Epic Heroes In Macbeth And Beowulf

Heroes in works of fiction can be separated into two main types, epic and tragic. A hero is put into these categories by his actions and his story. Beowulf, the hero of the story Beowulf, is an example of an epic hero in fiction. He was the hero at the beginning and he remained a hero until the end of his tale. His persona did not change throughout the story and he had an, at least, semi-happy ending. He got what he wanted and achieved fame and glory. A tragic hero is the opposite of the epic hero. A tragic hero is a person that at the beginning of their story is the protagonist, however, by the end of their story they become the antagonist. They often do not get their happy ending and by the “end of the tragedy will, then, be the hero's recognition

of his own deed” (McCollom). Heroes like Macbeth, Satan, Frankenstein’s monster and Dr. Victor Frankenstein are tragic heroes from the stories of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Paradise Lost by John Milton, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. At the end of their stories, they recognize what they have done and the decisions they have made as their fault, not whomever they blamed it on up till then. Tragic and epic heroes have many similarities and differences between them. Some of the most talked about are their ambition, their pride, their selfishness, and how they perceive their actions.
Ambition is a trait that many tragic and epic heroes share. Victor Frankenstein was ambitious and that would lead to his death in the end of his tale. Beowulf was ambitious and that led to him becoming king and being a well-respected warrior. The two men were both ambitious about their status in society. They both wanted to be the absolute best and be the most well known and loved by all in their area. Beowulf went about achieving his dream by fighting the tyrants and destroying the monsters of the world. He was known, at the end of the story, for being the hero that he strove to be throughout his life. Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s ambition turned him down a dark and treacherous path. Dr. Frankenstein created his monster and then abandoned said monster because he did not want his creation to hurt his status in society, as reanimating a dead corpse was frowned upon in Dr. Frankenstein’s time period, and did not want to be outcasted from his friends and family. His ambition to move up in society and not hurt his reputation caused him to push away his creature, which would cause his creature to seek revenge on him. His happiness would be completely destroyed and his death would be eventually be caused by the creature his ambition helped him create.
A hero’s pride is also seen in both tragic and epic heroes.

Both Macbeth and Beowulf had a large amount of pride, however, the way the two were influenced by it is where they begin to differ. Macbeth, at the beginning of Macbeth, had a reputation of an honorable war hero, but after he meets the three witches in the street with his friend, Banquo, his pride begins to change to that of a power hungry man who thinks he is invincible. This change was caused by what the witches said to boost his pride, although Banquo warned him not to listen to them and walk away. This pride is one of Macbeth’s tragic flaws, the flaw in which makes a tragic hero fail or fall. His wife, Lady Macbeth, throughout his story, also inflated his pride because she had control over her husband and wanted the power and glory that could come with being queen of the land. This would also aid the witches in ruining Macbeth. Beowulf’s pride did not lead him down a path of devastation and unhappiness. His pride was well earned in the eyes of the people surrounding him and the in eyes of himself. In fact, after he defeated the horrible Grendel and Grendel’s mother, he was warned by King Hrothgar to not be over prideful and tells him of heroes, a lot like Macbeth, who followed the path that led to their destruction. Beowulf decently understood and tried to maintain a level head, though he was extremely full of himself because of his

accomplishments.
How the hero’s perceive their actions is where the tragic and epic hero stories begin to parallel each other. Both epic and tragic heroes feel that what they do and have done is justified in one way or another. Beowulf justifies the killing of the dragon, Grendel, and Grendel’s mother because they were killing the townsfolk and they were inciting fear in the hearts of the surrounding people. The citizens themselves wanted and begged for someone to come end the fear and violence that seemed to thrive in their land. The reader would agree that his actions were justified because he was saving others from a tragic fate and did what the townspeople wanted and asked of him. Satan, a tragic hero, fights against his creator and rises to attack him, losing in the end to said creator. To Satan, his acts are justified because he felt that he would “rather be a king in Hell than a slave in Heaven” (Milton). He feels that he was treated not like he deserved to be and that he deserves something better than what he got in return. If one were to have worked for so long, work so hard, and never receive an upgrade or given more recognition for their accomplishments, one might be angry at their superior too. Though one would not respond to it like Satan did, his actions are justified through what he feels is right in his eyes, though it was wrong in the eyes of many others. Dr. Victor Frankenstein, also a tragic hero, also justified his reasoning to creating the monster. He wanted to help advance science and maybe save lives as well. His creating of the creature was justified in his eyes because of this, though it would not have been justified in the eyes of the citizens of his time period or his family and friends. Dr. Frankenstein would eventually realize his mistake of creating the creature. Sadly, he changed his viewpoint just a little bit too late to save his life before his creation took it.
Milton’s Paradise Lost has one major controversy surrounding it, who is the hero of the romantic period tale? Many would say Adam is the hero of the tale, though others would argue that Satan is the hero of the story. Critics will say that Satan was “originally [a] heroic figure who gradually degenerates either through his own voluntary commitment to evil or through the conscious malice of the poet himself and the poet's God” (Steadman). Satan and Adam both started out as the good guy of their story. Satan was an angel of God and Adam was the perfect human made by God, until both made the wrong choice and fell to temptation and the peril of free will. Both thought they were making the right choice for themselves and their happiness. Their selfishness is what did them in. Selfishness is a trait that is shown in both epic and tragic heroes. Satan, Adam, and Beowulf were all selfish men, they thought really only of themselves and of what they wanted. Beowulf wanted fame and glory. His reputation was important to him and he felt the only way to achieve it was to go on these adventures and risk his soldiers lives. Even though he was saving others in the process, he really only wanted the fame that came along with doing it. Satan wanted to be king and he desired glory. He wanted God to be overthrown and be the ruler of the entire universe because he thought that he deserved it for all he had done.
In the end, a tragic hero’s “character will have become his fate in the sense that he will now be left with the sum total of his deeds” (McCollom) and an epic hero will be considered “worthy life and of exact virtue” (Feeney).

A hero’s ambition, pride, and reasoning for their actions can show the differences and similarities between the tragic and epic hero. Many of these heroes will be remembered for what their stories tell, whether it ended with the hero following the path of disaster and destruction or ending with the hero living the life they have always dreamed. The story of the heroic man or woman changes and evolves with time however the faults and traits of these heroes do not often change. Heroes from today’s stories such as Katniss Everdeen or Tony Stark share a few of these traits. It goes to show that storytelling and heroes do not change with time and will forever stay the

same.