Gawain, King Arthur, and Beowulf Show Bravery

How Gawain, King Arthur, and Beowulf Show Bravery

In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, John Gardner’s translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Burton Raffel’s translation of Beowulf, King Arthur, Gawain, and Beowulf are hero’s because they exhibit bravery in the face of danger. Beowulf demonstrates his bravery when he goes up against Grendal. King Arthur exhibits bravery when Mordrid challenges him. Gawain shows bravery when he goes to meet the Green Knight. All three of these men show courage when confronted with a challenge.

Beowulf shows off his bravery when facing Grendal. “Like Grendal, gripped in my hands and torn, but his breath will be burning hot, poison will pour from his tongue” (Raffel, 670-673). Beowulf has boldness; here it shows that he is not afraid of Grendal even after his hands were torn off. He showed even more bravery when all of his men abandoned him and he was all alone to fight Grendal.

King Arthur needs courage when he faces Mordrid after he is challenged. In a dream Gawain came to Arthur and said “…and warned him that and he fought on the morn, he would be slain!”(Malory,171). He showed confidence when his men and Mordrid’s men got together and did not fight right away. King Arthur has defiance when he decides the stay behind, after the massacre of his men, and fight Mordrid although; the dream from Gawain told him he would die.

Gawain shows off his manhood when he honors his promise to the Green Knight to return in one year. Gawain exhibits his fortitude when he tells the Green Knight to stop stalling and to take his swing at him. He said “But be brisk, man by your faith and come to the point! Deal out my doom if you can and do it at once!”(Gardner, 162) He has to use his bravery when he lies to the king about taking the green sash from his wife when the king said I want to know everything she gives you.