Death In Beowulf

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In Seamus Heaney's translation of the epic poem of Beowulf and Siegfried Sassoon's poem "How to Die," the theme of Death and how one faces their demise seems to differ in that Beowulf believes death is honorable in war, and Sassoon how death in war is tragic and grim. Death is shown in the imagery and tone of the two poems. Death, portrayed in the epic poem of Beowulf, has a positive connotation, as when one leads on a heroic pursuit, they are to be rewarded with glory and honor. For example, when Beowulf fights Grendel's Mother he fights in war to "win glory before death" (1388). When Beowulf defeated every one of his opponents, he gained honor. The significance of Beowulf stating that he wants remembrance before and after death signifies his blindness from war. He believes that dying in war is honorable and courageous. On the other hand, in the poem "How to Die, Sassoon writes in a manner that displays the reality of …show more content…
Beowulf dies with his brother, who are referred to as comrades. He has a bond with his men that the soldier in "How to Die" doesn't have. In this case, the poem says "The dying soldier shifts his head," to show how he is alone, quietly shocked and about to die (3). The soldier is alone, with no other army members, which is clearly expressed as the noun is singular. While dying alone is shown in both poems differently, there is an aspect where death's images are similar. Namely In Beowulf, when Beowulf is asked to take the throne, he did not want to be "elevated over Heardred as his lord" (2375). One could argue that Beowulf refused the throne to not take away from his glory after death, or if he truly was a noble warrior. Similarly, in "How to Die," the soldier lifts his fingers toward the skies" (5). In both poems, there is a form of elevation towards death. However, in "How to Die," the soldier is stopped by the heavens, as what society

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