Beowulf is well-known as an oldest Anglo-Saxon poem. Beowulf is not a realistic image of historical Denmark, Geatland, or Sweden in the age about 500 A.D., yet it is on an ordinary view, a self-consistent image, a composition bearing demonstratively the marks of design and thought. The affections of the poem are different, while the significance of the brave beast is very like the truth. And the story of Beowulf is still correspond to today’s society and relates to all kinds of problems people faced in current everyday life.
The first part in the heroic poem, an old king name Hrothgar is being helped by a young hero - Beowulf. In the second part, Beowulf himself become an old king and was being helped by Wiglaf. While, the argument is whether Wiglaf is just a real Anglo-Saxon
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There are a lot of different soubriquets used about Beowulf. Most of those describe Beowulf’s physical abilities, personal characteristics and his social position in addition family and clan relations. There are lots of soubriquets depicting Beowulf as a paladin, such as “victorious warrior” (Beowulf 66), “brave warrior” (Beowulf 69), “good warrior” (Beowulf 41), “mighty one” (Beowulf 37), “angry warrior” (Beowulf 54), his strength (“mighty man” (Beowulf 42) and etc. Such soubriquets playing a very important part, because great heroes are mythic using their power to protect other people from dangerous. Essentially, since king Hrothgar was Dane, Beowulf helps not only the people of his own tribe, but also the people from different tribes. Very different from Beowulf, Wiglaf is illustrated with a relatively small amount of soubriquets. The poem talk about him as a paladin
He is known as the son of “ A noble warrior- lord name Ecgtheow” or as “The Great leader”. Beowulf saying in a boastful manner to king Hrothgar of Denmark,“Because all knew of my awesome strength. They had see me bolstered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, Raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea-brutes” (lines 417-421) from Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney. From this quote you see what Beowulf is know for. Which is being a archetypical hero. The archetypal hero usually has some form of journey known as the Hero’s Journey. Beowulf from Geatland is an archetypical hero because his story follows the steps of the Hero’s Journey.
And only one of them Remained, stood there, miserable, remembering, As a good man must, what kinship should mean. His name was Wiglaf, he was Wexstan’s son And a good soldier; his family had been Swedish, Once. Watching Beowulf, he could see How his king was suffering, burning. Remembering Everything his lord and cousin had given him, Armor and gold and the great estates Wexstan’s family enjoyed, Wiglaf ’s Mind was made up; he raised his yellow Shield and drew his sword. . . . (691-705)
Beowulf is an epic poem telling the story of Beowulf, a legendary Geatish hero who later becomes king in the aforementioned epic poem. While the story in and of itself is quite interesting, for the purpose of this paper it is important to look at the character more so then his deeds, or rather why he did what he did.
Although the main character in Beowulf is Beowulf himself, I believe that the single section which most concisely illustrates the heroic values in this poem occurs on pages 61 through 64 of the text, and is illustrated not by Beowulf's actions, but by Wiglaf's. Although Wiglaf is by nationality Swedish, he identifies himself as Beowulf's kinsman when he says "I did begin to help my kinsman." (Chickering 64)
The poet of Beowulf uses many literary devices to enhance respect and trust in the poem. The great heroic story of Beowulf gives many examples of the traits a great leader should have. At the end, those same traits were demonstrated by Wiglaf, who then became the king of the Geats. This proves that these traits were essential to the Anglo-Saxon culture; however, this also makes Beowulf contemporary. The poem has many themes that are still applicable today.
The epic poem, Beowulf, coming from the years of 600 to 700 AD has been translated in many different styles. In these excerpts by Burton Raffel and Lucien Dean Pearson, provides a clear understanding of this epic poem. Reading the two different translations, Raffel tends to provide the reader with a better understanding of the evil nature of Grendel and the heroic characteristics of Beowulf.
Today Beowulf can be relevant in society. A good leader can be further seen in a political process. Throughout the poem, similarities between personal relationships then and now are evident. Disloyalty within a family, murder caused by jealousy, and marriage for the wrong reasons are all themes in Beowulf. Today’s shows like soap operas reveal that little has changed. We live in a technology advanced world with sophisticated machinery but yet human nature has remained the same unchanged. Corruption, greed, and jealousy exist today as does courage, bravery, and
Beowulf is among the earliest surviving works of literature. It was written in Old English and dates back sometime before the tenth century A.D. The poem is set in Scandinavia, and tells the story of the heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf was the perfect hero. He fought for his people and defeated evil with his ability to bring on justice. Three of Beowulf’s traits that serve as evidence of this were his remarkable physical strength, his ability to put the well-being of others before his own well-being, and his courage.
