Beowulf and Sir Gawain have many things in common. We will be
discussing them later on, but their main similarity is that they're
both heroes. A hero is a person who must pass through a test and a
battle (mental, spiritual or physical) to help someone else. He must
be selfless, and act for others rather than himself. All societies
have supported heroes, like the ancient Greek's Hercules and the
modern day Spiderman. These are hero stereotypes, with supernatural
powers. Heroes don't have to be stereotypes, but can be firemen,
policemen or soldiers. Two famous heroes in ancient literature are
Beowulf and Sir Gawain.
Beowulf is about a guard who must destroy a destructive monster who
has eaten many of Beowulf's fellow guards. When the monster tries to
grab Beowulf, Beowulf clutches his arm, squeezes it, until the
monsters hand falls off, & than the monster runs away. Sir Gawain
starts with a Christmas banquet, but rudely a green knight bursts in
and challenges Gawain to cut off his head. After doing this, the green
knight is amazingly unhurt and Gawain is told to return the blow in a
year. After a year sir Gawain sets out for the green knight. On the
way he stays at a palace. For two nights he is tempted by the master's
wife, but resists. In the third night he gives in. Than he sets off to
the green knight. After seeking out the Green knight he realizes the
temptation was just a test of his nobility and he feels ashamed that
he gave in to temptation. He returns to Camelot.
Beowulf is a Danish man, who is a guard for the kings' hall, Hereot.
Sir Gawain is an English man, and a knight of the round table. Both
work for importan...
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... Beowulf, and Old English, compound words are used and like in German,
two words are linked to make another word. An example of this in
Beowulf is ban-hus, or bone-house or body. Also woruld-Candul,
World-candle or the sun.
Both Sir Gawain and Beowulf are excellent poems with great plots. This
is what drew me to the poems. Both have courageous heroes, with
supernatural powers, and great willpower. In both the villains are
also supernatural, and appear to be quite horrible. In both the heroes
face a test, and come out mostly victorious, through trials and
tribulations. This is a lesson to us all, and was written for society.
It sets us an example, so we are selfless, and help others. We will
succeed through struggle, and will get a reward. Heroes will always
flourish in society, and they both educate and entertain us.
Do people ever talk about superheroes, and monsters? Especially people into comic books and children. Every child, even adults, have a superhero they look up to, or a role model they want to grow up to be like. Superheroes are everywhere from movies to books. Children even sit in their room playing with toy superheroes, hoping one day they can be just like them. Even hundreds of thousands of years ago there were superheroes! A long time ago in the Anglo-Saxon Period there was a brave and loyal hero! His name was Beowulf, and everyone looked up to him. This hero definitely brought peace to many people, and if it wasn’t for the mighty hero Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxons would have been terrorized forever. Therefore, the times were hard before Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon warriors always stood for three values, and the time was changed without monsters.
There are many characteristics that make up the Germanic code in the Anglo-Saxon culture spread throughout Beowulf.. The author shows that Beowulf is the archetypal Germanic hero through his fate, trust, and reputation.
Beowulf is an interesting story in that it has a meaning that is firmly rooted in fantasy creatures based in mythical origins while providing insight into religious ideals and practices of the time. It also speaks of tradition and the struggle of man against things perceived as evil. In this tradition especially, Beowulf is an incredible allegory regarding the struggle of good and evil in the Christian tradition.
After exploring for some time, Beowulf in many ways is much more complex than it looks on the surface. Of course it 's classic theme of the clash between the forces of good and evil will always be prevalent, there are other types of symbolism in the epic poem that was either not explored or was not as evident. This is especially true in the setting of the story such as the mead hall, Heorot, where it is much more than a place to drink . Even Beowulf himself is a much more complex person than the readers might think since they might not completely be aware of the reasons why he is the embodiment of a hero.Even seemingly minor characters such as the Dragon can represent one of the biggest flaws within human beings. With the assistance of Harold Bloom’s book, “Rebirth and Renewal”, and literary websites such as Cliffnotes and Sparknotes, readers should be more enlightened on what the epic poem tries to represent.
An epic hero is merely defined as someone who portrays the characteristics of honor, bravery, and courageousness. In the story Beowulf, Beowulf proved himself as an epic hero numerous times through his past accomplishments and adventures. He fought battles other humans could never endure. He has proven his bravery, courage, and honor by defeating the dragon and also proved himself in the battle with Grendel and Grendel’s mother. A considerable amount of times throughout the story, Beowulf demonstrates himself to be one of the greatest epic heroes.
