Beowulf An epic hero demonstrates effective relations with his people; and in Beowulf, Beowulf takes that role. Throughout life and death, Beowulf uses his strength to empower his people as heroes should. With traits commoners desire, Beowulf utilizes his power while still maintaining the modesty required from an epic hero. Aside from extraordinary mental ability, Beowulf exemplifies heroic traits through his strength, reputation, and death. Beowulf displays strength through the epic tradition of putting his life ahead of others. Beowulf causes “the monster’s whole body [to be] in pain,” and “a tremendous wound [to appear] on his shoulder.” Refusing to use a sword against Grendel is one thing, but achieving a gruesome victory such as ripping an arm out of a socket is hero-worthy. Heroes fight for their people, and Beowulf delivered the Danes from twelve years of Grendel’s attacks. Beowulf continues in showcasing his strength by merely lifting a sword. Beowulf utilizes his strength to the best of his ability, ultimately benefiting his people. As great heroes strive to maintain their reputations, Beowulf‘s pride was a side effect of his success and not just boasting. Beowulf would have appeared very cocky if he had lost the hand-to-hand battle with Grendel, but he did not. Beowulf knows his ability and let …show more content…
his skills follow his boasting. The dangers of pride are outlined thus: one should not “give way to pride for a brief while your strength is in bloom, but it fades quickly.” Even as Unferth grows jealous, Beowulf respectfully maintains his fame/reputation by stating he had to kill nine sea monsters while swimming. Creating and maintaining a reputation are both qualities heroic Beowulf possesses. Epic heroes die the honorable death.
Beowulf fulfills this by an epic tradition of dying while fighting. While this may detract from Beowulf's invincibility claims, fate has it that all are destined to die. Beowulf’s funeral included “buried torques in the barrow and jewels and trove of such things,” signifying his death had great traditional power. Death is only a portion of being a hero. The willingness to die for his people signifies courage as well. After Beowulf delivers the “deadly wound,” and is a near death, he goes on delivering a monologue showcasing his feats. This heroic scene embodies his willingness to fight for the Danes with his life at
risk. Respectfully, the tittle epic hero displays excellence mentally and physically. Commended by the Anglo-Saxon culture, Beowulf is portrayed a high hero. With heroic strength, reputation, and death, these qualities attribute to the characterization the hero Beowulf.
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.
Beowulf used his strength for respect and recognition. As he became older his great strength was beginning to become weak. The weakness of his strength and the lost battle against Grendel’s mother was overwhelming to Beowulf; however he realized that his time was over and he would be remembered as a great hero in all battles he won.
In the anglo saxon society in which Beowulf took place, there was a warrior code which resulted in everyone trying to gain power over one another. Everyone lived by a heroic code that encouraged battles, feuds, and murders and rewarded the victor with treasure. By showing your insecurities or weaknesses in this age you will be taken advantage of. Beowulf understands the heroic code and uses his pride to get the upper hand on everyone else, Beowulf boasts himself as an invincible hero and goes in battle with out an ounce of fear. Beowulf’s justifies his excessive pride through his . Lastly, Beowulf’s pride made him a leader and led by example to defeat the dragon and ultimately sacrifice himself in the process. Beowulf’s desire for pride
Beowulf is proud in the sense that he has no fear. He is willing to go to any length and any condition in order to protect the Danes. “My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were too afraid to, if I hid behind some broad linden shield;”. Beowulf is explaining how he will use no weapons on Grendel to kill him, and in my opinion he thinks it would be cowardly to do so. He is humble because he is okay with dying and he lies his fate in Gods hands. “And if my death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac, return the inheritance i had from Hershel and he from Wayland. Fate will unwind as it must!” Beowulf is putting the fate of his life into God’s hands and is willing to die in the chance to kill Grendel for the safety of
The capability of a hero to possess superior physical strength is the quality that sets him apart from the other warriors. In the beginning of Beowulf, Beowulf is described as the, “follower and the strongest of the Geats, greater and stronger that anyone anywhere in this world” (lines 110-111). This represents Beowulf’s strength by stating he is the strongest man in the world. In addition, Beowulf demonstrates physical strength when defeating Grendel. During the battle, “[Grendel] twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke” (lines 390-392). This quote describes the part of the battle when Beowulf rips off Grendel’s arm with his bare hands. Obviously, Beowulf demonstrates super strength because he is able to mutilate Grendel without any weapons. Furthermore, the most prominent event in the poem that signifies Beowulf’s super strength is when he is able to use the large sword to kill Grendel’s mother. The sword was, “but so massive that no other ordinary man could lift its carved and decorated length. He drew it from its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt” (533-535). Due to the fact that Beowulf had the ability to break the sword off of its chain and pick it up with ease proves that he possesses super strength. Emphatically, Beowulf exemplifies undeniable super strength of an
The mighty warrior Beowulf volunteered to help fight off the monster, Grendel. Beowulf showed great bravery because even though Grendel over sized Beowulf, he still accepted the challenge. He also showed strength, Grendel’s head was so massive that four men each had to carry it, but Beowulf could handle the head all by himself. Lastly, Beowulf revealed loyalty by coming to Hrothgar’s assistance, to help with defeating Grendel. Even after Beowulf became King he went to his last battle to defeat the dragon without any help from his