A hero is a man of courage and ability who is admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A hero is a person who does not come along very often in any time period. He is a special person, who is a step above the average person in the way that he handles any situation that may arise.
This recognition that Beowulf receives proves his place as the quintessential hero in Anglo-Saxon society. The unknown author recognizes Beowulf as a warrior who “behaved with honor and took no advantage” (149). This quality is important to Beowulf’s image as a hero. The author also days that Beowulf “bore himself with valor” and names Beowulf “Heroic Beowulf” when describing the hero (135, 149). The author’s recognition of Beowulf as having these qualities and as being heroic shows that Beowulf was regarded as a hero during the authors’ own time. This is also confirmed by the several times people in the epic recognize Beowulf’s heroic qualities. Wiglaf, who was with Beowulf during the final battle, is one of the people to recognize Beowulf’s glory-seeking heroics, saying that Beowulf is “a man unequalled in the quest for glory” (179). This statement speaks much of Beowulf’s willingness to search for and his success in finding glory. Beowulf is also recognized by a thane of Hrothgar’s court during his earlier days. This thane recognizes Beowulf’s heroics and begins “rehearsing Beowulf’s triumphs and feats” by comparing him to Sigmund, an old Anglo-Saxon hero (59). The recognition Beowulf receives from the characters in the epic shows that Beowulf was impressive and heroic to Anglo-Saxons who told his
At the beginning of the novel, Beowulf represents a savage warrior, displaying mostly his strength and bravery by defeating Grendel and his mother. However, as Beowulf ages, he begins to change into a different kind of hero. After becoming King of the Geats, Beowulf matured and took on more of a leadership role in the community, as opposed to a warrior. Even though Beowulf was still a hero, he began to lead an army of geats and acted for the good of the people. In both cases however, Beowulf was respected by others for his admirable
Throughout the course of history, there have been many heroes and stories about said heroes. Beowulf is one that is included among these heroes as he exhibits many qualities of a hero, such as honor, bravery, and strength. These qualities are all shown several times throughout the story of the hero Beowulf.
...mately, Beowulf’s traits of loyalty, strength, and bravery were what an Anglo-Saxon warrior strived for to win glory for himself and his lord. Beowulf is the heroic prototype for future warriors, and his character has set the stage as one of the most influential classical heroes in literature.
Beowulf is an epic poem that, above all, gives the reader an idea of a time long past; a time when the most important values were courage and integrity. The only factors that could bestow shower fame upon a person were heroic deeds and family lineage. Beowulf, as the paradigm of pagan heroes, exhibited his desire to amass fame and fortune; the only way to do so was to avenge the death of others. This theme of retribution that is ever present throughout the poem seems to color the identities of its characters.
The movie and the textbook both show the relationship between Wiglaf and Beowulf, Wiglaf may of saved him from the dragon because he was a great king and everyone likes him. Yet, his motivation to do so was all in himself. Wiglaf saved Beowulf the best he could because that is what he thought was right, he thought that fighting for a king who fought for him long before then was a way to pay him back for his doings. “Beloved Beowulf, remember how you boasted, / [o]nce, that nothing in the world would ever / [d]estroy your fame: fight to keep it” (Beowulf 135). Others ran and Wiglaf stayed with him, beside him, ready for anything to happen and not thinking that he too, may die. In the modern interpretation Wiglaf went with Beowulf for comfort and found him after Beowulf fought the dragon, he did not have any motivation to help Beowulf or to try and save him. Beowulf told him to stay away and to let him handle it, this shows how much Beowulf respect he had for those who respected him, especially his closest friend. Wiglaf was always right next to Beowulf until the point in modern interpretations when he is told to stay. What this tells us about Wiglaf is that even though he did not fight with Beowulf or show any courage until he saw Grendel's mother, he was always noble to him. In the textbook he did what he had to do just because that is what he