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Beowulf compared to heroes
Beowulf compared to heroes
Beowulf compared to heroes
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Beowulf fought three battles all in different, new, and exciting ways to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Beowulf fights Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a dragon. Grendel fights his first fight in his early twenties, and fights the dragon in his mid-seventies. This large span of time is filled with Beowulf changing and developing into a better person. The different methods, techniques, and weapons Beowulf uses for the three battles he fights in the poem are all different, and shows readers that Beowulf gets more knowledgeable as he develops as a hero.
With Beowulf’s battle with Grendel, Beowulf becomes a stronger person and warrior. In the first battle, Beowulf shows his heroism when he defeats Grendel without any weapons. In Beowulf,
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But it was mostly beer that was doing the talking. The truth is this: when the going was heavy in those high waves,
I was the strongest swimmer of all. (Heaney 529-534)
He is capable of defeating great monsters, and he will not let anything stop him. He knows wat he wants, and he will do it no matter what. People thought that Beowulf died while trying to defeat Grendel’s mother, but he did not. He did not let the lack of belief in him make him any less focused. Beowulf has his mind set and focused on the prize. Beowulf knows what he wants and will not let anything get in his way of his firm outlook.
The battle with the dragon causes Beowulf to gain more confidence. Beowulf knows the risks of going to fight the dragon alone, but he does it to prove that people can still trust and believe in him. In Beowulf, it states:
Yet the prince of the rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague. He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all of its courage or strength, for he had kept
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After Beowulf fights Grendel, he becomes a better warrior and a better person as well. Beowulf knows what he wants, and after his fight with Grendel’s mother, he develops a more stable mindset. Beowulf gains more and more confidence as he develops as a hero, but he gains the most confidence in his kingdom after his fight with the dragon. Beowulf is a hero that everyone can look up to because readers can relate to him on some level. People need to understand the level of excitement in this book and see that sometimes taking a breath is better than fighting your
In the epic Beowulf, the reader can clearly find the very distinct conflicts, although some go unnoticed. This poem came to be around the birth of Christianity and the dying out of paganism. In Beowulf, the battles between the monsters and the warriors are interpreted as a battle between the old way of faith and the coming of Christianity. Beowulf himself comes across many conflicts of his own. A literary critic, Alfred Bammesberger, analyzed the person who gives Beowulf the idea to go to Herot and fight Grendel, “.... Beowulf wanting to fight single-handed and challenge Grendel based on the information he had given to his uncle, the Great King Hygelac” (Bammesberger). The Danish king asks not for help however, Beowulf goes anyways. While he has many physical battles with enemies, he also has internal conflicts that seem to hold heavy in his mind. These conflicts include but are not limited to, “Battle of Grendel”, “The Battle with Grendel’s Mother” and “The Last Battle.”
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 first battle in the poem occurs between Beowulf and Grendel because these characters best embody the Anglo-Saxon value of courage. Beowulf is the perfect representation of this value because he is reckless and says, “No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me” (Heaney 683-84). Thus when Beowulf proclaims that he is not using weapons he displays both honor and courage since it takes guts to go against a monster without an advantage. This quality was respected in his culture and the Anglo-Saxons made sure to make their epic hero a perfect fit for this trait. Grendel however, is the complete opposite
Beowulf had many characteristics which helped him to succeed in battle. Beowulf was known as the strongest man alive. His strength allowed him to succeed in battle. If wasn’t for his pure strength, he would not have been able to defeat Grendel because his weapons wouldn’t work. By fighting Grendel without weapons, he opened himself up to greater praise. Beowulf’s strength could not be seen as a disadvantage, while the results of his strength could. Beowulf’s strength allowed him power in battle, but it also made him vain. While his cockiness allowed him to be sure of himself in battle, some of his peers found it to be a character flaw. Unferth saw Beowulf as cocky and vain. So, while his cockiness was a flaw in the eyes of others, Beowulf saw it as a self promise and used it to his advantage.
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.
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
This demonstrates his boldness since he was the set out man toward the Geats. By picking the most grounded and boldest individuals, Beowulf mirrors that he himself more likely than not been considerably more valiant with a specific end goal to have the capacity to lead his honorable individuals. Thusly in picking the overcome men he did, not just did he demonstrate the amount more overcome he was, Beowulf additionally demonstrated that he was by a wide margin and epic saint. Beowulf had three huge phases of his life. The real battles changed his life until the end of time. Grendel, Grendel 's mother, and the mythical beast was the hardest adversaries, he ever needed to battle. The New York Times states "Beowulf" was an early love, and a sort of Rosetta Stone for his imaginative work. His investigation of the ballad, which he called "this most noteworthy of the surviving works of old English lovely workmanship," educated his reasoning about myth and dialect. I trust that Beowulf will never be overlooked in light of the fact that regardless it demonstrates the distinction amongst immaturity and senior
After defeating Grendel, Beowulf came back twice in order to kill Grendel's mother and a fire-breathing dragon. Although during his bout with the dragon, Beowulf was fatally injured. As his services were needed, he always prevailed; Beowulf's bravery never tired. He even had to fight and kill these monsters in their homes where nobody had ever ventured. Successfully defeating Grendel's mother lead Beowulf into his third and final battle with the last monster.
He was looking for a way to become known, so he arrived with his fellow Geats to help the Danes. Beowulf had access to many weapons, armor, and warriors, but he still decided to take on the deadly challenge alone and without protection. He doesn’t think of the consequences, or abilities of the opponent. “‘When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel.’” (47: 677-678). Beowulf is overconfident in his abilities, and doesn’t take into consideration how many people Grendel has killed. He goes in with his own men not expecting to see him again. “None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again.” (47: 691-692). This is why the inner threat of Beowulf was more barbaric. Grendel was indeed a worthy opponent, and very dangerous, but Beowulf’s careless actions could have
Beowulf wants to fight Grendel, a monster wreaking havoc, and is boasting that he is more powerful and courageous.
Beowulf has no doubt in his mind that he is more than able to kill the wretched Grendel. But because of his overconfidence and populari...
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
Throughout the poem, Beowulf tests his strengths, weakness and death by fighting with three different monsters in three epic fights. Beowulf shows how he believes in himself that he can fight without any weapons as he states “he would not use any weapons,” however when fighting with Grendel’s mom, Beowulf finds a sword and kills her with it. He shows that when the struggle is real you need help but otherwise fighting with your bare hands without any support can get you nowhere. He shows the struggle and weaknesses that a person shows in daily life and fights. He contradicts that however a person can be weak and strong in some points in their lives they can show weakness and a sign of death during that period of time.
As a ruler Beowulf was still willing to fight and sacrifice his life for his people when they were attacked by a dragon. One of first times the monster Grendel is mentioned Beowulf already starts to show his hero characteristics.
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.