Throughout history, multitudes of people have been influenced through heroic tales of everything they aspire to be. In every culture, people admire certain qualities as being almost God-like. Beowulf is a perfect example of this. Beowulf’s most defining features are his physical strength, his acceptance of fate, his courage, and his self sacrificing nature. Beowulf was a great king admired by all ,and achieved what he defined as heaven; fame Beowulf was the,”...strongest of the Geats/ greater and stronger than anyone in the world.” (line 91-92). This statement may seem like a long shot, but he took down a monsterous demon, which was spawned in slime, whilst he (Beowulf) used one hand. Not only did he defeat the monster, he made the beast fear him. : “ His mind was flooded with fear”(line 312). The monster Grendel, was feared by all. However, keeping on with the theme of Beowulf’s heroism and strength, all Beowulf had to do was grab his arm to send him in a fearful frenzy. In the end of Beowulf, Beowulf, an old man at this point, almost defeated a dragon this was a feat no one had ever heard of. Of course he dies, however, he does enough damage to the dragon so that his friend, Wiglaf, was able to …show more content…
When he heard of Grendel's vicious attacks on Hrothgar, he knew he was the only one capable of destroying Grendal. He knew he may die, but still he drove on, which lead him to victory. His greatest achievement in life, he probably would consider his greatest failure. This achievement is knowing he would die if he fought the dragon, but he did it anyway with his people in mind. As an old and honored king, Beowulf faces the ultimate test of his courage when he faces the dragon, a monster both horrible and fearsome. Thinking of his people he rose ready for the dragon,”...still brave, still strong”(line 761). He lost the battle, but his death was more than that it was a show of great love and
In Beowulf, the essence left behind by a true hero is extremely important. In epics such as this one, leaders tend to have the determination and boldness of a hero. On the other hand, the main character, Beowulf, does not only display these certain traits. In this heroic poem, respect and trust come naturally. Honor and integrity are present throughout the poem. There are many moments in Beowulf that manifest the many traits that a person should have. This proves how important these attributes are to the characters and the Anglo-Saxon society. Although Beowulf has no known author, it embodies many of the beliefs and morals of the early Germanic society. The author of this epic poem uses many approaches in order to demonstrate that respect and trust are fundamental characteristics of a leader and hero.
Beowulf is one of the most bravest legends. He has no fear! This man will go and fight whoever needs to be fought, with or without help. As soon as Grendel's mother came to get her son’s arm back, Beowulf immediately set out to go find and kill her. He went to the place where she lives and after he plunged into the water, Beowulf swam all the way down to her lair. After he reached the lair, “Beowulf got ready, / donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; / his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail / would soon meet with the menace underwater” (1442-1445). This task also seems to be a death sentence written all over it, but Beowulf looks death in the face, and goes after his mother. He knows that they are immortal, but right next to Grendel’s mother, is the only sword that can kill them. Beowulf is brave enough to grab that powerful sword, and kill both Grendel and his mother. Men today would not do that. Beowulf does not just stop at Grendel and his mother: he continues to fight more monsters to defend what is his. He then took a break and now decides to come home to Sweden. The son of Ecgtheow bids Denmark farewell, and has a moment with Hrothgar. Hrothgar says, “You are strong in body and mature in mind, / impressive in speech. If it should come to pass / that Hrethel’s descendent dies beneath a spear, / … and you are still alive, then I firmly believe / the seafaring Geats won’t find a
The Epic poem of Beowulf is a story of heroism, loyalty, ego, and fate. To be a great leader of men; a great king of the people, you must be respected and trusted. Loyalty is given to those who earn the respect and trust of their people. Beowulf was blessed with great physical strength, the pride and fearlessness of a warrior, and an equally strong command of the spoken word, which he used skillfully to his advantage. He gained the respect and trust of nearly everyone he came in contact with, largely because he possessed the characteristics of a true hero, but in the end it was his ego that sealed his fate. Although it could be said that Beowulf’s character was flawed by an enormous ego, fueled by thoughts of immortality, it is this very trait that made him an ideal hero and king.
Throughout the poem we acknowledge the idealisation of Beowulf both as a warrior and a king. The main features which contribute to Beowulf’s greatness are courage, martial skills, honour, responsibility, generosity and pursuit of fame.
The mighty warrior Beowulf volunteered to help fight off the monster, Grendel. Beowulf showed great bravery because even though Grendel over sized Beowulf, he still accepted the challenge. He also showed strength, Grendel’s head was so massive that four men each had to carry it, but Beowulf could handle the head all by himself. Lastly, Beowulf revealed loyalty by coming to Hrothgar’s assistance, to help with defeating Grendel. Even after Beowulf became King he went to his last battle to defeat the dragon without any help from his
Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.
