Beowulf: A Hero's Journey

Every hero has a reason for their actions. They all have a call to answer. You can’t be a hero without a purpose. Sometimes this purpose is vague, other times they know their goal well. Joseph Campbell theorized that all heroic epics follow a similar story development. In Beowulf he has found a call to adventure, following campbell’s theory. Beowulf exemplifies the claims made by Joseph Campbell regarding the hero’s call to adventure. He has actions and reasons for his actions that mimic Campbell’s evolution. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the story focuses around the Danish King’s Mead Hall, known as Herot. Moreorless the Danish King, Hrothgar was its owner. But, there was a very evil monster living in the remote hills of Denmark. Known as Grendel, this monster would kill the drunken patrons as they slept inside Herot. And the noise they made as they partied put so much stress on Grendal, it enraged him to the point of murder. Grendel would go on killing sprees as they slept, and no one was brave enough to even think about facing him, except for Beowulf. Beowulf sailed to Denmark with a small crew to kill Grendel and Save Herot. THIS was his Call to Adventure.

People argue that their is no corrliation between Beowulf’s journey and the steps in Campbell’s theory. But this is simply not true because the step before ‘call to Adventure’ is ‘The Ordinary World’. And Beowulf’s story before this call mimics that step as well. He was at his home, with the Geets, his clan. He was already a strong-willed warrior, but this was his normal everyday life. Hearing talk of the Monster lurking near King Hrothgar’s hall, sailing to Denmark with his plans to destroy a foreign monster. This was his call, where he left his comfort zone to save others and face a force much stronger than