An epic hero is typically described as a larger-than-life character, who displays skill, courage, and virtue against an opposing force. In the English epic Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, battles three brutally terrifying creatures: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a menacing dragon. The large amount of skill, courage, and virtue Beowulf exhibits during these three battles prove he is in fact an epic hero.
It takes a great amount of skill to defeat the brutal monsters Beowulf did. One example of Beowulf’s skill is during one of Grendel’s viscous attacks. It says in lines 321 through 324, “[Grendel] clutched at Beowulf with his claws, grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper--and was instantly seized himself, claws bent back
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I am old, now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, if the dragon hiding his tower dares to face me” (lns. 624-627). This last boast of Beowulf’s shows his courage in going into battle at over fifty years old. He uses no weapon, only his hands, which only further proves Beowulf’s courage.
Beowulf shows virtue, a characteristic described as showing morally exceptional behavior, throughout the entire epic. Before his first battle, he is informed about the terrible creature, Grendel, causing havoc in a land across the sea. It was morally exceptional of him to immediately feel the need to help the people in this land.
Before the battle between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother, Beowulf speaks, “And the precious gifts you gave me, my friend, send them to Higlac. May he see in their golden brightness, the Geats’ great lord gazing at your treasure, that here in Denmark I found a noble protector, a giver of rings whose rewards I won and briefly relished. And you, Unferth, let my famous old sword stay in your hands” (lns. 457-464). This shows the graciousness of Beowulf, giving away his possessions of value to him, which in turn shows his
society. In Beowulf, Beowulf shows extraordinary courage and strength that gives him special status. This notion is shown, when Beowulf fights Grendel and Grendel’s mother, but it is especially noticeable when he fights the dragon. When Beowulf fought Grendel others had the courage to attempt to fight him. The same is true with Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf goes to fight the Dragon, the other warriors cower away into the woods. Beowulf shows his courage by fighting the Dragon. Even when Beowulf is fighting the Dragon and realizes that his sword can do no damage he continues to fight. After Beowulf is on the verge of death he shows a combination of courage and strength by delivering the death blow to the Dragon, and not just laying down to die. Beowulf’s strength is shown when he is able to actually do battle with the Dragon; any normal man would have fallen to the dragon immediately.
This quote is one of many examples of Beowulf’s pride. Beowulf, a strong warrior, wants to fight Grendel, a malicious monster. Although his adventure is seen to benefit his honor and glory, he is thoughtful of others and gives his time, labor, and treasures to them. The Anglo-Saxons hold a high respect for pride and sacrifice. Beowulf’s lust for glory and pride is obvious he wants to be known and feared. But throughout the story there is an unspoken tone about his constant charity. When he fights a monster for
First of all, Beowulf came to help Hrothgar on his own free will. Hearing of the troubles that Hrothgar was having with a monster terrorizing Herot, his mead hall, Beowulf bravely offered his help not knowing what he was up against. When he arrived, Beowulf did not ask the king for either money nor fame. The only favor that he asked of Hrothgar was that he and his men were to fight the monster, Grendel. Coming away from one's homeland to help get rid of a man-eating monster and asking for nothing in return takes much courage and is an extremely brave deed.
Many individuals fail to correctly describe a hero. When young, they are taught that heroes have superpowers and are powerful. In the epic poem, Beowulf, Burton Raffel contradicts this belief. He translates the characteristics that make Beowulf an epic hero. Beowulf fits the definition of an epic hero because of his courageous deeds that reflect the values of his era, his character traits that reflect important ideals of his society, and his journey leaving his homeland to live with others.
Beowulf also shows courage in all of his battles. His intelligence is far above any others. He used the sword made by the giants to kill Grendel’s mother. In lines 210-222, it describes how he was quick and saw the sword “hammered by giants, strong and blessed with their magic…and struck with all the strength he had left, caught her in the neck and cut it through…”
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.
