An Analysis of 'Nature'in Beowulf:from theperspective of its relation to man

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The natural world in Beowulf is clearly presented as man’s enemy, showing antagonistic hostility to man. ‘Nature’ is absent from the poem as a signifier of nature, and in its stead the word ‘god’ is used as in ‘mihtig god’ (l.1725, Mitchell, 1998). It has been pointed out that the monster Grendel and his mother, who menace the Danish community, are a part of nature. The descriptions of the malevolent force of nature such as ‘a wynleas wudu’ (l.1416) and ‘wulfhleoþu’ (l.1358) suggest a realm of ghosts and monsters. In this paper, we consider the influences of St. Augustine and Venerable Bede on the author of Beowulf and analyze the negative representation of the natural world, focusing on the word gecynd which is often used as an equivalent to the Latin natura, and try to clarify what the Beowulf poet intends the descriptions of nature to symbolize.

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