Through his many heroic accomplishments, whether it is fighting Grendel, Grendel’s mother, or the dragon, in Beowulf’s defense of the needy and his enthusiasm to sacrifice his life to benefit others, Beowulf has earned the right to be given the name “hero.” Beowulf can be looked at as a man who demonstrates the knightly morality of his medieval counterparts. Beowulf is not only a hero, but also a model to all warriors of that they should aim to be.
For the most part, Beowulf’s characteristics describe those of a triumphant warrior who played a major role in defending the lives of his fellow citizens, while leading a thriving country. Although Beowulf soon became king, he died for his people, and was remembered as a victorious fighter. Beowulf is at least in part a study of kingship because it discusses the qualities that produce a good king, the disadvantages during his rule and how he overcame them, and the problems that arose upon his death.
Beowulf displayed great courage and honor throughout his journeys and battles; he was an epic hero. An epic hero is a person who is viewed as larger than life and possesses values of a certain society. From the time of Beowulf’s battle with Grendel to his brawl against the dragon, he has showed everyone what being an honorable hero looks like. His heroism is revealed through both youth as a young warrior and wisdom as a reliable king. He never backed down and didn’t give up when situations were tough. Beowulf had obligations to fulfill and went about every aspect of his life with courage and strength. He cared for his people and was willing to take on anyone that threatened them or his kingdom. He sincerely was the hero of his time.
Beowulf is everything an epic hero should be, he is brave and noble and admired for his great achievements in battle. His strength and his ability to hold his breath under water for an extensive amount time are abnormal.“My hands/Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life/Against the monster”(page 45 line 267-268). At this point he is saying that he will go fight Grendel with his own hands. This is a great example of how he knows that he has inhuman strength. Death seems to not frighten Beowulf at all because he believes that it is just fate. He talks about how it is his destiny to meet these monsters and battle with them even if it kills him.
Everyone feared his abilities and wouldn’t dare attack him. Then a dragon was woken from its slumber and attacked part of Beowulf’s land. “Yet the prince if rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague.” (159: 2345-2347). Beowulf could have taken all of his warriors to fight, but he was too smug. He had to be the one to fight it, or die trying. Beowulf had a need for glorious battle and impossible tasks. He brought few warriors with him to kill the murderous creature. When they reached the dragon, Beowulf made the decision to go in alone because he was too proud, and full of himself to ask for help. When the time came that he needed his warriors, they all ran except one. Beowulf was such a great warrior that no one else in his army had any skill at battle. They had no courage or experience because of Beowulf’s need to go in alone. Beowulf met his match against the dragon, and perished. The need for all the glory and fame drove Beowulf right to his death. It wasn’t the actual threat that killed Beowulf, but the careless decisions that were the real
In Beowulf’s younger years, he personified all of the best values of the heroic culture when saving another kingdom from their demons. Beowulf’s willingness to sacrifice his life in order to save strangers his father owed a debt to is quite selfless. His bravery comes into play when he remains unchanged in his resolve even after hearing of all the King’s men and subjects slain by the beast.
...mately, Beowulf’s traits of loyalty, strength, and bravery were what an Anglo-Saxon warrior strived for to win glory for himself and his lord. Beowulf is the heroic prototype for future warriors, and his character has set the stage as one of the most influential classical heroes in literature.
Beowulf was written in England during the 8th century. The poem, Beowulf, was written during the Anglo Saxon era in Britain. It was written during that time when a huge change was going to happen in the religious ways of the people that they were so accustomed to. It instilled in the Anglo Saxon people a huge sense of honor, sense of duty and morality that was not seen in the earlier times. Beowulf, an epic and narrative poem, is a reflection about many of the Anglo-Saxon ideals and concepts.
Throughout the story of Beowulf, Beowulf is constantly portrayed as a hero through his encouraging words, and tremendous bravery. He gets into multiple fights with various evil dwellers, some being easy for him to defeat, others requiring a lot more fortitude and resilience. The most formidable opponent that Beowulf encounters is definitely the Fire Breathing Dragon. Not only is the dragon intimidating just from its ferocious physical appearance but Beowulf is also performing under tremendous circumstances. He is much older and knows that this will in fact be his last battle. From the beginning of the fight, Beowulf realizes that it will not be easy. The dragon wounds Beowulf several times as well as a noble warrior who stays by his side named