Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Sir Gawain

Beowulf and Sir Gawain are both honorable heroic figures of their time. Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, translated by Marie Borroff, are two different poems that tell a story about a very honorable man that takes a quest to achieve his goal. Sir Gawain shows that he is a developing version of Beowulf because he has similar characteristics of Beowulf, he has differences to show that he is not quite an epic hero, and the Romantic societies are a progression of the Epic societies in the attitudes of the people and what is valued in each society.

Beowulf and Sir Gawain share similar characteristics. Both of these characters had a goal in mind trying to protect their society. They both showed great loyalty.

Beowulf did whatever it took to protect the king in multiple battles, such as the battle against Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. Sir Gawain also showed loyalty by stepping up to protect his king against the Green Knight. For example, in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain says, “Would you grant me the grace to be gone from this bench and stand by you there…” Sir Gawain shows to be very loyal to the king. They are both very honorable. Beowulf was a highly skilled warrior who was the best of his time, while Sir Gawain was a very respectable knight who was the best in his time. The positions that each character held were very honorable, along with their actions of protecting others. Lastly, both heroes were extremely brave. Beowulf showed an immense amount of bravery multiple times. He fought three major battles that could have resulted in his death all three times. Beowulf battled the dragon to the death resulting in a victory showing much bravery. Sir Gawain cut off the head of the Green Knight. The Green knight survived and told Sir Gawain to meet him back in a year and a day for the Green Knight’s turn at a blow. Sir Gawain showed an incredible amount of bravery by keeping his word and meeting the Green Knight knowing that he may die. When Sir Gawain met the Green Knight, the Green Knight acted like he was going to strike Sir Gawain twice. The third time that the Green knight lowered his ax at Sir Gawain he barely grazed Sir Gawain’s neck without even a flinch. This also showed a great amount of bravery. Beowulf and Sir Gawain are quite a bit alike, however; they have their differences.
Beowulf and Sir Gawain are different in various ways.

Beowulf was a warrior who had extremely high self-confidence. Sir Gawain seemed to have lower self-confidence compared to the great Beowulf. For example, when the Green Knight appeared to the homeland of Sir Gawain and King Arthur, Sir Gawain did not instantly approach the Green Knight like Beowulf would have. Sir Gawain waited until he noticed the king was going to trade blows with the Green Knight. After King Arthur stepped up, Sir Gawain did do the honorable thing and take the king’s spot, but it shows the difference in both characters. Many times Beowulf stepped up as soon as he got an opportunity. After the battle with Grendel, Grendel’s mother caused conflict. As soon as Beowulf heard this, he said, “Let your sorrow end! It is better for us all to avenge our friends, not mourn them forever.” Beowulf instantly stepped up to protect the people against Grendel’s mother. He never waited. Sir Gawain also did not seem to have as much pride as Beowulf did either. Sir Gawain cut the head off of the Green Knight so that the Green Knight didn’t get the chance to take a blow at him. Beowulf showed much pride in his battles. For example, Grendel had no weapons, so Beowulf ditched his weapons and destroyed Grendel with his bare hands. Sir Gawain would have used his weapons to do whatever it took to win the battle just like he did whatever it took to win against the Green Knight. Sir Gawain also never fought any monsters or

dragons like Beowulf did. Sir Gawain did however fight against the invincible Green Knight, which shows the progression to a supernatural enemy, but not quite the enemies that Beowulf fought and won against. Although there are differences in their characteristics, these characters were shaped by the values and attitudes of their society.
Beowulf and Sir Gawain lived in different societies, which affected some of their characteristics.

Beowulf lived in a chaotic society with supernatural things going on, while Sir Gawain lived in a more real society. Beowulf lived in a society with monsters and dragons in it. In Beowulf, Beowulf says, “Other monsters crowded around me, continually attacking”. The chaotic society that Beowulf lived in was much different than the society that Sir Gawain lived in. There were no monsters or dragons in Sir Gawain’s society. Both characters also lived in a society that values honor differently. In the poem of Beowulf, the society valued success and glory. In the poem with Sir Gawain in it, society valued if someone did as they were told. A knight was sworn to chivalry and he was honored if he obeyed his king. Because of the different perspectives on honor, these two characters had different motives. Beowulf sought glory and pride while Sir Gawain’s motive was chivalry. Sir Gawain does what’s right because of his moral values and his duties, not for glory and fame. Beowulf wants to live heroically. Sir Gawain just wants to obey his King because that was what was considered honorable in that society. Sir Gawain showed his progression to an epic hero because his society allowed him to have a noble birth, he is capable of deeds of courage, he has potential to be a great knight, he goes on a quest, and he is well respected in his society, but is not recognized nationally like Beowulf

is. Sir Gawain is not an epic hero, but he is a developing version of an epic hero.
Sir Gawain and Beowulf are similar in ways, but also quite different in ways. Sir Gawain has a lot of the same characteristics as Beowulf, but not quite as extreme. While Beowulf is a perfect hero, Sir Gawain is simply a near perfect hero. Even though Sir Gawain is not quite an epic hero, he does seem to be a developing version of an epic hero by possessing similar qualities of an epic hero, having differences that show the progression to an epic hero, and living in a society that is different to show why a Sir Gawain is a progressing version of an epic hero.