Beowulf, written between the 8th and 10th centuries, is an epic poem set in southern Sweden. The poem illustrates the Anglo-Saxon’s strong belief in the heroic code. The loyalty between the warrior and his king bound the culture together. The warrior was the ultimate hero who represented strength and courage. Beowulf, the hero in the poem, illustrates the Germanic principles of the heroic code. Through the battles and character interactions, Beowulf converges loyalty, strength, courage and forgiveness into the hero archetype.
The Anglo-Saxon culture ran on the outline of the heroic code. The warrior pledged allegiance to his lord in exchange for protection (“Beowulf” 38). Through acts of strength and bravery in battle, the warrior rose in levels of nobility and received rewards from his lord for his bravery (“Beowulf” 38). Hrothgar, king of the Danes and lord of the Scyldings, builds a mead hall, Heorot, to honor his warriors and give gifts to them (Beowulf 67-73). A savage demon named Grendel attacks the great hall and kills thirty of Hrothgar’s men (Beowulf 122). Beowulf, a young Geat warrior, leaves his homeland to aid King Hrothgar in purging the Danes of Grendel. Beowulf’s act of allegiance extends past the kingdom of his homeland by ‘rescuing’ the Danish people. His actions not only illustrate courage but the principle of allegiance to his family and himself. Upon arriving on the Danish shore, Beowulf states, “We belong by birth to the Geat people / and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac. / I come to proffer / my wholehearted help and counsel” (Beowulf 260-1, 277-8). Beowulf declares his allegiance to his lord and is willing to come to the Danes’ aid. Hrothgar knows that Beowulf is only in Denmark to “follow up a...
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...mately, Beowulf’s traits of loyalty, strength, and bravery were what an Anglo-Saxon warrior strived for to win glory for himself and his lord. Beowulf is the heroic prototype for future warriors, and his character has set the stage as one of the most influential classical heroes in literature.
Works Cited
"Beowulf.” Period Introduction Overview. The Norton
Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. D. Gen. ed. Stephen Greenblatt.
Norton, 2012. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. 38.
Print.
Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed.
Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. 41-108. Print.
Weidenboerner, Joseph. "Hangers-on in heroes' Armour: defining the divide between the Homeric and Celtic clan epics." Diesis: Footnotes on Literary Identities 2.2 (2012): 52+. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
In Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.
The mead-hall, Heorot, functions as a synecdoche throughout the story Beowulf, representing the warrior culture of the Scandinavians. It is used as a tool by the authors to criticize the flaws of the Nordic culture while emphasizing the superiority of Christianity. In the poem, the main character, the warrior Beowulf, is tasked with liberating the great mead-hall, Heorot, from the mighty demon known as Grendel—a task in which he is successful. However, the way the mead-hall portrays the Anglo-Saxon’s warrior culture, presents it in a light which glorifies battle as well as loyalty and kinship, but alternatively condemns many other aspects of the Anglo-Saxon way of life such as personal pride.
Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.
Right away, readers encounter the main character in Beowulf as he arrives in Denmark after a long journey from his homeland of Geatland. Beowulf has traveled to Denmark in an attempt to slay the monster Grendel that constantly terrorizes the Danes. “Then news of Grendel, hard to ignore, reached me at home…my one request is that you won’t refuse me, who have come this far, the privilege of purifying Heorot…” (Heaney 409-431). This immediately shows a selfless and heroic act of Beowulf. He has ventured into a country he does not even reside in to help protect the people of Denmark. The hero brings a wave of confidence into a sputtering community of Heorot that desperately needs some assistance in their fight against Grendel. Thankfully, Beowulf slays Grendel and even does so without any weapons, “…it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield to mow him down…the monster back-tracking, the man overpowering…an extraordinary wail arose, the howl of a loser…He was overwhelmed, manacled tight by the man of all men was foremost and strongest in the days of this life.” (Heaney 679-789). Beowulf successfu...
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.
The general definition of a hero is, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Although, the interpretation of a hero is always dependant on the society in which the hero resides. The “hero”, Beowulf, is not depicted the same way as he is in the self-titled poem “Beowulf” as he is in Grendel. The poem “Beowulf” is said to emerge from the Anglo-Saxon period or the 5th-6th century. It was later translated by Burton Raffel. The “hero” of the poem, Beowulf, is a glorified Geatish warrior whose hunger for fame and wealth drives him to the land of the Danes to rid of the evil monster, Grendel. He is depicted as a strong, brave, and courageous man and admired by the Danes. On the other hand,
Beowulf is a good example of a courageous and strong hero. He shows all of
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.
In order to adequately understand Beowulf, we must discuss the importance of the Anglo-Saxon Heroic code called Comitatus, a system of loyalties, and the roles of loyalty and vengeance which dictated an Anglo-Saxon’s warrior’s life. Each king and their retainers, including Beowulf, lived by such a code. The Germanic code emphasized above all loyalty to one’s chief as one of greatest virtues yet brought with it the darker concept of vengeance to one’s enemies. In their loyalty, a warrior must be prepared to die fighting for their king. In their vengeance, a warrior be ...
In retrospect Beowulf can be translated into a modern day hero, because of his inhumanly strength, and the ways that his fellow citizens looked up to him. Beowulf was called upon to do the deeds that others could not do. With his journey of success Beowulf had earned trust and most importantly, loyalty. Highlighted points through the epic poem emphasizes Beowulf's heroic deeds and majestic works to support his kingdom. Through these works he was able to keep his kingdom afloat. Beowulf still remains one of the most important literal works of the early middle
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.
Beowulf was clearly an epic hero by performing courageous acts and going on long journeys to complete his quest.
Beowulf was an epic hero during his time. An epic hero is a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. “The Anglo Saxon hero was well defined by the actions of Beowulf” (Garcia). Beowulf became an epic hero when he fought Grendel and Grendel’s mother, and became a king, and fought the dragon. Beowulf succeeded with his battles and became an epic hero. Beowulf always boasted that he was a great hero. Beowulf believed he was the greatest warrior of the Geats. After becoming king, Beowulf believed he was the greatest warrior of them all. He was indeed an epic hero.
“That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime, knew at once that nowhere on earth had he