Stories often contain digressions, which were placed by authors to serve a purpose. Digressions are side stories told in order to contribute to the plot. For example, Hrothgar’s scop tells the Finnsburh story in honor of Beowulf. Finnsburh’s tale consisted of the Danes traveling to Frisia to visit King Finn. King Finn is married to Hildeburh, who is the sister of King Hnaef(king of the Danes). The Frisians randomly decide to attack the Danes and many warriors as well as the king, is killed. Hengest, Hnaef’s right hand man decides to take revenge on the Frisians and succeeds.
This story is meant to foreshadow the upcoming future. The characters in the digression are similar to that of the present story. Hnaef is used to represent Wealhtheow, who in the upcoming future, also loses her family members and is married in order to settle a feud. The battle taken place in the digression also foreshadows Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother. Revenge and blood feuds are a large part of the digression, which is also the reason why Grendel’s mother attacks the hall: “But now his mother had sallied forth on a savage journey, grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.” This digression is used in order to add to the theme of revenge presented throughout the story.
Revenge was an honorable act among the Germanic tribes. In the story of Finnsburh, Hengest is set on revenge for his king: “But more for vengeance, some way of bringing things to a head: his sword arm hankered to greet the Jutes.” Another example of this is when Beowulf takes revenge for Hrothgar. The Danes were devastated as Grendel attacked their home, but Beowulf rushes in and saves the Danes. Hengest represents Beowulf, which is why the story is told right after Beowulf’s victory with Grendel. Beowulf and Hengest both takes revenge for people they both admire. In Beowulf’s case, he is helping the Danes partly to repay his father’s debt to King Hrothgar and to Hengest, he pledged loyalty to his king. Another similarity between the two is the treasure they both receive after their batltles. Beowulf’s battle also marked another victory for the Danes, which is also the outcome in the story of Finnsburh.
Digressions in Beowulf are often related to the situation at hand. The characters in the side stories are similar to the characters presented in Beowulf and the story foreshadows the upcoming events. But hidden in digressions are warnings to the characters. They talk about past mistakes among different tribes and serve as a reminder to not make the same error. The story emphasizes the tensions between the tribes joined together by marriage. Which is shown throughout Beowulf. Side stories may have a small part in stories, but they play an important role in building the story overall.
This story is meant to foreshadow the upcoming future. The characters in the digression are similar to that of the present story. Hnaef is used to represent Wealhtheow, who in the upcoming future, also loses her family members and is married in order to settle a feud. The battle taken place in the digression also foreshadows Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother. Revenge and blood feuds are a large part of the digression, which is also the reason why Grendel’s mother attacks the hall: “But now his mother had sallied forth on a savage journey, grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge.” This digression is used in order to add to the theme of revenge presented throughout the story.
Revenge was an honorable act among the Germanic tribes. In the story of Finnsburh, Hengest is set on revenge for his king: “But more for vengeance, some way of bringing things to a head: his sword arm hankered to greet the Jutes.” Another example of this is when Beowulf takes revenge for Hrothgar. The Danes were devastated as Grendel attacked their home, but Beowulf rushes in and saves the Danes. Hengest represents Beowulf, which is why the story is told right after Beowulf’s victory with Grendel. Beowulf and Hengest both takes revenge for people they both admire. In Beowulf’s case, he is helping the Danes partly to repay his father’s debt to King Hrothgar and to Hengest, he pledged loyalty to his king. Another similarity between the two is the treasure they both receive after their batltles. Beowulf’s battle also marked another victory for the Danes, which is also the outcome in the story of Finnsburh.
Digressions in Beowulf are often related to the situation at hand. The characters in the side stories are similar to the characters presented in Beowulf and the story foreshadows the upcoming events. But hidden in digressions are warnings to the characters. They talk about past mistakes among different tribes and serve as a reminder to not make the same error. The story emphasizes the tensions between the tribes joined together by marriage. Which is shown throughout Beowulf. Side stories may have a small part in stories, but they play an important role in building the story overall.