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Comparisons made to beowulf
Beowulf comparison essay
Heroism in Beowulf
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Always Stay Committed
I am one of the geats. My father is Wexstan and I’m a good soldier. I’m here knew once as my king went down I had to do something. I was watching Beowulf suffering and I knew he needed help. He wasn’t going to be able to do this one on is own. I went for it; drew my sword and raised my shield for my king. My heart racing and knowing this could be the end, but I had a thought. I remember how we all said, “We would give up anything to defend Beowulf.” I knew he chose us men for a reason and knew someone would be there for him when he needed it the most. I would rather die knowing I tried rather than knowing I could've done something. Beowulf’s shield and my shield together fighting off this deadly dragon. Knowing I kept
There are many books, movies and poems that fall into the category of epic. Although majority of the epic films are based on a hero who keeps the entire city safe and helps as many people as they can. Now that is exactly the film The 13th Warrior. The film follows the key events of the Epic Beowulf. The 13th Warrior demonstrates pretty much the same aspect of epic, along with the speculations of a hero, and how he overpowered his enemy. Unfortunately the main characters in The 13 Warrior and Beowulf are different. However the circumstances that they are put in front of and the behavior of both heros remain related. While the two pieces have a lot in common they still have their differences.
Beowulf has been king for 50 years, propelling his country to success and gallantly defeating every obstacle thrown at him. When an evil dragon is awoken and starts attacking his kingdom, Beowulf goes to attack the dragon to maintain his honor and glory from his younger years, as well as to protect his kingdom. This causes Beowulf’s death, and due to this catastrophe, Wiglaf foreshadows the future by saying to his kinsmen, “So this bad blood between us and the Swedes, / this vicious feud, I am convinced, / is bound to revive; they will cross our borders / and attack in force when they find out / that Beowulf is dead” (Heaney 2999-3003). Beowulf’s incessant need to fight the dragon ultimately puts his kingdom in danger. Because of his death, the Geats are now vulnerable to attack from outside forces. For the past 50 years Beowulf has been reigning his kingdom, and protecting the people from these threatening powers. His sudden death has left his people without a proper heir and with no stable leadership, which renders them defenseless when facing oncoming attacks. If Beowulf had not have felt the need to maintain his reputation and fight the dragon, he would still be alive and able to protect the Geats, or appoint the next heir, and have a plan for these attacks. Similar to Beowulf, Ubba and his nation also suffer the consequences due to
Nobody dared to stop the bravest man in all the land known as Beowulf. Beowulf is the strongest warrior from Geatland. When Beowulf hears about the Danes and Hrothgar’s struggle to keep his men safe, he offers to help. The Danish king, Hrothgar, accepts Beowulf’s request to kill Grendel and his mother. Beowulf proves his strength and becomes famous when he defeats Grendel in a battle using nothing but his bare hands in Herot. He keeps Grendel’s arm as a symbol of his victory. Grendel’s mother looks for revenge, but she is also killed by the brave warrior. Beowulf becomes the King of Geatland after the king’s son, Heardred, is killed. Beowulf rules for 50 years and he is very successful in keeping peace across the land and Geatland becomes very prosperous. Beowulf later dies after a final fight against a dragon. The Geats build a tower strong and tall just as Beowulf requested so that sailors could find it from far and wide. Beowulf perfectly embodies the Germanic heroic ideal.
