Beowulf and Gawain: Different Stories, Similar Endings
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Although six centuries separate Beowulf from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the endings to these alliterative poems are not unlike. While the poems themselves are unique, telling different tales and sharing few common themes or philosophies, the resolutions are quite similar. In both poems, the hero embarks upon a journey culminating in a final confrontation and victory (in one form or another) for the hero and those he serves. Gawain and Beowulf themselves represent traits valued by their respective cultures, many of which are identical. However, many readers fail to notice these likenesses and instead focus on the more apparent differences between the poems, such as the final challenge and outcome of the hero or the obvious cultural differences. I maintain that, while the resolutions of Beowulf and Gawain are seemingly dissimilar, they actually share many things in common. The contrast most evident in the resolutions of Beowulf and Gawain is the outcome of the hero. In Beowulf, a dragon has been terrorizing Geatish lands and Beowulf battles it to protect his people. This is his most challenging fight yet, as the text makes clear: “No quarter was claimed; no quarter given… So for the first time fortune was failing / the mighty man in the midst of a struggle …the blade he brandished / had failed in the fray thought forged from iron” (Beowulf lines 2254-2280). Additionally, the fact that Beowulf, a solitary fighter in the past, needs assistance from Wiglaf, and dies in spite of this help, tell us that this is the most brutal and difficult battle that Beowulf has ever fought. Gawain’s conflict, while every bit as serious as Beowulf’s, is much less intense. The beheading game is more refined than Beowulf’s harsh battle with the dragon, so much so that it even has rules and expectations for both Gawain and the Green Knight. We see how civilized this contest is when the Green Knight delivers his blow to Gawain’s neck: “Lightly his weapon he lifted, and let it down neatly / with the bent horn of the blade towards the neck that was bare; / though he hewed with a hammer-swing, he hurt him no more / than to snick him on one side and sever the skin” (Gawain lines 2310-2313). The Green Knight means no harm to Gawain, as the real game is the exchange of winnings between Gawain and Bercilak. The main difference between Beowulf’s and Gawain’s battles is the high intensity of one and the cordial atmosphere of the other. However, if one pays attention to them, the similarities between the two fights abound. The battles in the resolutions of Beowulf and Gawain share three things in common: victory (of some sort) for the hero, service to others, and a journey leading up to a final challenge. Beowulf’s journey begins when he embarks upon a voyage to “offer Hrothgar, with honest heart, / the means to make an end to this menace [i.e. Grendel]” (Beowulf lines 244245). Beowulf’s desire to help others is the motivating force behind his three major battles, and culminates in his defeat of the dragon at the cost of his own life; he says, “…still in old age I would see out strife / and gain glory guarding my fold” (Beowulf lines 2213-2214). Gawain, too, is motivated by helping others, and accepts the Green Knight’s challenge on behalf of King Arthur. He says,
aegis 2008
Zachary Hopper
