Signet Essay Contest Winner 2014: Eunice Kim

Eunice Kim

Vast expanses of teal stretch endlessly into the distance, threatening to engulf the sun as it rises from the waves in its journey across the heavens. The undulating waves lap at craggy shores and rocky cliffs, patiently wearing them down to silt that settles down beneath the churning waters. Beneath the sea’s rippling surface, dim shadows flicker restlessly. A spiny tail of a sea creature lethargically rises from the water and hangs motionlessly in the air, the sun glinting off its many-hued scales, before disappearing into the abyss below.

In the world of Beowulf, the sea is shown to be a capricious entity. It pulls playfully at ships’ oars, forcing seamen to anchor their ships to prevent their being carried off by its curving waves. The ocean allows ships to travel across its surface; at the same time, however, men are still subject to its mercurial whims. In some instances, it toys with the lives of men without any qualms, endangering those who depend on the sea for their survival. Beowulf nearly drowns during his swimming match with Brecca, but he overcomes the ocean’s tempestuous waves through sheer willpower and physical strength. The sea is also used as a medium to emphasize certain events and developments that occur in Beowulf, as well as to convey emotions the characters experience. It eagerly hurries Beowulf and his group of Geat warriors onwards to Hrothgar’s kingdom, reflecting Beowulf’s burning desire to prove his worth and gain ellen, or honor. In other parts of the poem, the sea is used to emphasize the greatness of Shild’s dominion, as well as to liken the delicate maneuvering of a ship to the graceful movements of a bird in flight.

The world of the Anglo-Saxons revolves around the sea, both physically and spiritually. The Anglo-Saxons derive sustenance by fishing in its waters and maintain their marauding society by voyaging across its smooth surface. Most importantly, the ocean is their chief connection to the outside world. The Anglo-Saxons are relatively isolated within their separate regions, fenced in by lofty hills and unapproachable mountains. Thus, the ocean serves as both a bridge enabling greater human interaction and cultural diffusion and a geographical barrier isolating tribes from marauding invaders.

The sea wields enormous power over the collective Anglo-Saxon mind, and is a powerful being that serves multiple functions. It is primarily seen as a primeval entity, inspiring fear and awe, which plays an integral role in the Anglo-Saxon creation myth. The scop, or bard, in Hrothgar’s hall sings of “The Almighty making the earth, shaping these beautiful plains marked off by oceans” (26). The sea, firstly, serves as a means of contact with the unknown, a link between mortal men and a greater being. In the Song of Creation, the sea brings Shild, the first king, to the uncivilized Danes as a gift from the heavens. At his passing, the Danes adorn the king’s corpse with treasures and send it across the seas, hoping for the Almighty to send them another charismatic ruler who could lead them to greater glory.

Water can be also seen as a portal between life and death, as well as a representation of eternity. This is most clearly illustrated by the ship burial of Shild, in which Shild is returned to the unknown where he came from. The corpses of Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are also claimed by the sea, swallowed by its ravenous waters. Like the River Styx in Greek mythology, the sea maintains the delicate balance of the eternal cycle of life and death. The sea itself is unchanging, ignorant of the cares of ephemeral mortality and the passing of time. Welthow praises Beowulf’s courage by drawing parallels to his eternal glory with the lifespan of the surrounding waters: ”It will last forever, wherever the earth is surrounded by the sea, the winds’ home, And waves lap at its walls” (61). As a final request, Beowulf beseeches Wiglaf, his follower, to erect a barrow overlooking the sea so the passing ships would see it and acknowledge his former glory; he understands that the ellen of great kings and warriors will be forgotten over time, but the sea remains the same, an ageless, timeless road. A burial mound by the sea would help Beowulf achieve immortality after his demise.

Lastly, the sea functions as a transparent, permeable boundary between two worlds: the earthly realm and the supernatural dimension. The formation of the sea, caused by the Biblical Flood, separates humans from the giants and consigns them to two separate domains. Those who are able to defy this barrier are the heroes and the monsters, both of whom share a natural affinity to water. Like Cuchulainn and Mac Finn in Celtic folklore, Beowulf is supremely adapted to survive in water, the bridge that connects these two worlds. He displays protean abilities in his swimming match against Brecca, as well as his subsequent underwater battle with Grendel’s mother. Beowulf is unencumbered by the disadvantages of not fighting on solid ground, and is later able to swim effortlessly across the river, carrying several bulky suits of armor he rescues from skulking Frank scavengers. Heroes and monsters maintain and solidify this slim connection between the natural and the supernatural; shadowy sea-creatures that emerge from the darkness attack the strange and unusual human that occasionally strays into their midst in order to protect the barrier.  At the same time, however, both constantly struggle to push past the boundary and disrupt the equilibrium of the universe. Grendel and his ilk bring darkness, their natural element, to the world of men, sowing discord within Hrothgar’s kingdom and despair in the sturdy hearts of the Danes. Heroes are also not entirely blameless; they actively kill monsters, and their aggressive actions bring an unwanted human presence into the supernatural realm.

The sea is an ageless enigma; it is an embodiment of man’s fears and uncertainties, the great spectrum of the unknown. The ocean serves as a permeable membrane, functioning as both an obstruction and a bridge spanning across continents and worlds. It is where the unknown and strange realm of sea sprites and scaly creatures momentarily touches the parallel world inhabited by mankind. It is where two young men buffet strong waves in a test of strength, gasping for breath, droplets of sweat intermingling with sea-salt glistening in their hair, a place where men strive to become the heroes they wish to become. True heroes in Anglo-Saxon societies have no fear of the uncertain future that lies before them.  Their audacity is what enables them to pierce the veiled surface of the ocean and see what lurks beneath its waters.