Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Comparisonof beowulf and movie story
Acts of heroism in the story of beowulf
The three main stages of the journey of the hero
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Comparisonof beowulf and movie story
Many people say that Beowulf was a great example of the Hero’s Journey, but many people also disagree that Beowulf was a great example of it. The Hero’s Journey consist of different stages the hero should overcome. In Beowulf, Beowulf had to overcome many difficult stages similar to the Hero’s Journey, but not just quite like it. In this essay I am going to discuss Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney and Excepts from Myth and the Movies, Stuart Voytillam Foreword by Christopher Vogler. Beowulf encounters many similar steps to the Hero’s Journey, but he never gets to fully complete the Hero’s Journey due to his failure to achieve peace. In “Beowulf” Beowulf was not able to complete the hero’s journey because of the time period, culture, and ignorant choices Beowulf took. The hero’s journey should help mold the hero who is on the journey by changing the inner character changes throughout the journey because of the surrounding events. Also in the hero’s journey once the hero completes the journey he is supposed to be recognized by the people he helped out and enjoy his life back at home. But in Beowulf this does not take place because once he completes the journey he does not learn from his mistakes, failures, and achievements that he faces while on the journey. The hero’s journey is supposed to teach and change the hero as they go through the adventures. In the hero’s journey the heroes purpose is to serve and sacrifice an answer or remedy that will help and could save one or many people’s lives. In “Beowulf,” Beowulf first receives a call to adventure from King Hrothgar and he agrees to the call of adventure to go to Denmark. When Beowulf accepts the call to adventure he skips a step of the hero’s journey as it is described as the ...
... middle of paper ...
... of continuing to fight battle after battle. He could have been back to his ordinary world sharing the elixir with others or heal a wounded land, but he decided to keep on battling and cause of his bad choices he cannot do this. In conclusion, the heroic poem of Beowulf is different to other heroic stories because they both went through the hero’s journey but the heroes learned a different ideas. Beowulf does not gain wisdom nor lose pride in himself, he decides to encounter everything that comes toward him. According to the hero’s journey Beowulf would always take the road back because he would not learn the lessons that the journeys were teaching him. He was not able to transform
Natividad 5 the power he had and transform that power into his understanding of life. Beowulf saved and protected many lives, but at the end of all he could not save and protect his life.
In Beowulf, the essence left behind by a true hero is extremely important. In epics such as this one, leaders tend to have the determination and boldness of a hero. On the other hand, the main character, Beowulf, does not display these certain traits. In this heroic poem, respect and trust come naturally. Honor and integrity are present throughout the poem.
In conclusion, although Beowulf possessed many heroic qualities he would not be considered a hero in today’s world. A hero varies from culture to culture. The Anglo-Saxon appreciated different things in a person that what do not we appreciate today. Many things have changed a lot with time, the requisites for being considered a hero have also changed. Today we do not like to solve problems with war. Pride and honor are not as important as the willingness one has to help others. Beowulf is not feeling that contact with people he doesn’t identify with them because he believes himself better, a part of a hero´s cycle is to be identified with the community. To be part
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.
The Story Beowulf is an Epic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon period. The author of the poem is unknown. Beowulf is the hero of the story and the Thane to Hygelac the king of the Geats in Sweden. When Beowulf finds out the Grendel (the big guy) is causing problems in Denmark he decides to go over there and help them out. He fights Grendel and everyone is happy. Then Grendels mother comes to avenge her son so Beowulf has to go fight her also. After winning that battle Beowulf goes back to the Geats and becomes king and rules for fifty winters. Everything is good until he has to go fight this dragon. The dragon ends up killing Beowulf. In the story you can see how things like Honor, fame, and Courage are associated with Beowulf. The reason that he take the dangerous journey is to gain all there of those characteristics in his journey. Out lines below is how he gets each one of those traits in the story.
Beowulf was a strong young man who was able to defeat a terrible monster known as Grendel. During this era in human history young men were expected to be far more durable and adequate compared to those of today. Those young men commonly had the dream of becoming king, defeating strong monsters, go on adventures, or even die a hero. All of which Beowulf managed to do making him a perfect role model for the young men at the time. The story of Beowulf truly captured all of the dreams of young men at the time and it was a perfect story for the time. Although times changed the dreams of the people never died, they were just advanced, edited and remade into new stories, better stories for better
Beowulf is a great tale but as a person, he isn’t that all that people make him out to be. In his older years his need for attention and glory ended up with the death of him. He fought the dragon alone and in return, ended up killing the dragon, but also sacrificed himself. Even as he died he asked for one thing, his people to build him a memorial near the sea so everyone could see the person that he was. His need for attention, lack of planning, and need for glory caused him to be just a prideful man, not a
In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.
The physical journeys that Beowulf goes through in this poem are more than a mere change in location. They represent a change that Beowulf is going to go through. After each journey, since they were followed with a fight, or battle, Beowulf changes. He changed in more ways than just young to old; he changed into a heroic warrior and eventually a king. On top of just changing physical location, he changes his status among the people of Geatland and Denmark. The physical journeys also bring a level of difficulty to the story. Instead of just fighting battles and becoming heroic in his homeland, he must travel to other places and fight for other people besides his to gain even more fame for himself.
An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject. It usually is about
In Beowulf, the protagonist Beowulf is shown as a hero with extrodinary strength. This is not what makes him a hero. By definition, a hero is a man of exceptional quality. However this term does not do Beowulf justice. His self-imposed purpose in life is to help others, and eventually sacrifices his own life in doing so. Beowulf’s battle with the dragon serves as a critique of the notion that Beowulf is a hero. The Dragon section displays many of Beowulf’s heoric characteristics. Beowulf establishes himself as a hero by fighting the dragon, exemplifing strength and courage when fighting the dragon, and sacrificing himself so that others can live.
Beowulf portrays the life a warrior turned king who demonstrates the qualities that not only the ideal king should have, but also the ideal warrior should exhibit. This allows the reader to notice how kings in the past were, and the power they possessed over the people of the area.
Beowulf displayed great courage and honor throughout his journeys and battles; he was an epic hero. An epic hero is a person who is viewed as larger than life and possesses values of a certain society. From the time of Beowulf’s battle with Grendel to his brawl against the dragon, he has showed everyone what being an honorable hero looks like. His heroism is revealed through both youth as a young warrior and wisdom as a reliable king. He never backed down and didn’t give up when situations were tough. Beowulf had obligations to fulfill and went about every aspect of his life with courage and strength. He cared for his people and was willing to take on anyone that threatened them or his kingdom. He sincerely was the hero of his time.
Beowulf overall does match with Hero’s journey. He displays confidence in each decision taken. Though he has concern that does not allow for refusal. With his confidence is was able to gain knowledge in ruling his people. Because he this is is a mentor to Wiglaf. There is no divine intervention. Aside from the inferences to be make from instance of the sword and Hrothgar protection from God. Beowulf rewards came where both tangible and intangible. The first reward the head of his enemy, Which earned him power which is synonymous with fame. This last battle allowed for to earnwisdom to pass in peace
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.
In the life of a hero is always obstacles and troubles in the way, Beowulf gets through all the challenges he faces in life, the fights, the monsters, and as always at the end of an epic hero story it ends with a revealing answer.