Without mental strength and stability, one cannot lead or rule efficiently and may cause more harm than good. Beowulf is not just a hero in the terms of Joseph Campbell, but is also the definition of an Anglo-Saxon hero. Christopher Garcia, author of The Anglo-Saxon Hero, declares that to be an Anglo-Saxon hero, one must be a warrior which Beowulf is. Although he is the interpretation of an Anglo-Saxon hero, Beowulf does not bask in his own glory. He controls his mentality which demonstrates how he is mentally strong. As Garcia says, “warriors had to be willing to face any odds, and fight to the death for the glory and people.” Throughout Beowulf, Beowulf fulfills his job as a hero by using his mental strength to display a proper attitude without being overconfident in his abilities. An example of his properness occurs in a formal boast when he claims, “I mean to perform to the uttermost / what your people wanted or perish in the attempt” (634-635). Presented in this quote, Beowulf shows the obvious power of his mentality and willingness to put his life at risk to save others. Beowulf is a definite hero by definitions and exhibits the proper mental strength to relieve the fear the Danes have from Grendel’s multitude of fatal
He shows this by simply ripping Grendel’s arm off in fight between them. Also Beowulf shows him being strong by purposefully opening up the hall again to make the monster come so he can kill it. “He might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid behind some broad shield: my hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster.” (265-269). He exemplified great courage when he defeated Grendel and his mother to save Hrothgar's kingdom. Also Beowulf really shows strength just by being able to fight everyone and protect the town all by himself. No one else wanted to help the townspeople or had the courage to do so, so Beowulf is really strong in all aspects, mind and body. This is exactly how Beowulf was really
Beowulf was a true hero, in the eyes of many, through said traits. He fought a number of battles and was triumphant in all, except his last battle. Beowulf possessed the skills and power necessary to kill Grendel, the monster who had been terrorizing the Danes for over a decade, with his bare hands. While fighting, Beowulf detached Grendel’s arm from his shoulder, which was later hung up as a trophy. Beowulf eventually put an end to Grendel’s life, and naturally, Grendel’s mother had pursued Beowulf. Although Grendel’s mother was an even deadlier monster than her son, Beowulf once again proved his abilities by slaying her, as well. He slashed her neck with a sword that carried unbearable weight. Afterwards, he carried her head with only his own arms, while it took the a...
...fend off death. The spirit of warriors grew its roots deep into his soul. His values of honor and valor would not let him die a peaceful death; no he would die in battle. Beowulf knew he would die in the midst of battle the day he chose to be a warrior. To die in battle was the greatest honor that he could
Throughout the epic Beowulf attempts to introduce himself as someone worthy of glory by boasting of his skills and deeds. These boasts show Beowulf’s glory seeking tendencies. One of these boasts
Beowulf was a highly skilled and great fighter, but because of his over-confidence in himself the fire-breathing dragon kills him. Beowulf’s excessive pride is evident from the very beginning of the epic. He is almost always boasting about himself to one person or the other. In the first part of the epic, when Beowulf first travels to Hrothgar’s kingdom to rid him of Grendel, he talks about the mighty deeds he has done in his life. “Hail, Hrothgar, health ever keep you! I am Hyglelac’s thane and kinsman; mighty deeds I have done in my youth…they saw themselves how I came from combat bloodied by enemies where I crushed down five, killed a tribe of giants, and on the waves at night slew water-beasts; no easy task, but I dove out trouble from Geatland-they asked for it, the enemies I killed.”(Beowulf p73) One can easily picture him standing proud and tall in front of a multitude of fellow warriors, proclaiming all the deeds he has accomplished in his lifetime.
Beowulf has superhuman strength. He is spoken of as the strongest man anywhere in the world, “...the strongest of the Geats--greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world…” (110-111). Beowulf's strength is shown in his fight with Grendel when he, “...fastened those claws in his fist until they cracked…” (335-336). His strength is also displayed when he chops off Grendel's head with ease, “...then stuck off his head with a single swift blow.” (560-561). It is very clear that Beowulf has incredible strength.
Beowulf thought of himself as he is the most important man in the world. Beowulf killed many of the beasts within his path. Beowulf made it tremendously oblivious that he had been merely impossible to slay. Epic heroes were meant to denote their traits such as courage, strength, intelligence and loyalty. Beowulf contained a large amount of strength within his body.His body would struggle just to keep the power of his strength within his body. All of Beowulf’s energy had been deployed when Grendel had stepped within vision. Beowulf’s eyes would light up in determination to save his people. His speed was so agile, once he arrived at the weak spot of the beast the strength dominated the body. Within seconds Beowulf rapidly beat Grendel with his
An epic hero is a main character who embodies the ideals of a certain culture. The character is named Beowulf and he represents the ideals of the Anglo-Saxon culture which were bravery, skillfulness, and generosity. Beowulf showed his braveness multiple times throughout the story. After he heard of a monster named Grendel who, for twelve years had been attacking King Hrothgar's mead hall Heorot, Beowulf traveled to the Danish islands to defeat him. Even though Beowulf didn't know anything about Grendel he went on a long voyage to reach the islands so that the Hrothgar's people need not live in fear. Then, after Beowulf Grendel, Grendel's mother came after the people of Heorot to avenge her son's death. To reach her, Beowulf had to dive into dark dangerous waters, facing unknown peril. He swam down through the shadowy lake by himself fighting off monsters the whole way. Once he did arrive at her lair a vicious fight ensued, but the courageous Beowulf came out victorious once again. Later in Beowulf's life, a dragon destroys his village and the large mead hall he had built for his men. Even though he knew he was no longer as agile and strong, Beowulf went straight to the dragon and gave a defiant shout of challenge.