Beowulf is an epic poem from the Anglo-Saxon period about a courageous hero who takes on life threatening challenges and adventures. He seeks to fight Grendel, a monster “waging his lonely war, inflicting constant cruelties on the people, atrocious hurt.”(164-166), then Grendel’s enraged mother, and finally, a vengeful Dragon. Despite the great danger he does these things to find immortal glory.
Beowulf’s first adventure in the epic is to travel to Heorot to fight Grendel. He has come uninvited and arrives without any notice. When he arrives the guards ask him “where do you come from”(334) as they don’t know who he is, where he has come from, or why he has come. He has come because he wants the glory of having killed Grendel and having rid the Danes of monsters. As later it is suggested that he “once, [said] that nothing in the world would ever destroy [his] fame” (2586-2587) revealing that this had been his intentions all along. He slays Grendel and takes his head as his souvenir from the fight. This helps Beowulf, who wants to be remembered as a hero and never be forgotten.
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She wants to fight Beowulf because he killed her son and she believes that they have a blood feud. He knows that if he wins another one on one battle with a monster, that his name will spread even farther and be known by more. After he is captured by Grendel’s mother and death seems imminent it is said “Hygelac’s kinsman kept thinking about his name and fame; he never lost heart”(1529-1530) and later slays her. Even in the darkest of times, Beowulf is thinking about his glory. He wants to be remembered, this is what he desires more than anything
Beowulf is an epic poem that was written in the late tenth-century, at the kingdom of the West Saxons. The two main characters are Beowulf, a young man; and Grendel, a furious dragon. Beowulf's world is a very violent society with wars as a dominant part of daily life. Dragons and monsters are a constant threat to the Danes and the Geats. Warriors are a necessity to this war-like society. Beowulf is a hero as well as a great, and honorable, warrior.
Then he battles not one but two demons being two of the tests that he faces. Beowulf 's main purpose in Denmark is to kill the coldhearted powerful demon. “Gendel was the name of the grim demon Haunting the marches, marauding round the heath And the desolate fens;...” (lines 102-104). After his first battle “Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, spoke: “ We have gone through with a glorious endeavour and been much favored in this fight we dared against the unknown, Nevertheless, if you could have seen the monster himself where he lay beaten, i would have been better pleased, My plan was to pounce, pin him down In a tight grip and grapple him to death- Have him painting for life, powerless and clasped In my bare hands, his body in thrall. But i couldn 't stop him from slipping my hold, The lord allowed it, my lock on him Wasn’t strong enough, he struggled fiercely and broke and ran. Yet he bought his freedom At a high price, for he left his hand and arm and shoulder to show he had been here, A cold comfort for having come among us. And now he won 't be long for this world. He has done his worst but the wound will end him.”( lines 956-974). Then they decide to celebrate, little do they know that along with Grendel lives his mother. Seeking vengeance for her son 's death, she attacks Heorot and kills just one man being Hrothgar 's closest friend and advisor. In his grief, he
The Story Beowulf is an Epic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon period. The author of the poem is unknown. Beowulf is the hero of the story and the Thane to Hygelac the king of the Geats in Sweden. When Beowulf finds out the Grendel (the big guy) is causing problems in Denmark he decides to go over there and help them out. He fights Grendel and everyone is happy. Then Grendels mother comes to avenge her son so Beowulf has to go fight her also. After winning that battle Beowulf goes back to the Geats and becomes king and rules for fifty winters. Everything is good until he has to go fight this dragon. The dragon ends up killing Beowulf. In the story you can see how things like Honor, fame, and Courage are associated with Beowulf. The reason that he take the dangerous journey is to gain all there of those characteristics in his journey. Out lines below is how he gets each one of those traits in the story.
