In the era of my rule, a king was not someone who simply delivered orders to his “men” while he sat on his throne awaiting confirmation of a victory. Men admired their leader for: outstanding courage, selflessness to his tribe, personal valor, and ability to survive despite the toughest opposition. Heroism and leadership are characteristics that brought my fellow men to abide by my side despite the situation, which in response led me to become such an aspiring leader, and in the end a hero – the demonstration to attain glory through brawls. Traditions, natural laws, and religion are descriptions of my heroism and leadership. In medieval literature, heroes are defined to be courageous, valiant, courteous, generous, and loyal. According to Napierkowski, he adds more to the nature of an Anglo-Saxon hero; a hero should be able to have the: ability to live in harmony with both the laws and noble norms of society, to overcome opposition, and to demonstrate the acquisition of virtue by the way they live... at the same time, heroic leaders are exemplars for their followers and receive much of their power by personifying the virtues to which both they and their followers are committed. (503) Napierkowski adds relationship to the list. The relationship is between the follower and leader – how they rely on each other. To attain a heroic title as a leader, the followers must obey the codes of nobility put upon society and successfully put it into play, as well as build a strong bond with the fellow leader. Every Hero was a leader once, and every leader was once a follower. I am a great Heroic figure, but I was also a follower. I followed and performed duties for the second child of Healfdene, Hrothgar; head of operations in Denmark and the... ... middle of paper ... ...es. In the Company of Predators: Beowulf and the monstrous descendants of cain. Angelaki Journal of the Theoretical Humanities. Vol. 13, No. 3, 2008. 41-51. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Works Cited “Beowulf.” Trans. Suzanne Akbari. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 112-82. Print. Cooke, William. “Who Cursed Whom, and When? The Cursing of the Hoard and Beowulf’s Fate.” Medium Aevum 76.2 (2007): 207-224. Literary Reference Center. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Napierkowski, Thomas J. Beowulf: The Heroic, The Monstrous, and Anglo-Saxon Concepts of Leadership. International Journal of Public Administration, Volume 28, 2005. 503-16. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Phillips, James. In the Company of Predators: Beowulf and the monstrous descendants of cain. Angelaki Journal of the Theoretical Humanities. Vol. 13, No. 3, 2008. 41-51. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Frank, Roberta. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Each leading figure in Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Paradise Lost possessed qualities that made them leader worthy each made some sort of sacrifice, their near omnipotent strength, they were revered by all in the land, and they were alone. Each work imbues into its leaders these qualities, to place them above all others and show the ideal leading figure, perhaps in attempt to show readers how they themselves should behave if they wish for a chance to become as great as these characters.
Francis, Erik Max. Beowulf. From The Harvard Classics. Volume 49. P.F. Collier & Son, 1910. Etext version by Robin Katsuya-Corbet. Online. Internet. November 26, 1998. Available HTTP: http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/beowulf/
Leadership can be defined in a myriad of ways; but for the purpose of the question, it is but not limited to the affect someone who takes charge of a group of people with authority or rank; to be an influence to those who look to the leader. In the epic poem, “Beowulf”, there are two different views on leadership based on their leaders {i.e. King Hrothgar and Beowulf). With King Hrothgar, he accepted the help of Beowulf to fight in order to defend the people of the Herodot, “Beowulf my friend/fight for us” (457-458). Due to the understanding of his age, King Hrothgar shows humility and admirable stance, adapts to someone who admires him, allowing Beowulf to fight for the people of Herodot. Beowulf on the other hand, shows his leadership by taking the initiative and offering his aid to King Hrothgar’s people, to fight the demon Grendel, who is terrorizing the people. This leader...
Through a heroic poem about pagans that never mentions Christ, Beowulf is the opposite of syncretistic compromise. It is written to highlight the treachery as a way of life that afflicted these pagan societies from within, and the greed and plunder as a way of life that afflicted them from without (whether they were the marauders of the victims.) (30)
Tolkien, J.R.R.. “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Crossley-Holland, Kevin, trans. Beowulf The Fight at Finnsburh, edited by Heather O’Donoghue. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
There are three prominent monsters in the Beowulf text, Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. While the dragon proves to be the most fatale of foes for Beowulf, Grendel and his mother do not simply pose physical threats to the Germanic society; their roles in Beowulf are manifold. They challenge the perceptions of heroism, a sense of unrivalled perfection and superiority. Moreover, they allow the reader to reconsider the gender constructs upheld within the text; one cannot help but feel that the threat that these monsters present is directed towards the prevalent flaws in Beowulf’s world. Moreover, what makes these monsters is not their physical appearance; it is what they embody. Both Grendel and his mother have humanlike qualities yet their monstrous appearance arises from what their features and mannerisms represent. The challenge they pose to societal paradigms makes them far more terrifying to our heroes than any scaled flesh or clawing hand. These monsters provide the ‘most authoritative general criticism […] of the structure and conduct of the poem’. Their presence provides contrast and criticism of the brave society (Heaney 103).
Tolkien, J.R.R.. “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Abrams, M.H., ed. Beowulf: The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.
Unknown. "Beowulf."The Norton Anthology of English Literture. 8th Eddition. Volume 1.Eds. Stephen Greenblatt, Etal. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006
Tolkein, J.R.R. “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” Beowulf: The Donaldson Translation Backgrounds and Sources Criticism. Tuso, Joseph F. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1975. Print.
Christ, Carol T., Catherine Robson, Stephen Greenblatt, and M. H. Abrams. "Beowulf." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &, 2006. Web.
Beowulf strikes peculiar reactions among scholars, historians, and professors. The increase in the amount of confusion is caused by new twists to old theories and by new theories. Beowulf was composed for an audience that would take into account the struggles that the main character took, and the audience would see the poem in its own way. Though few can clearly understand the value of the poem, we must realize that judging the poem from a twentieth century point of view would be unjust to the author or authors of Beowulf.