Day by day, individuals are faced with challenges that lead to extremes. People confront hurdles while achieving everything they are obligated to do. Every day, ordinary people are to some extent a hero. It is normal for people to face obstacles and barriers when performing their duty. But within those people, the ones that do not quit due to their frustration are the real heroes. What people today refer to when they think of hero is someone strong and brave who protects the feeble ones. It is true a hero must be stalwart and bold, for a medieval hero to be distinguished one must also overcome their fears in order to achieve success. By acting brave, not giving up, and having a realization a hero will be able to control his fears and rise above it, bringing success. Beowulf is a medieval hero who acts brave to attain victory. When Grendel consecutively attacks the Danes every night, Beowulf steps out of his shelter in order to help the majority. He defeats his fears even though the possibilities of the consequences that he might suffer are high. “The hero comes to Heorot” (Beowulf lines 188-189) the similarity in the pronunciation of “hero” and “Heorot” seems as if the mead hall was designed for Beowulf. The words contain such coincidence that the tone of the quote seems certain and possess. When Beowulf arrived in the land of the Danes, he announced to the soldiers: The man whose name was known for courage, /the Geat leader, resolute in his helmet, /answered in return: “We are retainers/ from Hygelac’s band. Beowulf is my name. / If your lord and master, the most renowned/ son of Halfdane, will hear me out/ and graciously allow me to greet him in person, / I am ready and willing to report ... ... middle of paper ... ...ng Henry’s intimidating and threatening fear to side his believes. As the conversation ends, Thomas Becket returns the chancellor’s ring and that marks the official decision made with God’s influence. The rings significance held Beckets mind and duty. From the beginning of the film the rings might have foreshadowed Thomas Beckets proceeding growth directing his fearless resolution. Medieval British heroes overcome their fears and barriers, while acting brave, not giving up, and recognizing their behavior. Each hero tackles one’s obstacles to achieve success. A hero’s path is like an obstacle course, the one who makes it to the end is the real hero. People who get defeated by their fears and challenges are losers. And the people who overcome their hardship and terrors were winners in the middle Ages and also are in our society nowadays. sources
As the story comes to its conclusion, the hero has endured his hardships; he went from the one that started fights to the one that thought of what could make everything work. An ordinary person in an ordinary world faced his share of trials and tribulations to come out as a new person. Defining the hero myth—he struggled and still was able to triumph to his prize at the end ; individuals relish these type of stories, they can
know-how to control it. To be a hero is also one that is strong. To be strong
The epic Beowulf is one of the oldest poems written in English. According to the Norton Anthology, "the poem was composed more the twelve hundred years ago, in the first half of the eight century. Its author may have been a native of what was Mercia, the Midlands of England today, although the late tenth-century manuscript , which alone preserves the poem, originated in the south in the kingdom of the West Saxons" (Norton 21). Although the poem is of English origin, it speaks of tribes (the Danes and the Geats) that are from the "Danish island of Zealand and southern Sweden respectively" (Norton 22). The main character, Beowulf, demonstrates that he is a warrior who places heroism and bravery over his own well-being and life. Beowulf is a hero and an example of a great warrior. His actions give us a good example of the pagan warrior mentality. The pagan society is a warrior society, in which courage and bravery are extremely prevalent. Beowulf fights against monsters and dragons, and he would rather die in battle, then anywhere else. Beowulf is called upon to help defeat Grendel, who is a monster that has taken over the hall of Heorot. He is greeted with great hospitality. Hrothgar, the King of Denmark, is relived to see Beowulf. There is some skepticism by Unferth, who recalls a fight in which Beowulf lost in Battle. Unferth is wrong, and Beowulf says this great line: "fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good." Beowulf defeats Grendel with great ease and the people of the hall are gracious to Beowulf.
Heaney, Seamus. Introduction. Beowulf: a New Verse Translation. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. Xvii. Print.
Beowulf is the exact image of a perfect hero. He is unimaginably strong, selfless, determined and courageous. Victor Frankenstein may be much less of a hero, but a hero nonetheless. Heroism is often seen as someone who is strong, brave, selfless and determined. It is someone who would risk their own life for the benefit of others. It is someone who is physically strong and mentally capable of enduring extreme pain and hardship. Heroism can ultimately be defined as someone who puts others ahead of themselves.