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 has fought many fierce and rough battles. He himself wanted this for his kingdom. He wanted the best for his kingdom. Beowulf was very selfless, and only seeked for fame, and the well-being of the people around him. He could deal with this dragon he has dealt with far worse. Beowulf was going to slay this Horrible Dragon.
Beowulf’s audacity to fight Grendel without any help or weapons displays an incredible amount of bravery and courage. Everyone who knew Beowulf’s name knew him as the “strongest of the Geats-greater/And stronger than anyone anywhere in the world-”(Beowulf 110-111). Beowulf displayed his strength through his acts of bravery in and out of battles, to gain his reputation and fame. Hrothgar and his people try to flee from Grendel because of his ravenous appetite for man and their knowledge that “Distance was safety; the only survivors/ were those who fled him”(57-59). After twelve long winters as Grendel terrorised Herot, Beowulf “Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror/ And quickly commanded a boat fitted out ( 112-114). Beowulf
Before Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, “[he] assured the Danish queen that his heart was firm and his hands were ready.”() Beowulf came from the Canes to fight the monstrous Grendel and free the people of fear and despair. Also to mention is the fact that Beowulf entered the fight “weaponless and unafraid” (). His lack of armor is in hopes to earn glory for his people. Hi confidence signifies his pride .His pride seems to aid him in the most difficult of battles. Boastfully, Beowulf had hung [Grendel’s head], arm, claws and shoulder and all [on the wall]”. Beowulf’s physical capabilities allows him to easily tear off Grendel’s
An epic hero according to Anglo-Saxon literature is a hero who is larger-than-life; someone with self-confidence, great strength, and the qualities of loyalty, bravery, and honor. Beowulf can be considered an epic hero for multiple reasons throughout “Beowulf.” Beowulf is a character constructed on all of the Anglo-Saxon epic hero qualifications. For starters, Beowulf is seen as a noble character, that is willing to provide security for the people by risking his own life. As a character, Beowulf conducts superhuman strength, and can complete impossible tasks. These are only some among many other reasons and characteristics that Beowulf can be classified as an epic hero.
While fighting Grendel, Beowulf not only matches the demon’s fortitude, but overcomes it, forcing Grendel back and ripping his arm off (lines 271-284). There was a moment during the battle with Grendel’s mother in which things looked hopeless for Beowulf, but he summoned his gallant strength and was able to throw her to the ground, then grabbed a sword that was forged by giants and finally killed her (lines 513-523). Upon arriving at the tower in which the dragon resides, Beowulf stoutheartedly challenges it. During the ensuing fight, his shield began to melt and his sword broke (lines 62-67) but he still fought, despite knowing that it was a losing battle. The dragon virulently wounded Beowulf but even in spite of this, the old King fought with all of the vigor he had left. His loyal follower Wiglaf stepped in, and together they were able to slay the beast. Each of these moments in Beowulf’s life were only possible due to his remarkable
The epic hero Beowulf was also very skillful when it came to battles. When he first fought Grendel, Beowulf had no idea what he was up against. Instead of just attacked Grendel, he waited until the monster had killed one of the other men in the hallway while Beowulf watched under the guise of sleep. Then when Grendel came to claim Beowulf's life, he knew that hand to hand combat was the only way to defeat this foe. The monster latched onto Beowulf's arms, but Beowulf did the same to Grendel.
Beowulf’s first accomplishment as an epic hero was his battle with Grendel. Grendel was a huge beast, a descendent of Cain, who ruthlessly murdered innocent Danes because he felt pity for himself. Upon hearing of the Dane’s problem, Beowulf set off to help the Danish without having been called upon. Even though Beowulf had men backing him, He drew battle with Grendel alone and without armor or weapons. Yet, Beowulf emerged victorious with the arm of Grendel as his trophy. Beowulf then went on to kill Grendel’s vengeful mother and a huge fire-breathing dragon who thought it had been done wrong by the Geats. Alas, the killing of the dragon would be Beowulf’s last great battle for the dragon took Beowulf’s life in the struggle for his own.