The Three Battles In The Epic Poem 'Beowulf'

810 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The theme of heroism in beowulf

In every tale there is a protagonist, hero, knight-in-shining-armor, or savior of some sort, and in the epic poem Beowulf, the title also happens to be the name of our courageous hero. Throughout this poem Beowulf encounters a variety of problematic situations where he chooses that battling his foes promises the best outcome. Our hero who has completed many challenging feats before coming to Heorot, decides to help and rid this land of their monsters. The three battles that Beowulf endures in this story include the fights between Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. In the first battle that Beowulf undergoes, he fights a gruesome creature named Grendel who had been terrorizing the land of Heorot for too long. Beowulf decides to put an end to Grendel’s reign of terror because the king of Heorot, Hrothgar, had done a generous favor for Beowulf’s father years before and felt like he needed to repay him for his enormous generosity. When Beowulf arrives to Denmark, he is greeted with skepticism as to whether or not he could truly defeat this powerful demon, since he was but a man. After boasting about his lengthy list of previous accomplishments, …show more content…

Beowulf after a while realizes how old he has gotten, and figures that he will die soon, so when a dragon starts terrorizing his land he decides to fight one last battle. Similar to the other battles, preparation for this fight lacked, but, they decided to go in and give it their best shot, and if they did not succeed Beowulf figured his death imminent, so the impact would not cause a huge impact. Beowulf did not expect to defeat such a horrendous creature, especially in his old age, but him and his companion Wiglaf succeed. Before they have a chance to celebrate they realize Beowulf has been bitten in the neck by the dragon, and poison has begun to seep into his veins, ultimately killing

Show More
Related

  • Characteristics Of Anglo-Saxon Heroism In Grendel

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Staring at his grotesquely muscled shoulders--stooped, naked despite the cold, sleek as the belly of a shark and as rippled with power as the shoulders of a horse--I found my mind wandering...He was dangerous” (155). Even from the first day Beowulf showed up at Hrothgar’s kingdom, Grendel knew he was dealing with something worse than a hero. Once they finally start to battle, the monster in Beowulf is fully revealed to Grendel and Grendel sees again the stupidity and meaninglessness in the human’s definition of a hero.“Grendel, Grendel! You make the world by whispers, second by second. Are you blind to that? Whether you make it a grave or a garden of roses is not the point. Feel the wall: is it not hard?...Hard, yes! Observe the hardness, write it down in careful runes. Now sing of walls! Sing!” (171). Beowulf forces Grendel to make a fool of himself and unlike Unferth who longs for a heroic death, Beowulf knows he is going to win and has no desire to die. His mindset of victory, groups him with monsters who have one goal, to kill and never be killed. This shatters the Anglo-Saxon ideals of heroism and in Grendel’s death, when he is surrounded by oblivious creatures who don’t have a purpose, the meaninglessness of it all, including the meaninglessness of heroic deeds becomes evident to the

    Read More

  • An Analysis of the Epic Poem, Beowulf - Bravery in Beowulf

    499 Words  | 1 Pages

    Bravery is like a very trusted friend, it will never let you down. That statement holds true in the great epic of "Beowulf." "Beowulf" is the story of a great hero who comes to the aid of a troubled king. Beowulf hears that king Hrothgar is having trouble and immediately comes to help with no questions asked. he defeats the monster, Grendel, with his bare hands. Beowulf then defeats Grendel's mother along with a dragon until he is fatally injured. Bravery is a very admirable characteristic that few people possess.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Hero's Journey In Beowulf

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Then he battles not one but two demons being two of the tests that he faces. Beowulf 's main purpose in Denmark is to kill the coldhearted powerful demon. “Gendel was the name of the grim demon Haunting the marches, marauding round the heath And the desolate fens;...” (lines 102-104). After his first battle “Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: “ We have gone through with a glorious endeavour and been much favored in this fight we dared against the unknown, Nevertheless, if you could have seen the monster himself where he lay beaten, i would have been better pleased, My plan was to pounce, pin him down In a tight grip and grapple him to death- Have him painting for life, powerless and clasped In my bare hands, his body in thrall. But i couldn 't stop him from slipping my hold, The lord allowed it, my lock on him Wasn’t strong enough, he struggled fiercely and broke and ran. Yet he bought his freedom At a high price, for he left his hand and arm and shoulder to show he had been here, A cold comfort for having come among us. And now he won 't be long for this world. He has done his worst but the wound will end him.”( lines 956-974). Then they decide to celebrate, little do they know that along with Grendel lives his mother. Seeking vengeance for her son 's death, she attacks Heorot and kills just one man being Hrothgar 's closest friend and advisor. In his grief, he

    Read More

  • Hrothgar's Motivation In Beowulf

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story begins with Grendel taking the lives of countless innocent men. It seems to all that there is no one who can face this great monster who lives down in the swamp. The king, Hrothgar, becomes concerned for the health of his country and seeks out help from someone of great strength. In hearing this, Beowulf sees it as an opportunity to increase his popularity and fame. Upon arrival, he is anxious to come face to face with the great beast. In addition, he declares that he will fight Grendel without any weapons to prove who is truly the strongest. After his victory, Beowulf gets his fame and becomes king of another land for fifty years.

