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Bailey Maholm
English 2201
Dr. David A. Grant
9/22/2016

Fame and Glory

Medieval literature can often be thought of as an ancient text intended for the audience of
the time it was written, and considered completely irrelevant today. But if we take a closer look
at texts such as Beowulf, we discover that there are many elements to the poem that are still
relevant today. One of the most prevalent ideas in the poem is that of fame and glory. The
endless pursuit for popularity, reputation, riches, luxury, and frivolous pleasures that eat away at
the humanity of peoples. The almost nauseating lust for the spotlight, and the race civilization
runs in order to obtain it. The way we view fame and glory as a society today might be more
similar to that of the past than you think. In Beowulf we see fame and glory are of upmost
importance, can often be masqueraded by false humility, and can often be confused as to whether
they are based in a Christian or pagan morality way of thinking; we can see each of these things
influence all three of the battles that Beowulf confronts in the poem.
Beowulf is a hero. A man who would risk his all for the safety of the people. But we must
consider if Beowulf is facing the evils of the world for the betterment of the people, or for the
glory that goes along with winning. When the king Hrothgar summons Beowulf to Heorot to
defend his people from the demon Grendel, Beowulf makes a speech about how he is to defeat
the demon and says:

therefore, to heighten Hygelacs fame

and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce
sword and the shelter of the broad shield,
the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand
is how it will be, a life-and-death
fight with the fiend. (435-440).
In the words Beowulf first says to the king, he is already enticing him with the idea of fame. He
is setting up the battle in a way that will obtain him the maximum amount of glory. He
introduces himself with so much pride and belief in his capabilities that he should come across as
arrogant, and yet he doesnt. This parallels many of the advertisements paid for and endorsed by
modern day figures begging for fame and popularity. They brag about what makes them better
than anyone else and how they, like Beowulf, will fight hand-to-hand. An ad paid for by
Donald Trump, a 2016 presidential candidate, states Hell quickly cut the head off ISIS. (1)
Trump is going right to the violent source of glory. By stating that hell cut ISIS off at the source,
he is promoting himself in an effort to achieve fame and recognition from voters. Although many
would argue that they see Trump as arrogant, he still has a large percentage of the United States
voters on his side. Beowulf is doing the same thing when he says that he will kill Grendel with
his own bare hands. By glorifying battle he is getting the king and his people on his side, so that
he can fight against Grendel and not only defeat the demon, but obtain fame. Trump is
paralleling this by getting the American people on his side by enticing them with the idea that he
will defeat the enemy our country is currently facing.

It is vividly noticeable in the poem, and in some cases, society today, that fame and glory
are things that people crave, and want ultimately more than anything else in life.
Let whoever can win glory before death. (1387,1388) These lines are said by Beowulf before
he goes off to fight Grendels mother. Beowulf announces that glory is of so much importance,
that you must, in fact, win it before you die. This parallels what we often see in our present day
society. People today are always saying that they will do anything and everything in their power
to achieve fame and fortune before they die. However, we often dont see people who are upfront
about their goals for winning glory before death. We often see heroes who go out of their way
to save the world from destruction, and bring peace to all peoples. But it can be argued that these
people arent going out of their way to save humanity, for the mere sake of saving humanity; but
rather they have a hidden agenda, a false humility, that what they truly desire is the fame and
fortune.
In his early battles, Beowulf remains discreet about his intentions for fighting the battles.
He says that its for the people and for the kingdom as a whole. But when we see Beowulf later
in life, before his battle with the dragon, he is more upfront about his intentions. He says
I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old,
but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight
for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only
abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open. (2511-2515)
Beowulf is clearly stating that the battle he intends to face is for the glory of winning, and later
mentions that its also about the treasure at hand. Public figure Jerry Lewis openly admitted that

his work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association helped him to become as famous as he is
today. He said I made my reputation in the business caring for what I did, caring for the people
that I did it for. (2) Some might argue that this rise to fame was out of a pure and Christian
intent for helping others. But others might say that Lewis attributed being the face for the MDA
as a way to rise to fame and fortune- a very pagan ideal. The lines between Christian and pagan
ways of thinking are consistently blurred in todays society, as well as in the lines of Beowulf.
We see Beowulf rise to glory and increase his fame after his first two battles against
Grendel and Grendels mother, and we see him live in the lap of luxury the older he gets,
eventually securing his place as king. But in his final battle against the dragon, when he decides
to face the beast as an old man in a final attempt to obtain riches, fame, and glory; he perishes,
and all thats left is rusty old treasure. I think many of us can relate to the Christian moral that
doing good deeds for the benefit of oneself, will ultimately lead to destruction and death rather
than happiness and life. We see celebrities reach their peak of fame and fortune, they obtain all
the glory and riches they could ever want, and then they ultimately end up in a broken state that
leads to their downfall. Celebrities like Cory Monteith (star of hit television series Glee) who
were at the top, living the dream as a pop culture icon complete with fame and glory. Monteith
overdosed on a toxic mixture of drugs and alcohol which led to his early death at the early age of
just 31. Phillip Seymour Hoffman (star of multiple hit movies) also overdosed on drugs and died
at age 46. Simone Battle (singer in group G.R.L) took her own life at age 25 at the peak of her
stardom. A pagan mindset would argue that the most important goals in life are to obtain fame
and glory for yourself, and that will bring you true happiness. But as we see in the poem, and in
real life circumstances, the Christian belief that helping oneself will lead to eventual destruction,

holds true. Of course some would state that their fame and fortune has made them happier than
ever before, but we dont have any evidence as to whether they are truly happy.
Our world is constantly fighting against the ideas of the importance of fame and glory.
Are they truly going to make us happy, or are they ultimately going to destroy us? By looking at
texts from the past, like Beowulf, we can come to understand that people were battling with the
same thoughts in the times of the Anglo-Saxon people, as 21st century society is today.

Works Cited:

Beowulf. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed., Volume 1. Eds. Abrams,
Greenblatt, et al. New York: W.W. & Norton & Company, 2012
LiquidMoves. "Donald Trump AD First Commercial TV AD Campaign ." YouTube. YouTube,
2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016. (1)
Press, the Associated. "Jerry Lewis Admits Muscular Dystrophy Association Helped Fuel His
Fame, but Remains Mum on Departure." Jerry Lewis Admits Muscular Dystrophy Association
Helped Fuel His Fame, but Remains Mum on Departure. New Haven Register, 21 Aug. 2011.
Web. 19 Sept. 2016. (2)