What was it all for?

[davem]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

Sorry if this has been said already (only scanned the thread so far), but as davem has suggested already, Beowulf was very important to Tolkien. Is it not true that Tolkien considered himself to be, among other things, writing a modern day Beowulf for modern readers? And if so, what does that tell us?

I suppose we could ask whether the Beowulf poet had a 'goal' in mind, or whether he considered his work to be 'meaningless', or at best mere 'entertainment'? It seems to me that he was dealing with some profound themes (this seems to have been Tolkien's view also).

Of course, just because the poet doesn't offer an 'answer' doesn't invalidate the poem. He sets out Man's position in the Universe, standing in a little circle of light amidst endless darkness awaiting, with courage or despair, the coming of the Dragon.

It could be argued that, if we strip away the metaphysics, both Tolkien & the Beowulf poet show us ourselves, our lives & the fate which awaits us. Whether there is anything beyond the Circles of the World is the great unknown, & some of us will face the Dragon with hope that beyond that confrontation there will be something else, some kind of continuation, or with acceptance - there may be nothing afterwards, but we can stand & face it anyway, This is the choice both Beowulf & Frodo are confronted with – not whether to confront the Dragon or live in peace, but whether to look it in the eye when it comes, or to look away.

Tolkien stated LotR was about 'Death, the inevitability of Death' - & so is Beowulf. If its 'only' about that, then its certainly not about 'nothing'. If its 'just a story' then that story is 'our' story. It is the story of our life, & more importantly of our death. Both works, perhaps, are 'meditations' on the coming of the Dragon, & how we must find a way to live while we await it.