    Read More

  • Honor And Loyalty In Beowulf

    2212 Words  | 5 Pages

    Early in the poem, Beowulf hears accounts of Grendel’s destruction of Herot, Hrothgar’s majestic mead hall. Knowing his strength and military prowess, Beowulf immediately devises a plan, recruits men, and orders boats, thrusting himself into a battle that was not necessarily his to fight. Beowulf felt obligated to end Grendel’s reign of terror. Though he knew the death of Grendel would bring him fame and honor, the idealized Beowulf was able to set aside personal ambition in order to end the suffering of the Danes. Shortly after slaying Grendel, Beowulf again displays an awareness of duty when Grendel’s mother extracts revenge upon Herot, killing one of Hrothgar’s best men, Aeshere. Instead of leaving Herot in a state of frenzy, Beowulf comes to King Hrothgar’s side, pledging allegiance and service. Bolstering the defeated king’s moral, Beowulf boldly addresses the older King Hrothgar saying, “So arise, my lord, and let us immediately set forth on the trail of this troll-dam. I guarantee you: she will not get away, not to dens under ground nor upland groves nor the ocean floor. She’ll have nowhere to fall to. Endure your troubles to-day. Bear up and be the man I expect you to be.” Beowulf could not set aside his duty and obligation, though he knew full well the suffering and pain that might result from his actions. Thus, Beowulf is a portrait of

    Read More

  • Courage In Beowulf

    1935 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beowulf is a hero that shows honor respect and courage. In lines 710-1007 is where the battle with Grendel happened. Thinking of the destruction that he will get, Grendel bursts into Heorot. Grendel tears the door from its hinges with his hands and quickly becomes a Geatish warrior while Beowulf carefully looks around. When Grendel reaches out to pick Beowulf up, he is surprised to find his arm gripped with a strength than he never knew could even happen. Confused and frightened Grendel doesn’t want to run back to the safety of the swamplands. He tries to escape, but Beowulf wrestles him down to the ground. The crash around the hall, making noise on the walls and smashing the mead-benches. Grendel begins to panic in pain and fear; the sound

    Read More

  • The Epic Of Grendel's Metaphamental Monsters In Beowulf

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.

    Read More

  • Internal Conflicts In Beowulf

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the epic Beowulf, the reader can clearly find the very distinct conflicts, although some go unnoticed. This poem came to be around the birth of Christianity and the dying out of paganism. In Beowulf, the battles between the monsters and the warriors are interpreted as a battle between the old way of faith and the coming of Christianity. Beowulf himself comes across many conflicts of his own. A literary critic, Alfred Bammesberger, analyzed the person who gives Beowulf the idea to go to Herot and fight Grendel, “.... Beowulf wanting to fight single-handed and challenge Grendel based on the information he had given to his uncle, the Great King Hygelac” (Bammesberger). The Danish king asks not for help however, Beowulf goes anyways. While he has many physical battles with enemies, he also has internal conflicts that seem to hold heavy in his mind. These conflicts include but are not limited to, “Battle of Grendel”, “The Battle with Grendel’s Mother” and “The Last Battle.”

    Read More

  • Beowulf's Epic Heroism

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf's first heroic accomplishment is his defense against the monster Grendel. Heorot is not even Beowulf’s own hall, but he is willing to risk his own life to protect its peopl...

    Read More

  • A Summary of Beowulf

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    Grendel appears the night when Beowulf arrives at Heorot. Beowulf wrestles the monster barehanded. He tears off the monster's arm but Grendel escapes. He dies soon afterward at the bottom of his mere, or swamp. Hrothgar rewards Beowulf with a great store of treasures. Another banquet is held for the warriors of both the Geats and the Danes.

    Read More

  • Heroism In Beowulf

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this poem, Beowulf exhibits the trait of bravery by defeating the monster, Grendel. This monster was a very powerful monster that plagued the town of Herot. “He slipped through the door… Snatched up thirty men, smashed them/ Unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies/ The blood dripping behind him, back/ To his liar, delighted with his night’s slaughter. (11)”

    Read More

  • Beowulf’s Three Great Fights in Beowulf

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf, which is considered the oldest English masterpiece, celebrates the three great fights of Beowulf. Whether Beowulf is a Christian poem written based on pagan story or a pagan poem rewritten under Christian influence remains unknown, considering that the poem combines pagan and Christian elements rather seamlessly. While Beowulf is described as a hero with admirable Christian virtues, he is still essentially a pagan hero. The poem does not reject the pagan heroism. However, Beowulf’s oldest manuscript was written by a Christian for freshly-converted Christians, thus the poem as we know it shows the superiority of Christianity over pagan religions. The three great fights can be interpreted as a criticism of Beowulf’s flawed characteristics from a Christian’s perspective.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Leadership In Beowulf

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    “He twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke.” The folk epic Beowulf was translated by Burton Raffle. Beowulf and the monsters are the main characters. Grendel is a vicious monster that has been killing everyone in Hrothgar kingdom for 12 years. Beowulf heard about these horrible actions and he came to help Hrothgar. He killed Grendel and his mother. 50 years later, Beowulf came to help again to kill a dragon; however, Beowulf was old and not as strong as he was when he was younger. Beowulf was defeated. Beowulf followers, The Geats, had ran frightened by the dragon except for Wiglaf, he stayed and killed the dragon, because he remembered the promise they had made to Beowulf to repay his kindness with kindness when the time came with their lives. In Beowulf, the ideal of conduct of the Anglo-Saxon culture is displayed through Beowulf’s bravery, self-confidence, loyalty, and leadership.

    Read More

  • The Epic Of Beowulf: A Romantic Epic

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story of Beowulf begins with a beast terrorizing a kingdom by killing many soldiers and people for over a decade. The news of the terror travels far and wide and so far that Beowulf hears of it. He organizes a party with his kings approval made up of the best of the best to assist him in his journey to Herot. Once in herot Beowulf and his men meet with king Hrothgar to get his blessings to defeat the beast named Grendel. After a great feast, like clockwork, grendel comes from the marsh to kill,only to be confronted by Beowulf. Once a great battle breaks out grendel realizes he has been defeated, he runs to his home where hell opens its arms to accept the dying beast.

    Read More

  • Beowulf as an epic

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Three Battles In The Epic Poem 'Beowulf'

Open Document