Beowulf, Element Of Epics

1217 Words3 Pages

The Great Epic According to most dictionaries, an epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero. While this is true, the epic Beowulf contains more than those two requirements. This story contains five elements which make it an epic. There is an epic hero, action of an immense scale, an elevated writing style, long speeches meant to inspire or instruct, and also the descent into the underworld. An epic hero is a main character who embodies the ideals of a certain culture. The character is named Beowulf and he represents the ideals of the Anglo-Saxon culture which were bravery, skillfulness, and generosity. Beowulf showed his braveness multiple times throughout the story. After he heard of a monster named Grendel who, for twelve years had been attacking King Hrothgar's mead hall Heorot, Beowulf traveled to the Danish islands to defeat him. Even though Beowulf didn't know anything about Grendel he went on a long voyage to reach the islands so that the Hrothgar's people need not live in fear. Then, after Beowulf Grendel, Grendel's mother came after the people of Heorot to avenge her son's death. To reach her, Beowulf had to dive into dark dangerous waters, facing unknown peril. He swam down through the shadowy lake by himself fighting off monsters the whole way. Once he did arrive at her lair a vicious fight ensued, but the courageous Beowulf came out victorious once again. Later in Beowulf's life, a dragon destroys his village and the large mead hall he had built for his men. Even though he knew he was no longer as agile and strong, Beowulf went straight to the dragon and gave a defiant shout of challenge. The epic hero Beowulf was also very skillful when it came to battles. When he first fought Grendel, Beowulf had no idea what he was up against. Instead of just attacked Grendel, he waited until the monster had killed one of the other men in the hallway while Beowulf watched under the guise of sleep. Then when Grendel came to claim Beowulf's life, he knew that hand to hand combat was the only way to defeat this foe. The monster latched onto Beowulf's arms, but Beowulf did the same to Grendel.

Show More
Related

  • Heaney In Beowulf

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is an epic hero in almost every legend ever told. The hero could be a mortal human who came from nothing, a creature that used to be evil, an immortal god, or even a group of people. In Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf, the mortal man-of-the-hour is Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow. After he settled the feud for his father, he then carried out more amazing deeds and accomplishments. Beowulf portrays great strength, bravery, and is also very faithful to his kingdom. The totality of these qualities is not just a large mass of adjectives; each characteristic plays a special part.

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scyld Scefing often deprived his enemies, many tribes of men, of their mead-benches. He terrified his foes; yet he, as a boy, had been found a waif; fate made amends for that. He prospered under heaven, won praise and honor, until the men of every neighboring tribe, across the whale’s way, were obliged to obey him and pay him tribute. He was a noble king! (BEO 4-11).

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf Essay - The Heroic Epic of Beowulf

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    "p" sound is line 160, "From my prince, no permission from my people for your

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is common opinion that Beowulf was written by a Christian poet. This was probably true because at the time when it was written, most of the few people who knew how to read and write were in the clergy. There are various references within the poem to elements of the Christian religion. However, the story is about Pagan people and certain aspects of their culture are even glorified. The ambiguity of Beowulf’s religious content has caused confusion as to what significance religion had in inspiring the author and in what manner the author meant to inspire or influence his audience. I do not think that Beowulf is a Christian allegory because Beowulf had very little in common with the Biblical figure of Jesus Christ. I think that religion was not the primary thematic concern of the writer. Although there are discrepancies between the two styles of thinking, Beowulf seems to praise values which were considered moral and good among all humanity, both Christian and Pagan.

    Read More

  • Why is Beowulf considered a hero?

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the story, a mythical monster named Grendel who is attacking King Hrothgar’s mead hall Herot. When Beowulf hears of this tragedy, he volunteers to go and fight the mythical beast. The author wrote, “So Beowulf chose the mightiest men he could find the bravest and the best of the Geats, fourteen In all.” Once Beowulf arrives, he is given a feast and then decides to stay in Herot overnight to confront Grendel. Grendel then arrives and kills one of the Geats before Beowulf can get into the battle. Beowulf then goes hand-to-hand against Grendel and ends up tearing off Grendel’s shoulder. Grendel then retreats to his lair to die. This is only a mere example of why Beowulf is a hero.

