Men are so heroic. How so very brave and masculine they are with their sharp, pointy weapons and chiseled muscles. Prepared to fight any battle at the blink of an eye or the wave of a sword. The world revolves around them, rightfully so. Know a damsel in distress? Do not fear, for surely a knight in shining armor will come to the rescue in no time. Women who? Oh, those things. Must they be talked about? Well, okay. They are wicked, cruel, selfish, monstrosities that are not worthy of much positive recognition; not unless they are good for something in the eye of a man, that is. Alright, while all of that is profound sarcasm, since in a level-headed 21st century society, the vast majority of people no longer hold those beliefs, unfortunately …show more content…
In the poem Beowulf, dating to around 1000 AD, the young “beloved warrior”, Beowulf, sets out on a series of three adventures to slay evil and be his heroic self (Beowulf, 1216). The first fiend Beowulf must tackle is a swamp-like creature and descendent of Cain, named Grendel, that sets out to attack Hrothgar’s, the aging ruler of the Danes, hall Heorot for the pain it brings him. Readers do not get much of a description or background for Grendel, but we get is that he is bad, and Beowulf is the hero, so Beowulf must kill Grendel. Once this warrior murders Grendel, the poem states, …show more content…
Beowulf, his men, Hrothgar, and Hrothgar’s people celebrate the death of this antagonist and his inability to wreak any more havoc. However, Grendel’s mother finds out about the death of her son and the story says, “But his mother – greedy, grim-minded – still wanted to go on her sad journey to avenge her son’s death” (1276-78). She, of course, fails to succeed and is Beowulf’s second obstacle in appearing more heroic, leading to her own demise (Beowulf, 1554). By this word choice, it is showing that she is not even allowed to mourn her son without being portrayed as greedy and having her voyage to kill her son’s killer be considered “sad”, as if there is no point in even trying. Here is a man praised and honored and celebrated for murdering and killing. He is referred to as brave and heroic, while a woman, showing motherly love at the loss of her one and only kin, is slaughtered all the same as her son was for attempting to get some peace of mind. Killing is killing is killing, making Beowulf no different than she for the urge to get revenge for another’s wrongdoings. Except, she is a woman, and she was going outside the bounds of expectations for women in this time, so according to this culture, she must be punished for it and
In the epic poem Beowulf, Grendel is depicted as an evil monster that destroys Herot-hall and kills people for no reason. In the poem, Grendel had filled the Danes with terror as he ravaged their mead-hall and killed their men again and again. He did so without remorse and even took joy in killing, and even eating them. He had stopped, because a great hero, Beowulf, caught and killed him. However, what readers do not hear is why and how Grendel was treated by the Danes. When he was a young little creature, Grendel had been ignored, humiliated and bullied by Danes in Herot-hall. He wanted to fight back, but instead, he decided to give them a second chance. However, the Danes began singing the “Song of Creation” which totally
In the poem Beowulf, the protagonist is portrayed as a heroic figure who strives to spread his name and glory out across the land in order to be remembered. Although his acts may not entirely be for the right reasons, Beowulf does express his heroic qualities of bravery, arrogance, and brute force.
Grendel, the monster terrorizing Heorot, is introduced as being estranged from the rest of the world. He is described as an outsider, a descendant of “Cain’s clan” (107). Grendel’s outcast status leaves him living in darkness, his envy growing the more he hears the celebrations of the Danes. Envy and social status motivate Grendel’s cruelty, filling him with anger towards those who are human. When Beowulf and the Geats arrive, it is not solely out of honor that Beowulf vows to kill the beast. Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow, had an unpaid debt at the time of his death. Beowulf’s pledge that he would kill Grendel was a repayment, as well as an honorable feat. However, as Beowulf is introduced, the boasts he makes of his heroic feats and his “awesome strength” (29), only prove his barbarity. He boasts that “they had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes” (419-422). He goes on to blame the enemies for the vengeance that he wrought upon them. Beowulf dehumanizes his enemies, states that they were foul beasts who tainted the land, and he purified it. This is a sadistic view of life and battle, contrasting cruelty for the
An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject. It usually is about
In Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.
