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Beowulf literary elements
Beowulf motivations
Beowulf literary elements
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Brave Beowulf “An Analysis of Beowulf” Beowulf is a epic retold for many generations from father to son, warrior to child, and it serves its name very well, epic! It starts off by explaining a newly built mead house, created by the lord of the Danes, Hrothgar. This mead house is massive and used by all of the Danes. But these people are now plagued by a terrible force, Grendel, a terrible monster who comes into the town and massacres its people. In a distant land, a prince hero Beowulf, hears of this terrible monster and decides to prove his worth by fighting and destroying it. Beowulf comes to the land of the Danes, and meets with Hrothgar to ask permission to slay the beast, it is then granted. When Beowulf first meets Hrothgar, he strips down taking off all of this armor that he wears for protection in battle and states that he will kill Grendel without his armor to prove his worth. That during the mead hall celebration, Grendel arrives and strikes a few of Beowulf’s soldiers dead, but then grabs a hold of Beowulf. Grendel then is scared for his life, for he has never felt that much strength in one human being, he struggles throughout the fight and soon Beowulf gains the upper hand, literally. He pulls Grendel’s arm out of its socket, ripping it free from his body. Mortally wounded, Grendel retreats back to his cave where he then dies. In the second part of this epic, it is Grendel’s mother who is the monster who comes for revenge of her son’s death. By this time Beowulf has left the land of the Danes and is going back home to the Getes when he finds that he is needed again by Hrothgar. He ventures back, and pledges to kill Grendel’s Dom just as he did with Grendel, just with protection this time. He goes to h... ... middle of paper ... ...o bring to my people while breath still came to my lips. (Page 62 Lines 818-820). After the battle is said and done Beowulf is dying from a bite wound to the throat and his last final wish is for the building of a lighthouse, “Then the Gears built the tower, as Beowulf Had asked, strong and tall, so sailors could find it from far and wide;” (Page 63 Lines 843-845) . Even after death Beowulf wanted to be a role model and guide his people, in the form of a lighthouse. Beowulf is an amazing character, strong and huge, with the intellect of a wise old man. He proves his worth throughout the fantastic epic, with motives most of us have never dreamed of, all the way from vengeance, to guidance for his people. Clearly, you can see what motivations Beowulf has as a character to accomplish all that he did. Works Cited Prentice Hall Literature Vol. 1 Beowulf Pages 40-64
Beowulf was a true hero, in the eyes of many, through said traits. He fought a number of battles and was triumphant in all, except his last battle. Beowulf possessed the skills and power necessary to kill Grendel, the monster who had been terrorizing the Danes for over a decade, with his bare hands. While fighting, Beowulf detached Grendel’s arm from his shoulder, which was later hung up as a trophy. Beowulf eventually put an end to Grendel’s life, and naturally, Grendel’s mother had pursued Beowulf. Although Grendel’s mother was an even deadlier monster than her son, Beowulf once again proved his abilities by slaying her, as well. He slashed her neck with a sword that carried unbearable weight. Afterwards, he carried her head with only his own arms, while it took the a...
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.
Beowulf feels a sense of loyalty to Hrothgar which leads Beowulf “…to sail the swan’s road and search out that king, / the famous prince who needed defenders” against the marauding monster, Grendel (200-201). Beowulf’s generosity leads him to Hrothgar’s mead-hall to save Hrothgar from the clutches of Grendel. Regardless of fate and lineage, Beowulf is driven by forces out of his control. It is true that the qualities of an Anglo-Saxon warrior drives Beowulf to become the hero he is, but his lineage and fate define his
Beowulf fights many monsters and he is successful in his hero’s journey. Beowulf is a strong warrior and had a lot of will power to keep pushing on and moving forward during his journey. Beowulf Hero’s Journey is trials, treasure, and results.
In the poem Beowulf, there are many monsters that are slayed by the hero. Like in the poem, many monsters exist in our world today. One of the monsters that attack people is a negative attitude. This monster attacks numerous people everyday, limiting their potential to succeed. However, there is a hero who battles this monster everyday. This hero is my swim coach, Jim Keogh. Coach Keogh fights off the negative attitude that attacks his swimmers in every practice. With Keogh’s help, his swimmers can accomplish their goals by fighting off the negative attitude.
The world is a very big place with millions of people living on it at the same time. All of the people in the world are moved to do something. People all have reasons to do things. Most people call them motivations. A definition of motivations is, “Motivations: reason for doing something,” (Goldman). Beowulf was just like anyone of those people. He had dreams and goals he wanted to obtain. In the epic poem Beowulf, he was challenged with killing three deadly monsters, he had to have motivation for that. He was able to kill the Grendel and his mother, monsters said to be from the time of Cain and Abel. He first slew the Grendel with his bare hands. When the Grendel’s mother found out what was done, she was furious and came back for revenge.
