-holds full….” (3:385-391). Even though this is the shortest monologue from

Mannix 3 the entire epic, I believe it is most meaningful to the overall story. It shows Hrothgars faith in Beowulf and how he will be rewarded if he can succeed his battle with Grendel. Hrothgar exhibits a large magnitude of confidence in Beowulf’s ability to defeat evil. He wants to assure Beowulf that this will not be an easy task, but if he uses all of his power, will defeat Grendel with ease. Throughout Beowulf, dramatic monologues add a sense of thespian derivative and include many intriguing facts and points, which do not take away from the main story. They give you more of an insight to how the character really acts and how they respond to stressful moments. Dramatic monologues are a better description of the character and they really demonstrate the qualities that they possess. More specifically, Beowulf exhibits a sense of optimism, strength, and pretentiousness. He portrays a powerful character, and lives up to his role. He does not let anything overcome him and fights to his fullest ability. All in all, dramatic monologues let you into the mind of the character and the pure faith they have in themselves. The monologues are their own personal opinions of other people and of themselves, but also how they manage to rally the people to be on their sides and believe in them. Thus, as a result, add a great amount of imagery and give a better understanding of the characters true potential. Dramatic monologues are very important to the overall story and the formation of the characters.