Beowulf claims that he is in Heorot to cleanse the people of the monster named
Beowulf battles his enemies with pride and tells Hrothgar that he will "fulfill the will of your people or else fall in slaughter, fast in the foe's grasp. I shall achieve a deed of mainly courage or else have lived to see in his mead-hall my ending day" (Norton 35). Beowulf is saying that he would rather die in battle, than any other place. A great warrior would rather die in battle. According to Beowulf, it is always better to seek vengeance then suffer than to live in sorrow. Beowulf saves the people of Heorot. He is greatly praised and he receives gifts and good advice from Hrothgar. Beowulf returns home to Hygelac and becomes king. In his old age, he battles a dragon; unfortunately, the dragon gets best of him, and Beowulf falls to his death. The life of a great and praised warrior has finally ended.
“Beowulf.” Trans. Suzanne Akbari. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. B. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 112-82. Print.
Right away, readers encounter the main character in Beowulf as he arrives in Denmark after a long journey from his homeland of Geatland. Beowulf has traveled to Denmark in an attempt to slay the monster Grendel that constantly terrorizes the Danes. “Then news of Grendel, hard to ignore, reached me at home…my one request is that you won’t refuse me, who have come this far, the privilege of purifying Heorot…” (Heaney 409-431). This immediately shows a selfless and heroic act of Beowulf. He has ventured into a country he does not even reside in to help protect the people of Denmark. The hero brings a wave of confidence into a sputtering community of Heorot that desperately needs some assistance in their fight against Grendel. Thankfully, Beowulf slays Grendel and even does so without any weapons, “…it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield to mow him down…the monster back-tracking, the man overpowering…an extraordinary wail arose, the howl of a loser…He was overwhelmed, manacled tight by the man of all men was foremost and strongest in the days of this life.” (Heaney 679-789). Beowulf successfu...
“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.
Anonymous. “Beowulf.” Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. Seamus Heaney, trans. New York: W.W. Norton &Company Ltd. 2001. 2-213. Print.
In the story, Beowulf travels to Heorot to help King Hrothgar with a problem involving a monster named “Grendel”. This is the first step of Mr. Campbell's guidelines for a hero; the “call to adventure” (Monomyth Website). There is a conflict (Grendel, the monster and the killing he is doing), and Beowulf is answering that call to solve this problem. Mr. Campbell describes this as “the first stage of the mythological journey- which we have designated the call to adventure- signifies that destiny has summoned the hero...” (Monomyth Website). It is important to note that this is a voluntary action, that “the hero can go forth of his own volition to accomplish the adventure...” (Monomyth Website), however, at this point Beowulf begins to deviate from the traditional mono-...
In the beginning of the novel, Beowulf takes interest in the plight of Hrothgar, King of Denmark, and wants to help him fight Grendel. Grendel is a large monster that has been harassing members in the mead-hall of the Heorot. Beowulf owes Hrothgar a favor, due to the fact that Hrothgar saved his father in years past. Hrothgar is honored to have Beowulf attempt to fight the swamp monster, and decides to hold a feast in his name. When Grendel shows up to the feast, Beowulf illustrates his bravery by fighting Grendel without any armor. When Beowulf wins the battle by ripping Grendel’s arm off, everyone in the mead-hall praises Beowulf for his acts of courage. In this scene, Beowulf proves that he is a hero by fighting off a monster that everyone else was afraid of. This made him look
...ebration of its construction is even completed, we are told that Heorot will eventually suffer 'ladan liges' [hateful flames]” (Garner Par.14). The fact that they glory of the warrior culture present in Beowulf, symbolized by Heorot, is clearly destine to fall to flames, the audience is intended to draw the same conclusion about the culture as a whole.
There is not unanimity among Beowulf translators concerning all parts of the text, but there is little divergence from a single, uniform translation of the poem. Herein are discussed some passages which translators might show disagreement about because of the lack of clarity or missing fragments of text or abundance of synonyms or ambiguous referents.