"So that troubled time continued, woes that never stopped..." (Beowulf 38) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the epic poem Beowulf, the relationship between aggression and heroism is complicated and challenging, especially when a contemporary reader is introduced to the views expressed from the perspective of the Anglo-Saxon cultural base. The challenge, therefore, is to interpret and understand the complex vision of violence that the anonymous Anglo-Saxon narrator presents. The narrator paints a contrasting picture of glorious violence, which honors a warrior, and tragic violence, which permeates relations between Anglo-Saxon tribes. The most obvious examples of violence in the Beowulf epic are the descriptions of Beowulf's battles. These descriptions are long, detailed, and usually full of blood. While this may be shocking to a modern audience, the framing of these violent descriptions makes it clear that these events are something to be praised and admired. When Beowulf first boasts to Hrothgar about his honor, he points out that "everyone knew of my extraordinary strength. They saw me shot in the blood of enemies" (Beowulf 418). The text clearly implies that Beowulf's vigorous "vengeance of the Geats" is glorious and heroic (423). The language surrounding Beowulf and his exploits is noble and elegant, glorifying the severity of the violence he uses. Likewise, his aggressive actions toward the “monster” Grendel, when “[s]inews divide and…bones burst,” are not only worthy of praise, but of a feast and celebration by of the entire reign of Hrothgar (816-17). This supports Mallory Carlson's statement in her essay ENGL 41: "Violence is at the center of every action and cultural standard upheld by the Germanic characters in Beowulf, to the point that the violence actually transcends its thematic nature and begins to develop into a type of ideal virtue." Outside this heroic bubble, however, there is a clear difference in tone between descriptions of Beowulf's glory and the numerous Anglo-Saxon feuds. The first, and perhaps clearest, example of this comes in the form of a poem within a poem. After Beowulf's triumph over Grendel, a scop sings a ballad that tells the tragic story of the Dane Hildeburgh, who is married to King Finn of the Jutes as collateral to end a long history of revenge killings. However, a feud breaks out once again and “son and brother [and husband], / she lost them…on the battlefield” (1072). Unlike Beowulf's battle descriptions, which focused on his actions and violent images of combat, Hildeburgh's story focuses on feelings of loss and her "passionate wailing and singing" as are her family members. burned on the funeral pyre (1119). The story ends not with the triumph of either side, but with the loss of many men on both sides, "the brave Finn slain in his home" and a heartbroken Hildeburgh returned to her homeland (1146). The story is clearly not one of heroism, but of tragedy. Likewise, various accounts of Anglo-Saxon tribal history are full of examples of tragic violence. The decades of battles between the Swedes and the Geats highlight example after example of revenge and battles that only lead to more revenge and battles. As Carlson states in his essay: "The pattern of violence in Beowulf... creates a kind of cosmic irony. Because revenge is highly valued in Anglo-Saxon cultures, there is always a justification for human death." With the exception of Beowulf's reign and a mention of that of._)