Beowulf is an epic Old English poem from about a thousand year ago. Both the author and the date are left as a mystery (Lapidge, The Origins of Beowulf: From Vergil to Wiglaf). Scholars have been able to make a rough estimate as to when the poem was written, guessing that it was between 700 and 1000 A.D. The story is believed to have been passed down for a couple hundred years before it was written down (Lapidge, The Origins of Beowulf: From Vergil to Wiglaf). Beowulf is a story about one brave man’s journey to defeat a terrifying beast. The angered monster Grendel lives within the swampland of Heorot (Heaney, Beowulf). Heorot was created by King Hrothgar of Denmark, and is a mead hall where his men can relax, drink and celebrate their victories. …show more content…
The definition of an epic hero is a hero who possesses qualities that mortals lack. They have unwavering bravery, extreme intelligence, strength, fine-tuned skills, and a passionate drive (Jankowski, Why Beowulf Is an Epic Hero). Beowulf displays his bravery numerous times throughout the poem, from the very beginning when he elected to help Hrothgar with Grendel all the way to the very end when he fought the dragon to defend Geatland. Beowulf’s intelligence comes out while he’s in battle. While his opponents were all monsters who were angry and greedy, Beowulf was calm and wise. On line 737 is describes him to be “eagerly watching” as Grendel approaches, sizing him up because he knows of Grendel’s lack of intelligence (Heaney, Beowulf). The other traits, such as his skills and strength are showcased during his battle with Grendel at Heorot. The two were battling and Beowulf ends up ripping his arm off to defeat him (Heaney, Beowulf). The other side to an epic hero is their vulnerability. Each one, despite their countless strengths, contains some sort of weakness or downfall (Jankowski, Why Beowulf Is an Epic Hero). Unfortunately, Beowulf’s flaw lies in his old age. Throughout his 50 years of being king, he lost a lot of his youthful strength and skill, which wasn’t a serious problem for him until the dragon was provoked and began causing havoc to the Geats. He volunteered to fight the dragon one-on-one just like an epic hero …show more content…
His kingship is portrayed as more of a reward for his heroic behaviors than the focus of him as a character. After his heroic acts in Denmark, he returned home to Geatland and eventually came to rule over his home land. For fifty years he ruled, and those fifty years were very successful years for the Geats (Heaney, Beowulf). No foreign countries caused any harm to them, no monsters were harming the people, and they saw lots of wealth and fortune come to them during the period. Despite the fact that Beowulf had to battle the dragon as a king, it’s more comparable to his younger years when he was just a hero. From the very beginning, Beowulf had done nothing but heroic acts. To focus on him as a king would be missing the point of Beowulf as a character. He was selfless enough to take his men to a foreign nation and assist them in their troubles with Grendel and his mother. He put his life on the line numerous times, and prevailed every time. The poem is littered with his different heroic acts. When everyone else in Denmark was too cowardly to face Grendel themselves, Beowulf was the one to do it. The same pattern occurred when Grendel’s mother become the threat. He went down to fight her, and told his troops to stay behind (Heaney, Beowulf). These are not the acts that a typical king would make, as a king in a typical epic or story would stay home and send his troops out to
Beowulf is among the earliest surviving works of literature. It was written in Old English and dates back sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem is set in Scandinavia, and tells the story of the heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf was the perfect hero. He fought for his people and defeated evil with his ability to bring on justice. Three of Beowulf’s traits that serve as evidence of this were his remarkable physical strength, his ability to put the well-being of others before his own well-being, and his courage.
Beowulf is an epic poem that was written in the late tenth-century, at the kingdom of the West Saxons. The two main characters are Beowulf, a young man; and Grendel, a furious dragon. Beowulf's world is a very violent society with wars as a dominant part of daily life. Dragons and monsters are a constant threat to the Danes and the Geats. Warriors are a necessity to this war-like society. Beowulf is a hero as well as a great, and honorable, warrior.
Beowulf is an epic poem written in Old English by an unknown author. The main character of the book, Beowulf, ultimately clashes with an evil monster named Grendel. However, before that battle, Grendel goes on a murderous rampage that spans fourteen years, and he continues it every night. Fueled by a hatred for the God-praising citizens of the town and the construction of a boisterous town hall right above his home, Grendel’s ensuing rampage earns him the reputation of a purely evil being. Although Grendel’s continued mass murder is not justified, the invasion of his home and unlucky birth make it understandable.
