Dialectical Journal 3

1. But now a man, with the Lord's assistance... (ln. 938) This plays into the idea of Beowulf being chosen by God. It reinforces him as a priest or even as a Jesus figure. The fact that he has God's assistance makes him basically undefeatable, at least while he is still in God's favor. It could be argued that Beowulf is more of a priest than a Jesus figure though because he is the reason for Grendel's death and Jesus was never a man of violence.

2. But death is not easily escaped from by anyone... (ln. 1001) It is important to know this concept, and it's connection with fate. In this epic, whatever happens happens and there is no way of escaping it. You have to be able to face the consequences of your actions. The fact that it says death isn't easily escaped hints at the idea that there are some who do manage to escape their death for a time, but it eventually gets to them in the end, like it does for us all.

3. She, the woman in shock, waylaid by grief... (ln. 1074) The of women suffering plays into this part of the story and reinforces the slightly anti-war part of the epic. It underlines the loss that the mother feels for her son, brother, and husband. By mentioning these specific men in her life who were killed, the song emphasizes her sorrow by telling us that the woman basically lost her whole family. Women are in the text not only to be good hostesses and provide peace between nations, but also to show the reader some of the horrors of war.

4. ...they were leaderless, in forced allegiance to his murderer. (ln. 1102) This idea directly contrasts the idea of wergild, or blood-money. The fact that the warriors were forced to suffer even more after the loss of their leader by being forced to follow the one who killed him is definitely different. According to their Anglo-Saxon traditions, it should be the murderer who is forced to pay the price for killing their leader, not the other way around.

5. ...flamed and consumed the dead of both sides. (ln. 1124) Here there is the idea that death was the same for all of the warriors. Some of them might have died more bravely than others by choosing to fight rather than, perhaps, running away, but the main point is that death has no discrimination. It doesn't matter where you're from or who you're fighting for. You're either dead or you're not.

6. But now his mother had sallied forth on a savage journey, grief-racked and ravenous, deasperate for revenge. (ln. 1276) I find it kind of weird that the concept of wergild only applies to "normal" people, not to monsters. The people in Heorot don't even consider the fact that Grendel might have a mother and that she might feel the same grief that they would feel after losing a member of their family. It is pretty much taken for granted that wergild should be paid after the killing of another person's kin, but if the son of a monster is killed, it makes you a hero and the payment for their life is just forgotten.

7. To Hrothgar, this man was the most beloved of the friends he trusted between the two seas. (ln. 1296) The subtext here is that, becasue Hrothgar is a good king, he thinks of all his men as his most trusted. It is possible that, at this point in time, this man is at the front of his mind as his most trusted man because Hrothgar has just lost him. It is a compliment to the man as a warrior and protector of the king that he is remembered so well and thought so highly of. At the same time, this is how Hrothgar views many of his men. To him, they are all valuable.