Beowulf was considered the mightiest hero among the lands of where he resided for his heroic actions and thoughtful actions towards his civilians and other rulers. In the beginning of the book there was a mythical creature that reeked havoc upon the village named Grendel that attacked the King’s Hrothgar’s mead hall. When Beowulf heard the news, he willingly volunteered to attack Grendel. He then gathers up the mightiest men to go on the journey with him. When he arrives at Herot he’s given a feast and allowed to stay the night at the Herot to confront Grendel. Then when Grendel arrives he kills one of the men waiting before Beowulf could get to the battle. Beowulf then begins fighting with Grendel and tears off his shoulder, when his shoulder
The poem then takes another turn when Grendel’s mother comes to avenge her son’s death by killing one of Hrothgar’s most trusted companions. By doing this, she is following the warrior code of the Anglo-Saxons which is an eye for an eye. The other alternative is to pay for the crime committed which is called a wergild. Once again the Danes are made uneasy because another monster is at large, and Beowulf agrees to put an end to her. Although Beowulf seems to respect the action that Grendel’s mother has taken by saying, “It is better for a man to avenge his friend than much mourn” (Donaldson p.25), nonetheless, he has to kill Grendel’s mother because he has a duty to protect the Danes. Beowulf is not afraid of fighting Grendel’s mother because glory comes before death and to him that is best for a warrior: “let him who may get glory before death; that is best for the warrior after he has gone from life” (Donaldson p.
Throughout Beowulf, both the poem and the movie, Grendel is portrayed as a gruesome creature who causes havoc on Heorot and its people. In the text, during his battle with Beowulf, Grendel is described as terror-monger (line 765). Along with being a terrifying beast, he is also
Beowulf, a soldier of honor and courage. Through his many battles with giants and sea monsters he has found himself in another life threatening predicament. Many things change when the poem is put on the big screen. Hrothgar king of the Danes was never mentioned as Grendel’s father in the original poem. In the poem Beowulf never makes a deal with Grendel’s mother, he kills her. Towards the end of the movie Hrothgar crowns Beowulf the king of the Danes, but in the poem leaves and becomes king of the Geats for fifty peaceful years.
What are the qualities of an epic hero? An Epic hero is a hero on a
What does it mean to be a hero? Like anything else in this world, the definition of the word hero can be argued. Some may say that a hero can be passive, that is if he or she refrains from doing a certain action it makes them heroic. Others would argue that to be truly heroic the character must never turn tail and always face the obstacle head on even though he or she may die in the process. So is Beowulf a hero? Yes, Beowulf is a great epic hero, but his greatness comes only from his sword and not from his mind.
The first opponent Beowulf must face in the land of the Danes is Grendel, textually described as “a fiend out of hell … [a] grim demon / haunting the marches, / marauding round the heath / and the desolate fens” (Beowulf, line 100 – 104). The author also provides us with a moral description, explaining how Grendel is “merciless … malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (line 135-137). As we can see here, the author’s physical and moral portrayal of Grendel is rather unforgiving. We also resent Grendel further once we learn that he has wreaked havoc upon the Heorot hall for twelve years, “inflicting constant cruelties on the people / atrocious hurt” (line 165).
Grendel was born out of the slime, and conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Caine. He’s a demon that no crime or evil could ever be enough for. Grendel comes up from his swamplands into Herot hall where soldiers slept. Intending by morning those bodies would be lifeless. “But fate that night intended Grendel to gnaw the broken bones of his last human supper” (Pg.56 lines 294-295). Beowulf then came to save Herot and to stop the monster from terrorizing Herot’s people any
In the epic poem “Beowulf”, translated by Seamus Heaney, a warrior from Geatland comes to the rescue of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose land is being attacked by a monster named Grendel. Grendel has seen the men being joyous, and attacks them out of jealously. Beowulf hears of this monster, and travels with some men to defeat the beast. Beowulf fights Grendel without using weapons, and succeeds in defeating Grendel. He then has to fight the monsters mourning mother, who he kills as well. Beowulf returns home and rules as king until, fifty years later, a dragon plagues his people because of stolen treasure. Therefore Beowulf must protect his people, and chases the dragon to his lair. With the help of Wiglaf, a faithful warrior, Beowulf
Beowulf’s first accomplishment as an epic hero was his battle with Grendel. Grendel was a huge beast, a descendent of Cain, who ruthlessly murdered innocent Danes because he felt pity for himself. Upon hearing of the Dane’s problem, Beowulf set off to help the Danish without having been called upon. Even though Beowulf had men backing him, He drew battle with Grendel alone and without armor or weapons. Yet, Beowulf emerged victorious with the arm of Grendel as his trophy. Beowulf then went on to kill Grendel’s vengeful mother and a huge fire-breathing dragon who thought it had been done wrong by the Geats. Alas, the killing of the dragon would be Beowulf’s last great battle for the dragon took Beowulf’s life in the struggle for his own.