Beowulf Epic Hero Analysis

Beowulf, King of the Geats and the slayer of demons has not only earned the title of bravest warrior in all of the mythological Kingdom of Hrothgar, but he has also gained the title of an Epic hero in today 's literary world. To be an epic hero, a character must first fill some intensive quotas such as, wielding ancient weapons and harnessing super-human like power, or just being the embodiment of a culture and completing ‘heroic’ tasks among the commonwealth. In the epic, Beowulf is first introduced to us as he and a band of warriors set off to slay Grendel, a mythological beast that has been terrorizing and causing grief within the Kingdom of Hrothgar. At this point, we do not yet view Beowulf as epic hero, but rather a great warrior because

As Beowulf and his men reach the Danes, Beowulf is brought before the king where he then begins to speak of his journey and vividly narrates his various heroic accomplishments, “ My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king. They have seen my strength for themselves, Have watched me rise from the darkness of war, Dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove Five great giants into chains, chased All of that race from the earth. I swam In the blackness of night, hunting monsters Out of the ocean, and killing them one By one; death was my errand and the fate They had earned”. (149-159) This passage helps foreshadow upcoming events by helping the reader understand Beowulf’s characteristics and attitude. Not only does the passage foreshadow upcoming events, but it helps build the basis of Beowulf 's path to becoming an epic hero by pointing out key characteristics an epic hero possesses; by speaking of his journey, he gains the title of ‘vast traveler’, and by telling the king he has “drove Five great giants into chains, chased All of that race from the earth”. (pg.47 ln.154) he holds the description of: unmatched warrior, and cultural legend. All of which are very important to being an epic

Every epic hero always has some sort of ‘downfall’, even if it is a minute occurrence.

After slaying Grendel, Beowulf is faced with the challenge of defeating Grendel’s mother, whom is furious due to the death of her son. Beowulf handles the situation a little different than the first and meets a greater challenge, but he still comes out victorious. Once Beowulf slays Grendel’s mother and purifies the land of the Danes of its evil inhabitants, he returns to the Geats and becomes king for a steady 50 years, until his greatest challenge