The quest to defeat and heroism is the way Beowulf went about things. In this time England was changing from a pagan to a Christian culture. Pagan Anglo-Saxons told grim tales of life ruled by fate, people struggled with this fate with monsters living in their world. Beowulf was one of the few that reflects both pagan and Christianity. Beowulf is also known as a heroic character through the story. Throughout the novel of Beowulf, Beowulf has multiple conflicts such as: gaining trust, danger of the battles, and killing the dragon. In the beginning, Beowulf is struggling to earn trust. Beowulf is a man who lives in a far off place, who hears many stories of Grendel and his wrong doings. As Beowulf and his men travel the sea, knowing of no …show more content…
When they arrive Beowulf and Grendel begin to argue, when the argument is finally over, Beowulf says, “Grendel’s plan, I think, will be/ What it has been before, to invade this hall/ And gorge his belly with our bodies” (lines 271-273). This quote shows that Grendel has not changed and he still wants what he always wanted which is to kill. The theme of this quote is revenge. That night Beowulf and his men stay in Herot. While his men are sleeping, Beowulf lies awake, eager to see Grendel again. The next morning they were ready for battle. The poem states, “His body to bits with powerful jaws,/ Drank the blood from his veins and bolted/ Him down, hands and feet; death/ And Grendel’s great teeth came together” (lines 316-319). This quote suggests that his body is drenched with blood. The quote also states that the Grendel is …show more content…
Before going into battle, he tells his men about the royal house and his exploits in its service. Beowulf states, “I am old now,/ But I will Fight again, seek fame still,/ If the dragon hiding in his tower dares/ To face me” (lines 625-628). Beowulf is giving his followers a final goodbye as he goes into battle. He is also letting he’s followers know he is an old man and it will not be easy. Beowulf then enters a hidden entrance, too hot for anyone to stand, a streaming current of fire and smoke has blocked the passage. The beast then awakes knowing that a man has come. In the story it states, “Beowulf/ Swung his shield into place, held it / In front of him, facing the entrance”(lines 670-672). Beowulf and his ancient sword are waiting, ready for battle. The monster then comes quickly towards him, shooting out fire, rapping around Beowulf’s body as he suffers. An author, Laurence Mazzeno, writes,” In his later years, after becoming king in his homeland, Beowulf loses his life in a fight with a dragon that is guarding a hoard of treasure and terrorizing the Geats.” In conclusion, Beowulf is fighting his last battle between life and death. The young warrior Beowulf, a nobleman from the land of the Geats, travels to the kingdom of the Danes, where he saves the people of King Hrothgar by slaying the monster Grendel and his mother. In his later years, after becoming king in his homeland, Beowulf
This last encounter was destined to define his lasting legacy. He lived as a warrior; it was only natural that he should die as one as well, he hopes to go down in a fiery blaze of glory, pun intended. At this point in time, Beowulf is a seventy-year-old king, he knows he is mortal and isn’t going to live forever. Nevertheless, even as an old man, it was his duty to protect and defend his subjects until the death. Towards the end Beowulf’s death looms closer and it seems like he foreshadows that he is prepared to meet his maker.
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.
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
Then the Danes decide to go back to Herot and while they are sleeping, Grendel’s mother comes to attack them in order to even the score for the killing of her son. Then she leaves, taking the body parts of her son and Esher (which is one of Hrothgar's close friends) with her. Beowulf attempts to save him by entering the monster-filled lake, although the sword that he uses is useless against the skin of Grendel’s mother. As he continues to fight, he grows tired, but then notices that there is a huge sword on the wall of the battle hall where he was dragged to. The sword just so happened to be a magical one that was blessed by the giants that made it.