After Beowulf’s arrival in Herot, King Hrothgar recalls a time when Beowulf’s father also entered the land of the South-Danes. However, Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow, arrived under much different circumstances. Ecgtheow was running from a dispute and Hrothgar gave him refuge and healed the feud, indebting Ecgtheow to the gracious King Hrothgar. Beowulf most likely had heard this story from his father, giving him knowledge of the South-Danes and his family’s debt. Thus, it is no coincidence Beowulf chooses to cross treacherous seas, pursuing a vile creature by the name of Grendel. Beowulf sees Grendel as an opportunity to repay a family debt. The fight against Grendel causes Beowulf to suffer the pain of battle, but ultimately Beowulf defeats the beast, repaying his father’s debt. Beowulf’s repayment of his father’s debt displays the power of his word and his growing
Beowulf has been living at his home land taking on challenges that others may not have wanted to take on. He has always been a man of action, always looking for adventure that challenges his strength. When Beowulf was told of the rumors that a demon is tormenting Hrothgar famous mead serving hall he accepted the wise men decisions to help him rid them of the demon. This is where step two of the hero’s journey comes into play. There is a call to adventure that affects the hero in some way. Beowulf may have formed a personal connection to the cries of Hrothgar reason being his father was once had history with Hrothgar . When Hrothgar helped Beowulf 's father settle things with the Wulfings Beowulf may have felt a need to repay his father’s debt. When Beowulf and his men finished the feast the king provided in the mead hall that was closed due to Grendel’s blood lust. ¨Epic heroes possess qualities that mere mortals lack. Bravery beyond compare, superhuman intelligence, strength or skills and a driving desire to find success¨(Connie Jankowski). In this part of the story Beowulf and his men have proven that they do contain the courage
First of all, Beowulf came to help Hrothgar on his own free will. Hearing of the troubles that Hrothgar was having with a monster terrorizing Herot, his mead hall, Beowulf bravely offered his help not knowing what he was up against. When he arrived, Beowulf did not ask the king for either money nor fame. The only favor that he asked of Hrothgar was that he and his men were to fight the monster, Grendel. Coming away from one's homeland to help get rid of a man-eating monster and asking for nothing in return takes much courage and is an extremely brave deed.
Beowulf is honored after Grendel and his mother’s defeat for his morality and willingness to help the king with his problem. He put aside the life he had at home and gave up everything so they were protected. Upon his return, everyone was praising him and lifting up the wondrous works and all that’d he’d done to protect them. Because of his respectable actions, Beowulf was rewarded for his true heroism. He becomes king over his people and ruled for the next fifty years.
The heavyweight, airtight bay door of the W.G. Scyld closed. The circular spacecraft detached from the Angel on My Shoulder repair base above Gyth, a tidally locked exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf star. In addition to the light sails retracting, the Scyld’s ion thrusters simultaneously fired a short burst as the ship moved away toward the Einstein-Rosen Dark Matter Bridge.
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.
Beowulf does not qualify as a mythic hero by Campbell’s terms in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Beowulf has no love interest or a temptation to over come, like in The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Beowulf follows many of the steps Campbell states it takes to make a hero but not quite all of them.
When deciphering between what it considered to be heroic or monstrous, it is important to keep in mind the angle in which a story is being told. While reading Beowulf, the protagonist of the epic poem could be considered either heroic or monstrous through the eyes of different characters. Beowulf can be classified as a hero according to The Hero’s Journey through the eyes of Hrothgar and Hygelac. On the other hand, Beowulf could be viewed as being monstrous according to Monster Theory through the eyes of Unferth and Grendel’s Mother.
Beowulf’s loyalty to his king is called to attention when Grendel attacks Heorot. Upon arriving, he immediately declares his heritage and to whom his allegiance resides. “We belong by birth to the Geat people/ and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac” (Heaney 260-261). This quote exemplifies that Beowulf is dedicated wholeheartedly to his king. Because of this demonstration of devotion, he is on his way to triumphing and accomplishing the ultimate target of glory. Another example of Beowulf showing faithfulness to his king is when he presents a series of gifts to King Hygelac after slaying Grendel and his mother. “These, King Hygelac, I am happy to present/ to you as gifts” (2148). Rather than keeping the gifts for himself, he praises his king which expresses his steadfast fidelity and love for his beloved master. Yet again, Beowulf does not hesitate to continue on his journey in attaining
He is loyal to the king of the Danes as he once helped his father. He vowed to battle Grendel single handed due to his use of no weapons. He takes on a position that many of the king's subjects tried but neither succeeded in the task. He then takes on Grendel as he said with no weapons. His actions cause fear to Grendel. There are some negative comments about Beowulf's doing but he was a brave hero nevertheless.
“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.
Beowulf is a Germanic poem that described the journey of the great warrior Beowulf. Throughout the poem, Beowulf performs epic feats from defeating the monster Grendel, and then his mother, to facing a fire breathing dragon. Beowulf had characteristics that made him a great warrior, and later a great king. Beowulf’s character was an example of what the Germanic people expected from their warriors and kings. Beowulf was the ideal example of what a great king should be according to the Germanic people. Throughout the poem, Beowulf exhibited qualities of courage, generosity, and loyalty all of which were important to the Germanic people for their warriors and kings to possess.