Fate in Beowulf

Mrs. Mumm

British Literature, 3 purple

10-22-14

Fate in Beowulf

        Fate is the development of events beyond a person’s control. Fate plays a role in the story Beowulf, without fate there might not even be a story named Beowulf. Fate is what pushes people forward throughout the story. Although the warriors in Beowulf don’t know their fate, their fate finds them.

        The warriors do not know their fate until they engage in war. In the story Beowulf a little before Beowulf kills Grendel Beowulf says, “I shall seize my enemy in my hand grip and fight, enemy against enemy, and let God decide who shall be taken by death”. Beowulf is not going to fight Grendel with a weapon, he is going to use only his bare hands, and let God decide his fate, whether Beowulf or Grendel gets to live or gets to die. Both Beowulf and Grendel are going to fight their hardest to survive, but in the end God will be the one that really decides who will win and who will die. This quote is important in the story because they do not know what their fate and this drives them forward to fight so they can find out their fate.

        The warriors in Beowulf are willing to go into battle to discover their fate. This happens a little after Beowulf killed Grendel. “Fate is not easy to flee from, try it who will-children of men, bearers of souls, must go to the prepared place, his body rest fast in the grave, sleep after the feast”. The characters in Beowulf are talking about how some people try to run from their fate, but it will always catch up to them. This is important because if some people didn’t try to run from their fate, we would think that everyone back then was brave.

        In the story Beowulf fate is what drives the people and the warriors to go on in their life. If there was no such thing as fate, there would not be a story.