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the welcoming celebration for Beowulf goes on, Unferth begins to ridicule Beowulf about his swimming competition with Breca. Unferth is jealous and feels threatened by Beowulf " for he would not allow that any other man of middle-earth should ever achieve more glory under the heavens than himself." (Norton p. 33) Unferth is a very peculiar character. Although he has committed the horrific crime of killing his brother(s), he is privileged enough to sit at the feet of the king, a very respected position. His sin,an enormous violation of the comitatus, suggests that there is something wrong in Hrothgar's kingdom and perhaps helps to foreshadow its destruction. Ultimately, it will be destroyed, as the text says, by a fire after " sword-hate between son-in-law and father-in-law to awaken after murderous rage." (Norton p. 28).

    Read More

  • Epic Hero: Beowulf

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    In every epic story, the center of attention will be on the epic hero. Usually all the epic heroes have some kind of special power, which keep them different from other characters. Later on, their epic journey these powers, help them to win the glory, which make them epic heroes. In Beowulf, Beowulf is truly an epic hero, because of his wisdom, strength and bravery.

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf

    1716 Words  | 4 Pages

    There was a huge influence of both paganism and christianity that can be noticed in Old English Poetry. To better understand these two values, let us explain what paganism and christianity mean. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. As presented in New Thestament, Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God and the Messiah prophesied in The Old Testament. Christianity began in the 1st century AD as a Jewish sect, and shares many religious texts with Judaism, specifically the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. The name Christian means belonging to Christ or partisan of Christ. As far as Paganism is concerned, the word comes from latin paganus and means a country dweller, rustic. It is a term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or cultic practises or beliefs of any folk religion a nd of historical and contemprorary polytheism religious in particular. (...) Characteristic of pagan traditions in the anscence of proselytisation and presence of a living mythology which explains religious practice. The term Pagan is a Christian adaptation of the goy of Judaism.

    Read More

  • Beowulf Heroism Essay

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Beowulf is an Epic Hero

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    A true hero does not fear death or, but instead risks all that he is for what he believes to be right, moral, and just. Beowulf is an epic and tells the story of a legendary hero, conquering all obstacles as if he was immortal. Up until the end of Beowulf’s life he was constantly looking to be the hero. However, his humanity is exposed by his death. Heroes all share the characteristic of their willingness to die in their effort to accomplish their heroic act, thus making the act in itself heroic. Throughout the epic, Beowulf in many ways exhibited all the qualities and characteristics needed to be a true hero.

    Read More

  • Epic of Beowulf

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    "In a world without hope, a brave soul has nothing to lose." In the epic Beowulf, some might perceive Beowulf as having traits such as being arrogant. Although he is raised in a Pagan society, Beowulf concurs many tasks that an ordinary man could never do. He portrays man in general struggling against outward foes and inward doubts. Beowulf displays his characteristics; courage and strength, fame, perserverence, and compassion; which affords him the opportunity to be looked upon as an epic hero.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Beowulf By Seamus Heaney

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every culture has many stories and poems to represent what they believe in, and what they look for in a hero. The heroes written in these stories and myths are brave, and are leaders. However, every hero comes with a flaw or two. The epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, has an extraordinary hero named Beowulf. Beowulf was a hero to the Anglo-Saxons which were fierce warriors who fought a lot. Beowulf fights many brutal monsters and threats in his days, but the most barbaric of them all is the inside threat within him. Beowulf had a big ego, and focused more on creating a name for himself than thinking about the real risks ahead. Two of his major battles that he faced along with his internal peril was against the dragon, and the beast Grendel.

    Read More

  • Beowulf The Epic Hero

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Is Beowulf An Epic Hero

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    An epic hero according to Anglo-Saxon literature is a hero who is larger-than-life; someone with self-confidence, great strength, and the qualities of loyalty, bravery, and honor. Beowulf can be considered an epic hero for multiple reasons throughout “Beowulf.” Beowulf is a character constructed on all of the Anglo-Saxon epic hero qualifications. For starters, Beowulf is seen as a noble character, that is willing to provide security for the people by risking his own life. As a character, Beowulf conducts superhuman strength, and can complete impossible tasks. These are only some among many other reasons and characteristics Beowulf can be classified as an epic hero.

    Read More

  • Beowulf as an epic

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    To be considered and epic, a piece of literature must exhibit quite a few specific, literary techniques. Some of the main criteria points include being a long, narrative poem, having an epic hero, and containing rhythm, alliteration, and imagery. Beowulf can be considered an epic because it contains all of this criteria.

    Read More

More about Beowulf, Element Of Epics

Open Document