“Even in his old age, his code of honor still obligates him to fight against an evil, fiery dragon,” (Sigona). Without hesitation, Beowulf goes with a group of men to defend his homeland from this beast of epic proportions. To Beowulf’s disadvantage, all of his men flee, save for one, Wiglaf. This single soldier returns to help his mortally wounded king kill the dragon. In addition to naming Wiglaf his heir to the throne, Beowulf makes one last request before death. Beowulf asks that his tomb should be made near the water's edge, and a lighthouse memorial be made to him. “Have the brave Geats build me a tomb, when the funeral flames have burned me, and build it here, at the water’s edge, high on this spit of land, so sailors can see this tower, and remember my name,” (62). As he was a shining example of courage to his people in life, he simply wishes to lead future warriors to safety in death. “He hopes to be remembered by his people, which indicates he does not foresee their imminent destruction,” (Lengers). This conclusion to the story suggests that Beowulf fears no attack on his nation in the foreseeable future, after his
"That night, Beowulf and his men stay inside Herot. While his men sleep, Beowulf lies awake, eager to meet with Grendel" (Raffel Burton- 48). In the epic, Beowulf establishes himself as a highly profitable warrior, on a mission to serve and protect. Immediately, Beowulf is presumed to be a good force, taking on Grendel who is perceived to be a descendant of Cain, who personifies evil. A valiant warrior, Beowulf protests that he shall take on the monster, stripped of weapons and armor. When the evil monster Grendel attacked the people of Herot, Beowulf chose to fight Grendel and diminish the evil that he represents. While he and his men sleep, Grendel arrives to wreak havoc on the mead-hall.
Grendel initiates it by terrorizing and killing the people of the town, due to his anger with their noise and celebrations in the great mead hall of Heorot. Once he caught wind of the tragedy occurring to all of the Danes, Beowulf and his men reciprocate the ferociousness by achieving revenge and killing him. Their violence is depicted more graphically due to them tearing off Grendel’s arm once they had killed him, in order to display the arm in the Heorot. Hrothgar rewards Beowulf for his heroism in the fight. Grendel’s mother then seeks to avenge the death of her son, inflicting more violence upon the town. However her efforts to defeat Beowulf are shot down when he follows her back to her swamp and dives in after her, kills her, and rips her head off to again display in Heorot. Both the arm of Grendel and the head of his mother are tokens of recognition of Beowulf’s heroism. In the final battle between a dragon and Beowulf, him and another warrior slay the dragon, however the venom from the dragon causes Beowulf life to end as
The hero of Beowulf, one of the oldest written Germanic epics, is a leader of the Geats and a hero unlike all others before him. He is able to conquer foes that no one else can, and he charges into every battle with the full force that he can muster, without any of the encumbrances that others may have. His greatest desire is fame and glory, and he performs whatever difficult tasks he believes will bring him closer to that goal. Beowulf’s quest for power drives him to seek fame by challenging Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and finally a giant dragon that causes his death. Though Beowulf’s strength and courage lead him to power and its accompanying responsibility, the power that he accumulates has negative consequences for those who rely on him. This very thirst for power is Beowulf’s fatal flaw, causing him to ignore his duties towards his people and leave his kingdom unprotected and vulnerable; however, it also serves as the force that allows him to accomplish unbelievable feats.
Beowulf is a simple epic with underlying themes of good versus the evil, the human dependency and hope of the light in life overpowering the dark. This is supported through the depiction of Grendel as mankind’s enemy and Beowulf being their savior. Furthermore Grendel is the representation of humanity gone wrong and touching at the Christian influences used on the epic. Beowulf stands for hope, he’s the purity and light brought it to selflessly save the Dane’s as they face Grendel who stands for the sins and evil of the world and it’s a classic fight between good and evil as good so effortlessly triumphs over evil and forces it to be stripped of its egotistical ways as it faces its end.
Beowulf looked over on the wall next to them and saw a magnificent sword hanging on the wall adorned with beautiful carvings, it was blessed with magic. No normal man could ever have lifted that sword, but Beowulf was no normal being. He waited for the right moment to go and retrieve the sword, and when he found the perfect opportunity and he ran straight towards the wall. He pulled the sword down with great force and began running towards Grendel’s mother. Beowulf took in a deep breath as he leaned back and heaved the sword forward. Beowulf had sliced straight through Grendel’s mother’s scaly neck, blood began to pour everywhere and he heard her bones cracking as the sword passed through her.
In the beginning of the story, a mythical monster named Grendel who is attacking King Hrothgar’s mead hall Herot. When Beowulf hears of this tragedy, he volunteers to go and fight the mythical beast. The author wrote, “So Beowulf chose the mightiest men he could find the bravest and the best of the Geats, fourteen In all.” Once Beowulf arrives, he is given a feast and then decides to stay in Herot overnight to confront Grendel. Grendel then arrives and kills one of the Geats before Beowulf can get into the battle. Beowulf then goes hand-to-hand against Grendel and ends up tearing off Grendel’s shoulder. Grendel then retreats to his lair to die. This is only a mere example of why Beowulf is a hero.
In the epic poem “Beowulf”, translated by Seamus Heaney, a warrior from Geatland comes to the rescue of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose land is being attacked by a monster named Grendel. Grendel has seen the men being joyous, and attacks them out of jealously. Beowulf hears of this monster, and travels with some men to defeat the beast. Beowulf fights Grendel without using weapons, and succeeds in defeating Grendel. He then has to fight the monsters mourning mother, who he kills as well. Beowulf returns home and rules as king until, fifty years later, a dragon plagues his people because of stolen treasure. Therefore Beowulf must protect his people, and chases the dragon to his lair. With the help of Wiglaf, a faithful warrior, Beowulf
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.