Danyelle Crocker
Honors English IV
Mrs. Joyner
12/16/2015
An Encouraging Epic Hero Beowulf was an epic hero during his time. An epic hero is a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. “The Anglo Saxon hero was well defined by the actions of Beowulf” (Garcia). Beowulf became an epic hero when he fought Grendel and Grendel’s mother, and became a king, and fought the dragon. Beowulf succeeded with his battles and became an epic hero. Beowulf always boasted that he was a great hero. Beowulf believed he was the greatest warrior of the Geats. After becoming king, Beowulf believed he was the greatest warrior of them all. He was indeed an epic hero. Beowulf had his first
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Beowulf boasted about being the best warrior of his land. Beowulf was gaining courage as an epic hero. Beowulf put his people first. Beowulf continued on. Beowulf heard about a second monster, Grendel’s mother. Grendel’s mother did not appreciate how Beowulf did her son. The second encounter proves more that he is becoming a strong and braver epic hero. Beowulf could have given up on the people after his first encounter, but he did not. Beowulf kept striving for more to seek. Beowulf crossed paths with Grendel’s mother. Beowulf encountered Grendel’s mother underwater. Beowulf was the only warrior that had beaten Grendel. Beating Grendel gave Beowulf a lot of encouragement and it made him boast even more. Grendel’s mother was waiting on Beowulf to come. Beowulf made his way underwater to find Grendel’s mother. Beowulf went without a weapon because he already knew Grendel put up a fight, so he knew Grendel’s mother was going to be even worse. Beowulf states, “When my danger is near… “ (Beowulf …show more content…
Beowulf showed a little more encouragement and bravery fighting off Grendel. The “epic hero” was starting to become stronger and stronger. Beowulf did not make no stops on his journey until he felt it was his time to end. An epic hero would have never given up and that is what Beowulf did. An epic hero is what Beowulf referred himself and that is exactly what he proved. Beowulf proved to be the one person someone would want to be like. Beowulf became more enduring after every battle he encountered. Beowulf strived for the best and not for the worst. Beowulf succeeded his journey until it was time for him to go forever. Beowulf is a legendary “epic hero.” Beowulf developed everything on his journey to the
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
She was enraged over the death of her son. Beowulf did not let the fear of dying hold him back he was ready to fight even after his battle with Grendel. Although, she was not as strong or as powerful as Grendel. She still possessed the same dark hatred towards Hrothgar’s people and the land of the Danes and the Geats and especially Beowulf for what he did to her son. Beowulf had to travel underwater to fight Grendel’s mother in her cave. This shows us that he possesses a characteristic that not many people can say they have. He has the capability to not only breath and survive underwater, but the capability to fight underwater as well. During his descent to the lair, he was struck by Grendel’s mother and dragged into her cave. At first he tried to fight back, but was unsuccessful. He tried to pierce her with his sword, but he was unsuccessful in piercing her skin. He did not give up there though showing us his determination and willingness to risk his life. Again proving to us that his drive makes him a truly heroic figure. With all of the rage and anger built up inside of Beowulf he decides to attack her with nothing but his bare hands. He then knocks her onto the ground. However, she managed to get up and fight back and ending up sitting upon Beowulf. Beowulf comes across a giant sword in which he uses to slice Grendel’s mother by the collarbone and splitting her into two.
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
Beowulf, the great Geatish warrior, lives a very adventurous life filled with many voyages, battles, and victories. Through all of these events, he meets various people who are considered to be heroes like himself. These heroes, however, are unable to have the same abilities and characteristics of Beowulf. His great achievements cannot be matched by anything that they have done in their lives. Beowulf is a superior hero to Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf in the epic of Beowulf because he kills every monster that he fights, becomes a widely feared warrior and king, and dies in battle completing his final heroic act.
An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject. It usually is about
A hero is someone who is admired for their courage and bravery, as well as their noble accomplishments. They are respected by almost everyone, due to their kindness and charitable mindset, that drives them to fight for the good of others. Beowulf is the perfect representation of a hero, based on multiple characteristics that he displays throughout the novel. Along with his characteristics, Beowulf also takes on many “hero like” challenges and tasks. In the novel, Beowulf is praised and admired throughout the kingdom for his bravery, humility, and selflessness.
During the battle with Grendel, Beowulf knew that many men had tried to defeat him and many men had failed. That didn’t stop Beowulf though, he knew that if someone had any chance to defeat the beast it was him, even if that meant he might possibly die. He knew that if he didn’t take the chance that many more men would die. He sat out to fight Grendel and after a long battle Grendel was finally defeated, Beowulf risked his own life to save others. Although Beowulf thought that he was finished with Grendel’s threats he wasn’t. Grendel’s mother was enraged because of her son’s death and began to terrorize the king’s men, much like her Grendel had done. Everyone knew that Beowulf was the only one able to stop her, so once again he set out to risk his life to save others. Beowulf was almost defeated during this fight, but he finally killed Grendel’s mother, because of this he became king of the Geats and ruled without fighting for 50 years, until the Dragon attacked and burnt down his house, that is. Even Beowulf knew that his chances of winning this fight were small, but he knew what he had to do. At the end of the fight Beowulf was victorious, the Dragon was dead, but Beowulf suffered an injury from the dragon and also died. Because of Beowulf’s sacrifices the people were finally safe once
The first thing that makes Beowulf an epic hero is his wisdom. In this epic poem Beowulf fight with many characters, that are bigger and stronger than him, but Beowulf wins all these battles through his wisdom. Most of the time Beowulf fights for glory, so he always looks for a battle to fight. That’s how he came to the fight with Grendel, who frightened the whole kingdom of Hrothgar. Many warriors tried to defeat Grendel, but they all failed and eaten my Grendel. When Grendel came to the Heorot to kill the warrior’s, Beowulf tricked and attacked him with his bare hands, knowing that the swords does not work on him (Beowulf 51). First Beowulf learned Grendel’s attacking style and with that he counter attacked Grendel. Beowulf uses his wisdom wisely in every situation he encounters. When Beowulf fights Grendel's mother, first he looked around his surrounding and “he sights a famous old sword of the giants, which he seizes and thrusts at Grendel’s mother, who falls in helpless death throes” (Foster 1). In every battle, Beowulf is overpowered with wisdom, which makes him an epic hero.
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.
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.
When the story begins, Beowulf has gone to the land of the Danes to kill Grendel for the people, not for the glory. Beowulf brings his own hand picked, group of soldiers with him throughout his battles, and refuses to allow help from others. Beowulf also tells the readers he will not use weapons unless necessary. Before the battle against Grendel, a Denmark officer states, “A chosen warrior who bravely does battle with the creature haunting our people, who survives that horror unhurt, and goes home bearing our love” (ln. 210). Also, when Beowulf’s men abandon him in the battle against the dragon, he does not choose to run in fear, but to continue fighting. In this moment much like in his past, Beowulf shows how honorable he really
Beowulf is an epic hero. He was also a powerful warrior, a worthy King, and gained righteous knowledge from his three major battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. There is plenty of reasons to say why Beowulf was a great warrior. Beowulf’s battle with Grendel is a great example proving how he is a powerful warrior. Grendel would attack a bar on almost an everyday basis.
Beowulf is a heroic tale; "The Nun's Priest's Tale" is mock-heroic. In what ways does Chaucer use "The Nun's Priest's Tale" to ridicule the heroic style? Increased length is a clear result; name other story elements or writing techniques Chaucer uses.
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.
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.