While watching the film Gladiator with my girlfriend I realized the striking similarities that heroes share. However, I always wonder who is more of a hero. The definition or hero is a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. So let us compare the two heroes as the dictionary defines them. In the end I hope to be able to define who is a greater hero.
Beowulf is a very brave hero, he has fought and killed many creatures before, but this battle was different. He knew this battle was of great importance to everyone, and that made him that much more nervous. This creature was fierce and had been tormenting their village for as long as they could remember, so her death would be a huge victory for Beowulf and it would be an even bigger relief for the villagers. All of the people in the village were cheering for Beowulf as he walked away headed off to the greatest battle of his life.
Beowulf is widely regarded as a classic “good versus evil” story. The Beowulf-poet depicts Grendel, his mother and the dragon as the “evil” of this dichotomy. This raises an interesting question concerning the idea of a community: How exactly is “good” distinguished from “evil” in an absolute sense? Given that the Beowulf-poet expresses a tone suggesting that the pagan figures are the evil ones, it is clear that he is biased in his treatment. Still, this tone contradicts some of the events that play out in the epic. Building upon this, one could argue that the distinguishing of this good-evil dichotomy is relative; what is considered “evil” to the Beowulf-poet may be considered “good” from another’s perspective. With this moral relativism in mind, a psychology of confusion is established in the reader that creates a sense of uncertainty concerning one’s values in shaping a community.
“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle,” Norman Schwarzkopf. In the epic poem, Beowulf, an epic hero from Geats travels far out of his way to help the Danes with their fight against the nasty Grendel. However, in the story Beowulf encounters three monsters that he takes into his own hands and defeats them all. In doing so, Beowulf is rewarded greatly and becomes king and is looked up to by all. In his last battle, Beowulf defeats the dragon but dies soon afterwards, he is given an honorable burial. This poem was told throughout the era of the Vikings and was later written down as the first actually hard copy of the story. It was Burton
A hero is someone who is admired for their courage and bravery, as well as their noble accomplishments. They are respected by almost everyone, due to their kindness and charitable mindset, that drives them to fight for the good of others. Beowulf is the perfect representation of a hero, based on multiple characteristics that he displays throughout the novel. Along with his characteristics, Beowulf also takes on many “hero like” challenges and tasks. In the novel, Beowulf is praised and admired throughout the kingdom for his bravery, humility, and selflessness.
Beowulf has multiple archetype that can be defined as figures, character types, settings, and story patterns that are universally shared by people across cultures. Three that stick out the most are character archetypes, symbolic archetypes, and situational archetypes. The reason these stick out the most to me is because Beowulf goes on an adventure driven by his desire to help. Also Beowulf is the main hero of the novel and is constantly saving the day. Cause Beowulf is depicted as a hero it is easy to say that this show character archetypes. Him fighting the Grendel, Grendel’s Mother and the Dragon can be seen as symbolic and situational archetypes.
Throughout the story, Beowulf fights three battles against frightening monsters. Beowulf, the prince of the Geats, was a well known warrior with extreme strength who makes a promise to protect his people under any circumstance. In the poem, his strength is tested, but he uses it to save many people in battles against: Grendel, Grendel 's mother, and a dragon. Before, during, and after each of these battles Beowulf shows many similarities and differences in his actions.
to have been composed between 700 and 750. "No one knows who composed Beowulf ,
Good and Evil- The entire poem of Beowulf deals with the battle of good verses evil, good being Beowulf, his followers, Hrothgar, and Hrothgar's people, and evil being Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. In this poem the power of good overcomes all the evils, but not without the lose of life. These lives include that of Beowulf, Aeschere, and many of Hrothgar's people. The clashing of good and evil forces was the main method of creating interest and suspense in the poem.
Beowulf begins with a history of the Danish kings. Hrothgar is the present king of the Danes. He builds a hall, called Heorot, to house his army. The Danish soldiers gather under its roof to celebrate and have fellowship with each other. Grendel, who lives at the bottom of a nearby swamp, is awakened and disgusted by the singing of Hrothgar's men. He comes to the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years Grendel stalks the mead hall known as Heorot.