Examples Of Heorot's Quest In Beowulf

The mythological hero quest has been craved by readers and listeners for hundreds of years. The typical hero quest has a call for action, a decision, preparation, obstacles, a climax, and a return home for the hero. The hero quest is a basis for all other stories because of the pattern it establishes. Many people would call it a beginning, middle, and an end. Even dramas and romances follow this same order of actions even without the blood spilling battles and terrifying beasts. Even though Beowulf was written a very long time ago it still experiences man aspects of an archetypal hero quest.

The first two steps of an archetypal quest are the call and the decision made by the hero. In Beowulf he experiences his call when he hears about Heorot’s

troubles due to Grendel’s attacks. He also wants to help his father’s friend Hrothgar who built Heorot. This begins his quest of killing Grendel and Grendel’s mother. His call to kill the dragon comes from the dragon waking and attacking Beowulf’s kingdom. Beowulf claims to accept these calls because it was his fate from the God to complete the quests and help the people. Beowulf also likes to make it a fair battle when possible so he comes up with different challenges for most of the quests. He first claims he will fight Grendel using only his bare hands so that way he has no advantage which is made irreversible by grabbing Grendel’s arm. He then claims to fight Grendel’s mom on his own, however he is allowed to use armor and weapons and he can no longer back out once he jumps into the swamp. On the dragon he does not come up with a personal challenge, but instead he brings his bravest men along with who end up bailing on him. He is left to fight the dragon alone and cannot retreat due to the dragon breathing fire on Beowulf’s shield he is holding.
The next part of a hero quest begins with the preparation for the battle. During this time the hero will experience mentors, acquired knowledge or skills, and allies to fight by his side. Beowulf plans for his fight with Grendel by spending the night in the hall where Grendel normally attacks. He allows Grendel to kill one of his men while he makes his plan of action. He receives help from the mentors to tell about where and when Grendel attacks. He also finds out that Grendel attacks at night and he has very tough skin. He prepares for the fight with Grendel’s mom by following the soldiers to the swamp and then fighting with Unferth’s sword. When it comes to the dragon he prepares by making an iron shield which is incredibly strong. He also brings along a valuable ally named Wiglaf who ends up saving his life. Before he even fights Grendel he fights sea monsters and giants to give him more practice.
Before the hero can complete the quest they will most likely run into obstacles.

Typically there is a temptress, however Beowulf is a different case. He does not experience a female to seduce him and tempt him to abandon the quest. This is most likely because Beowulf was meant to be seen as an idol and role model who was morally strong. Another obstacle that Beowulf does experience is a shadow or someone trying to keep Beowulf from completing the quest because they are jealous. When Beowulf plans to fight Grendel, Unferth acts as the shadow by pointing out his failures especially the swimming competition. Unferth does change and becomes an ally to Beowulf when he prepares to fight Grendel’s mother. A very common obstacle is difficult terrain, remote locations, and seemingly insurmountable landforms. Examples of these include the swamp where Grendel and his mother live. This swamp is far away from Hrothgar’s kingdom and produces fire and monsters from within. Another land obstacle was the mountain where Beowulf fights the dragon which was far away from his kingdom and help if he needed it. One of the most common obstacles is a mythical being or legendary animal. In this case the mythical being is what sets up all of Beowulf’s quests. It starts out with Grendel which then leads to Grendel’s mother who wants revenge. The dragon comes about because of a stolen goblet which angers him. Beowulf is forced to attack him because the dragon destroyed Beowulf’s

home.
Finally comes the climax of the quest. This is the moment where the reader finds out whether the hero can complete the quest. The climax for Beowulf’s first quest was when he has grabbed onto Grendel’s arm and is struggling to keep a hold. The second quest climax is when his sword breaks on the tough skin and he spots a new sword in her lair. The final climax of his fight with dragon is when Wiglaf stabs the dragon giving Beowulf the distraction he needs to deliver the final attack. After the hero completes the quest he always returns back to his home and is welcomed with open arms. Beowulf becomes a hero to the Half Danes after he eliminates Grendel and Grendel’s mother. He also receives a great deal of treasure which he takes home and gives to his uncle Hygelac. Beowulf chooses to give the treasure to Hygelac because he believes he owes everything to him and wouldn’t have succeeded without Hygelac’s help and training. Sadly, Beowulf dies during his fight with the dragon so is return isn’t a happy one, but it is no less honorable than the ones when he was alive.
After analyzing all of the aspects of a hero’s quest and how it appears in Beowulf it is clear to see why Beowulf is an almost perfect example. Beowulf experiences every single aspect except the temptress which is most likely because Beowulf was meant to be morally sound and would never give into a women’s seduction. It is incredible that the Anglo-Saxons were able to create a perfect definition of the hero quest so long ago. These hero quests still appear in movies that are watched and loved by billions of people. People love the structure of the quest and the excitement it generates. None of the Anglo-Saxons took english classes, but instead they used their imagination and combined their thoughts to create an incredible story.