Throughout time, society has come in contact with individuals who are praised due to their bravery, loyalty, strength and a tendency to go beyond the limit. One may call this individual a hero, and if asked to give some examples of heroism, one may pick the classical literary hero Beowulf. According to Roger B. Rolling, Beowulf is classified as a Type I hero who, “if superior in degree to other men but not to his natural environment, … is a leader. He has authority, passions, and powers of expression far greater than ours but is subject both to social criticism and to the order of nature” (434). Beowulf’s heroism is exemplified first when he kills Grendel, then when he kills Grendel’s mother, and finally when he kills the Dragon. Also, Beowulf
An epic is a long narrative poem on a serious subject. It usually is about
In the epic poem Beowulf, the main character Beowulf demonstrates that he is a warrior who places heroism and bravery over his own well-being and life. These actions exemplify the pagan warrior mentality. God has granted him the greatest strength, allowing him to defeat all of his enemies. However, Beowulf also possesses a sense of morality. He will not harm any of his companions, even while intoxicated. His good deeds, and successful battles make him well-liked and respected.
The King knew that the killings were not over and that Grendel would come again. Beowulf, a strong, brave and giant man heard of the Kings despair and decided that he would take some of his bravest, strongest and best men of the Geats and come kill Grendel the murderous beast himself.
The poem Beowulf is a renowned story that displays many different surroundings and religious beliefs. Some may believe the story of Beowulf portrays pagan beliefs or customs and others believe that the poem is more in agreement with Christian ethnicity. The author of Beowulf uses both Christian and pagan elements in the poem to define the heroic warrior, Beowulf, and the evil dragons. After reading Beowulf the author clearly shows how Beowulf is a man who is filled with Christian customs and is willing to die and defend the world against evil using the help of God.
Having purged Denmark of its plagues and established himself as a hero, however, he is ready to enter into a new phase of his life. Hrothgar, who becomes a mentor and father figure to the young warrior, begins to deliver advice about how to act as a wise ruler. Though Beowulf does not become king for many years, his exemplary career as a warrior has served in part to prepare him for his ascension to the throne.
In the battle with Grendel, Grendel came to kill. As Grendel went to clutch Beowulf with his claws, Beowulf leaned up on one arm. Grendel fought back once he was trapped. All he wanted was to escape. Grendel's claws had been caught and he regrets going to Herot. The battle took place in the hallway he had emptied just before.Grendel let out a terrible scream that awoke the Danes. Grendel knew he was defeated so he kept letting out tears and screams of pain. Grendel had his taut throat open to the point his shrieks were terrific. Beowulf wasn't letting go of Grendel. No matter what Beowulf and his men did, their swords couldn't hurt Grendel because he had cursed him. Grendel had known his strength had left him, so he grew angry, but he had no power left to fight. Grendel had lost. Beowulf had hung his trophy high: Grendel's arm, claw, and shoulder and all. Beowulf had fought for his men, even know they were ready to
For more than a millennium, literary excavators and scholars have been deciphering and intensively studying the epic Beowulf. The suspenseful and dramatic narrative takes place in Scandinavia where the Danes are experiencing the wrath of a monster known as Grendel. The titular eponymous King of the Geats gives the King Hrothgar necessary assistance to combat this ruthless and belligerent creature. After being killed, the hero Beowulf defeats Grendel’s mother in a watery underworld called her lair after she strikes Herot Hall. In the final scene, after serving five decades as Geatland’s generous and amiable king, he defeats the infamous dragon. Unfortunately, Beowulf suffers severe wounds from the battle. After briefly summarizing and analyzing
The story of Beowulf was originally a old Pagan story. It’s purpose was to show heroic deeds on how a man, named Beowulf, killed a monster named Grendel, his mother and a dragon. It shows its character loyalty to his soldiers or people, the importance of honor
The epic poem Beowulf tells the story of a man by the name of Beowulf that goes through events that prove how heroic he is. Throughout the poem, Beowulf endures three battles. In the first, he battles the monster Grendel. In the second, he battles Grendel's mother. In the end he battles an enraged dragon. With each battle, Beowulf finds increasing difficulty in his opponent, but prevails and saves both the Danes and the Geats from all being killed by monsters. In each battle, Beowulf proves that he is worthy of having the title of a hero.
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.