Meaning Of Honor In Beowulf

Honor. What is honor? What does it truly mean to be honorable? What does it take to be honorable? Honor is a simple word that has many definitions. What is your definition of honor? For many years past, honor has been the foundation for what drove a man to be the best he could be and to do the best he could do. In English literature, many of the main characters were based off of the concept of honor. For example, in the literary works Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, the epic poem Beowulf, and the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, each main character’s ethics are determined by their way of perceiving what honor is. Honor means to be loyal, diligent, dedicated, strong willed, to stand for what you believe while ignoring all the consequences, standing up for something few others or no one else will, and being looked up to as a role model.

The poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a tale about a knight named Gawain,

Throughout the epic poem Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, exhibits the aspect of honor numerous times. The biggest aspect of honor that Beowulf exhibits in the text is his loyalty to his king and his country. Beowulf proves his loyalty to his king and country many times. with the main time being towards the end of the poem when Beowulf declined taking the throne when its rightful owner was still alive (Beowulf 616-618). Beowulf’s actions when he declined the throne showed his loyalty to his king by showing that Beowulf was not going to take something from someone else when it does not belong to him. Another time when Beowulf exhibited honor was when Beowulf fought Grendel. The fight against Grendel showed honor because Beowulf stood up to a challenge that appeared to be near impossible and he was risking his life to keep other people safe and alive. Beowulf’s willingness to stand up to Grendel and his denial of the throne are great examples of Beowulf’s