Sense of Doom in Beowulf

Beowulf is an epic poem filled with violence, vengeance, and death. The context of the poem is filled with a strong sense of doom, targeted at the fate of the characters' lives. Beowulf centers on the Pagan belief of predestination and also on the Christian belief that God protects the good, and not the evil. These beliefs play a role in the ultimate fate of the characters.

The story begins as Grendel was terrorizing Herot. Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, "Wept, fearing the beginning might not be the end" (48-49) of Grendel's wrath. Grendel was eating the Danes and their doom was forever present as long as Grendel was still alive. Beowulf was chosen to defeat Grendel. As Beowulf was regaling about his heroic deeds he said "Grendel and I are called together and I've come...God must decide who will be given to death's cold grip" (269-270). The Christian and Pagan belief are intertwined in his statement that reveals one of the two will die.

Beowulf always had the thought in the back of his mind that he will not always win his battles. He expressed this feeling more than once as he said "and I think, if my time will come, there'll be nothing to mourn over..." (274-75). He believes that if he dies he will have failed and d

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The battle began, but “…then [Beowulf’s iron shield] began to melt, and for the first time in his life that famous prince fought with fate against him, [and] with glory denied him” (684-88). This sets the stage for the battle that could include the death of Grendel because, “…fate, that night intended Grendel to gnaw the broken bones of his last human supper” (309-11).

There is the potentiality of sudden death or a swift change, which makes the strong sense of doom omnipresent in Beowulf. Beowulf’s warriors thought Beowulf was defeated as they “…saw the waves surging and blood spurting through” (565-66). Beowulf still had the belief that fate will decide the victor.

Beowulf traveled to the monster’s underwater lair, surrounded by fire, serpents, and beasts. Beowulf’s “…weapon had failed him, deserted him…[Beowulf] stared at death…” (696-98). There was a sense of doom that Beowulf would not defeat Grendel’s mother, but “…fame comes to the men who mean to win it and care about nothing else!” (507-09). The Danes gave up and left, but Beowulf’s men, the Geats, stayed “…imagining they saw their lord…” (577). A tower was built to commemorate his courage, valor, and heroism. The table’s were turned, and Grendel’s mother was destined to die. After the battle with the dragon, Beowulf was mortally wounded and died soon after.

Approximate Word count = 839
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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