An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject. It usually is about
His fame started out when he took the quest of defeating Grendel. The king’s men were being attacked and murdered by the beast, but no matter what they tried to do they couldn’t defeat him. When they heard that Beowulf was going to attempt to kill Grendel they were happy at the thought of the beast being dead, but they did not expect that Beowulf would be victorious. When Beowulf did manage to defeat him the king and his men were filled with gratitude towards Beowulf. This is how Beowulf’s name became popular and honored. He had the chance to gain more respect when the King and his men needed Grendel’s Mother dead. This quest seemed to be impossible because Beowulf had to go to Grendel’s Mother’s house at the bottom of a magical lake, but that was no problem for Beowulf. “He lept into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s answer; the heaving water covered him over. For hours he sank through the waves.” After waiting for hours the King’s men assumed Beowulf to be dead so they left in disappointment. Beowulf returned and surprised the men with his victory and became even more glorified than before, in fact he became their new king. After ruling for 50 years without any fighting, one final opponent threatened Beowulf and his people. This beast was the Dragon. No one thought that it would be possible to defeat the dragon because of how strong it was, but Beowulf
The first thing that makes Beowulf an epic hero is his wisdom. In this epic poem Beowulf fight with many characters, that are bigger and stronger than him, but Beowulf wins all these battles through his wisdom. Most of the time Beowulf fights for glory, so he always looks for a battle to fight. That’s how he came to the fight with Grendel, who frightened the whole kingdom of Hrothgar. Many warriors tried to defeat Grendel, but they all failed and eaten my Grendel. When Grendel came to the Heorot to kill the warrior’s, Beowulf tricked and attacked him with his bare hands, knowing that the swords does not work on him (Beowulf 51). First Beowulf learned Grendel’s attacking style and with that he counter attacked Grendel. Beowulf uses his wisdom wisely in every situation he encounters. When Beowulf fights Grendel's mother, first he looked around his surrounding and “he sights a famous old sword of the giants, which he seizes and thrusts at Grendel’s mother, who falls in helpless death throes” (Foster 1). In every battle, Beowulf is overpowered with wisdom, which makes him an epic hero.
Beowulf is honored after Grendel and his mother’s defeat for his morality and willingness to help the king with his problem. He put aside the life he had at home and gave up everything so they were protected. Upon his return, everyone was praising him and lifting up the wondrous works and all that’d he’d done to protect them. Because of his respectable actions, Beowulf was rewarded for his true heroism. He becomes king over his people and ruled for the next fifty 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.
Many people may have heard of the epic poem Beowulf, but at this time, many may not be able to tell his story. The same cannot be said for Thor, a recently adapted film based on a Marvel Comic, and also Norse Mythology. It is hard to believe that Thor, a story written four hundred years later (need to put in citation) can relate so much to Beowulf, written 750AD. Their similarities stem from the close proximity of time in which they were created. The pair share many of the same values and characteristic.
In the epic poem Beowulf, a brave Geat, comes to help of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall of Heorot has been attacked by a monster known as Grendel. The events took place in the sixth century in England. Beowulf is the main character and a hero who travels great distances to prove his strength. With Beowulf's arrival, Grendel's attacks have been a continuous event. in Heorot has been beneath assault by a creature known as Grendel.
In Beowulf the poem, Beowulf is considered to be an epic hero, he is different than just a regular hero. At the time, except for the King, warriors were the most honored and respected. Throughout this poem the author expresses that Beowulf is a true epic hero. What makes an epic hero? An epic hero must undertake a quest to achieve something tremendous value to his nation, must be super-human, and protects his people and their ideals. Beowulf is one of the greatest warriors of all time to protect his nation and people, he is a perfect candidate of an epic hero.
So what makes Beowulf an epic hero? Beowulf can be claimed an epic hero a lot of ways, but here is only three way he is an epic hero. He can be an epic hero because he is a courageous warrior, worthy king, and gained a lot of wisdom. He done that with all the battles with the battles with Grendel, Grendel's Mother, and the Dragon. When Beowulf and Hrothgar was in the Heorot Hall, Beowulf owes Hrothgar a favor so He told Hrothgar That he would fight Grendel all by himself.
The usual epic hero is most of the time on a mission. Beowulf was on a mission to help his people by getting rid of Grendel. He is determined to free the Danes from Grendel.The third characteristic of Beowulf is courage. There’s no way Beowulf would have accomplished anything without courage. “The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.” Beowulf stated here that he’s known for courage, “The man whose name was known for courage, the Geat leader, resolute in his helmet,answered in return: "We are retainers
Beowulf also contains an epic hero. The title of the poem has been named after our epic hero, Beowulf. In definition, an epic hero is someone that does larger than life deeds and is stronger and smarter than any normal man; and Beowulf fits this description as if the mold were made for him. He has the strength of thirty men and uses it as a major weapon against evil. This can be seen through Beowulf’s battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.