Beowulf is one of the most bravest legends. He has no fear! This man will go and fight whoever needs to be fought, with or without help. As soon as Grendel's mother came to get her son’s arm back, Beowulf immediately set out to go find and kill her. He went to the place where she lives and after he plunged into the water, Beowulf swam all the way down to her lair. After he reached the lair, “Beowulf got ready, / donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; / his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail / would soon meet with the menace underwater” (1442-1445). This task also seems to be a death sentence written all over it, but Beowulf looks death in the face, and goes after his mother. He knows that they are immortal, but right next to Grendel’s mother, is the only sword that can kill them. Beowulf is brave enough to grab that powerful sword, and kill both Grendel and his mother. Men today would not do that. Beowulf does not just stop at Grendel and his mother: he continues to fight more monsters to defend what is his. He then took a break and now decides to come home to Sweden. The son of Ecgtheow bids Denmark farewell, and has a moment with Hrothgar. Hrothgar says, “You are strong in body and mature in mind, / impressive in speech. If it should come to pass / that Hrethel’s descendent dies beneath a spear, / … and you are still alive, then I firmly believe / the seafaring Geats won’t find a
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)
Picture a world shrouded in darkness and despair, where war is inevitable and its inhabitants live with a relentless sense of fear. Medieval Europe was not a peaceful or secure place, but rather a world filled with turmoil, suffering, and unrest. Commoners living in medieval Europe never strayed far from the security of their homes because evil and suffering lurked within every facet of society. The story of Beowulf recounts the life of an idealized warrior, whose desire for honor instills deep convictions of justified violence. In many ways, Beowulf’s attitude parallels the warrior instinct exhibited by the crusaders as they attempted to recapture the Holy Land. Hence, the world of medieval Europe painted suffering for a just cause as an honorable
When being compared to the opening funeral of King Shield’s death, Beowulf’s funeral can be further interpreted as an elegy for warrior values. To begin with, the main similarity behind both funerals was the mood. The Danes respected their king, and the poet of Beowulf depicts this idea by stating, Shield “had courage and greatness. /… as his powers waxed and his worth was proved” (lines 2 and 8). King Shield provided a sense of security to the Danish nation, which established a specific image of what a proper authority figure looked like to the people. Since Shield “was one good king”, his death left the Danes with the devastated realization there may never be that form of heroic leadership ruling their country again (11). Using similar word choice, Beowulf’s poet describes a similar connection between
foolish bravery but when he and all the rest of the Geats saw that Beowulf's
For the thanes, warriors fight all their lives out of loyalty to their kings, and Beowulf, who was a well respected and highly acclaimed warrior, was getting to become that king that men would so shamelessly fight for all because of how bravely and hard he fought for king Hygelac. “So Edgetho's son proved himself,/ Did as a famous soldier must do/ If glory is what he seeks: not killing his comrades/ In drunken rages, his heart not savage,/ But guarding God's gracious gift, his strength,/ Using it only in war, and then using it/ Bravely”.
The pessimism of the poor Danes was palpable. They had even despaired of appealing to the Christian God and had reverted to offering sacrifice to their heathen idols. Grendel had killed 30 warriors the first night and had taken even more the next night. But their pessimism is dispelled by one Beowulf who is ready and willing to sacrifice himself to repay the debt of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father, to Hrothgar. This Geat warrior possesses almost miraculous qualities: “He was the strongest of men a...
Beowulf’s courage and faith can be seen throughout the entire poem. The author shows what the other characters thought of Beowulf in lines 114-119, “None of the wise ones regretting his going, much As he was loved by the Geats: the omens were good, And they urged the adventure on”. Beowulf can be represented or resembled as a biblical hero such as David or Samson. Beowulf overcame many difficult problems that others would not even contemplate to take on. Beowulf the Geat took on Grendel and Grendel’s Mother. He also came to fellow warrior Hrothgar’s aid and even risked his own life for the sake of his warriors.
To both the Geats and the Danes, the ultimate goal of life seems to reach glory before an unavoidable death. This is actually enunciated by Beowulf to Hrothgar in the following lines, “Wise sir, do not grieve. It is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning. For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.” (1384–1389) Here it is revealed that Beowulf and likely all of his company view glory as the sole and most important goal that one can achieve before passing. Likewise in the lines, ‘The man whose name was known for courage, the Geat leader, resolute in his helmet, answered in return: "We are retainers from Hygelac 's band. Beowulf is my name."’ (340-343), Beowulf announces himself, and by doing so he invokes the reputation he had built up for himself in the past through his great feats. This further stresses the importance of glory and renown to these early European natives as their ultimate goal in life, and as Beowulf is perceived to be a great man, the fact that he must only utter his name to bring forth an account of all he has done in his life is representative of this
Beowulf, the Geat, helps Hrothgar the king of Danes by fighting against Grendel, the evil monster. Through his remarkably brave, inhumanly strong and incredibly loyal characteristics, Beowulf depicts the adventure of a Anglo-Saxon hero.
There I was, Beowulf, standing tall and brave after the battle had ended. It was a bit strange to me seeing as I had once lived a very lonely life; I had killed other creatures before, I had fought small dragons, I had hunted wild boars, I had swam a race in the sea, but to me, this battle was much different. I had many villagers counting on me to defend their land. I prepared myself for everything, even the unthinkable, for seven days and seven nights in the halls of Hygelac the Geat. I had wished to go alone on this journey to slay Grendel and save Greatsland, but I was told to pick fourteen earls to take with me.
A hero is someone you look up to, someone who has done something to inspire you, someone who is your role model. In our society, there are many different types of heroes—family, friends, teachers, firefighters, and police officers to name a few. But a hero that stands out to me is a U.S. soldier. Soldiers risk their lives every day just so we can have our freedom.