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Beowulf as an heroic epic
Beowulf as an heroic epic
Beowulf as an heroic epic
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Epic Hero of Beowulf Every epic Hero has its certain heroic characteristics. The poem Beowulf, written in old English by an anonymous writer still holds fame for describing Heroism. The character Beowulf possesses those characteristics and is known to be one of the greatest heroes of the Anglo-Saxon time. Beowulf was from Geatland and went on quest to Denmark to fight battles for the Danes. He was a mighty man who had tremendous amount of bravery, and throughout his adventure he proves to have all the concepts of an epic hero. Several qualities define Heroism, none of them to be simple, safe, or fun. Beowulf lived by those qualities risking all and saving many in his adventurous epic. The characteristics of an epic hero consist of a person …show more content…
He like to fight battles relying on his given strength, in one battle he chooses to use no weapon because it would be an unfair advantage. During another battle Beowulf fought underwater, everyone thought he had died because he was under for so long, but he brought back a victory. Explained in the epic, “In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful” (46). Beowulf was able to hold his breathe all day while fighting Grendel’s mother, he defeated monsters bare handed, ripping off body parts and out powering any average person. Beowulf explains, “Clear proof of this could be seen in the hand the hero displayed high up near the roof: the whole of Grendel’s shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp” (58). Beowulf definitely had the strength of an epic hero. His powers are described throughout the epic in every battle he’s involved in. Like the superhero Mr. Incredible, used his power and superhuman strengths to fight off bad people and keep residence safe. “Stopping crime, arresting crooks, saving people and helping the elderly, the muscular, broad-shouldered and blond champion of the helpless and innocent keeps his metropolis safe”(Meinel 183). Beowulf earned the status of a hero by doing similar acts as Mr. Incredible. Using his power to protect and save the Danes from evil monsters was a big step in finding heroism in his …show more content…
Every battle he entered he knew he was either going receive glory or die. Beowulf, with his superhuman strengths decided to be a Good Samaritan and fight for Hrothgar. Risking his life for the Danes to have the glory of their land being free from intruding monsters. Before the battle with Grendel’s mother Beowulf says, “ wisest of kings, now that I have come to the point of action, ask you to recall what we said earlier… if I should fall and suffer death while serving your cause, would act like a father to me afterward. If this battle kills me, take care of my young company… with Hrunting I shall gain glory or die” (73-74). This quote shows that there is a chance that he might not survive. He stays loyal to his people and his self and does all he can to receive glory. Beowulf’s last battle was against the Dragon. As an older king, Beowulf was aware his last days were nearing him. Knowing that, Beowulf was willing to risk his life one last time for the greater good of his kingdom. Pretty much sacrificing himself and passing on his throne for glory one final time. As Beowulf is taking his last breaths he explains, “to the everlasting Lord of all, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people so well-endowed on the day I die…” (101). As Beowulf speaks those words, the reader can obviously understand that he fought and died for glory and the
Some heroes show their strength in the form of smarts, emotion, physical strength, and much more. Beowulf displays a remarkable amount of physical strength, and mental strategies.
Many individuals fail to correctly describe a hero. When young, they are taught that heroes have superpowers and are powerful. In the epic poem, Beowulf, Burton Raffel contradicts this belief. He translates the characteristics that make Beowulf an epic hero. Beowulf fits the definition of an epic hero because of his courageous deeds that reflect the values of his era, his character traits that reflect important ideals of his society, and his journey leaving his homeland to live with others.
Beowulf is “the strongest of the Geats -- greater / and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world” (ll.110-111). Even though he is famous for his massive strength, Beowulf has other attributes that are noticeable other than his strength. These attributes, arrogance, bravery, and a strong love for his people are what make Beowulf become such a powerful, epic hero. Beowulf is arrogant. He constantly brags about his supreme strength. The “strongest man alive” lets people know that he is the most powerful person around by saying, “no strength is a match for mine” (l.267). Beowulf does not think that he could ever be destroyed by anything. He obviously never questiones how his fighting ability would be when he was around seventy. Since Beowulf is convinced that God is watching over him, his ego makes him act as if he is invincible, because of the idea that he has a guardian angel. But, as Beowulf gets older, wiser, and fights in more battles he should realize that there was a possibility that he can die. Beowulf also boasts about his many battles, and is proud of himself for winning all of them. One of these triumphs is the battle in the water when he meets up with nine sea monsters which he killeds, and fights with a monster that is digging its jaws into Beowulf’s flesh. Beowulf proclaims that “ I fought that beast’s last battle, / left it floating in the sea” (ll.290-291). This epic tale reads that while Beowulf is in battle with Grendel’s mother, all he cares was about the fame he would get for defeating her. Unferth thinks that Beowulf was arrogant, by saying, “ You’re Beowulf, are you the same / Boastful fool who fought a swimming / Match with Brecca” (ll.239-241). Yes, Beowulf is a boastful fool that loves the attention that his strength gives him. A strong man and an arrogant one, Beowulf is also brave. Even after all of the horror stories that he hears about Grendel, he still fights the cursed beast without any hesitation. When he battles with Grendel, he does it without the things that everyone else would use--weapons. This shows that Beowulf is not scared of anything in the world. He also must be brave to fight a sea monster after swimming in the ocean for days. He went straight into battle exhausted, from the strenuous journey across the ocean.
The clear definition of a hero is often open to interpretation and has never been clearly defined. In the translation of the epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, it is often debated whether the main character Beowulf is actually a hero or not. Beowulf displays hero-like characteristics through his bravery, loyalty, brute strength, confidence and protective nature. He is a crystal clear example of an Anglo-Saxon hero in his time period. In the present day he should be considered a hero as well. He displays heroism through his fights with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon while managing to protect his people and eventually sacrifice himself.
During the battle with Grendel, Beowulf knew that many men had tried to defeat him and many men had failed. That didn’t stop Beowulf though, he knew that if someone had any chance to defeat the beast it was him, even if that meant he might possibly die. He knew that if he didn’t take the chance that many more men would die. He sat out to fight Grendel and after a long battle Grendel was finally defeated, Beowulf risked his own life to save others. Although Beowulf thought that he was finished with Grendel’s threats he wasn’t. Grendel’s mother was enraged because of her son’s death and began to terrorize the king’s men, much like her Grendel had done. Everyone knew that Beowulf was the only one able to stop her, so once again he set out to risk his life to save others. Beowulf was almost defeated during this fight, but he finally killed Grendel’s mother, because of this he became king of the Geats and ruled without fighting for 50 years, until the Dragon attacked and burnt down his house, that is. Even Beowulf knew that his chances of winning this fight were small, but he knew what he had to do. At the end of the fight Beowulf was victorious, the Dragon was dead, but Beowulf suffered an injury from the dragon and also died. Because of Beowulf’s sacrifices the people were finally safe once
The first thing that makes Beowulf an epic hero is his wisdom. In this epic poem Beowulf fight with many characters, that are bigger and stronger than him, but Beowulf wins all these battles through his wisdom. Most of the time Beowulf fights for glory, so he always looks for a battle to fight. That’s how he came to the fight with Grendel, who frightened the whole kingdom of Hrothgar. Many warriors tried to defeat Grendel, but they all failed and eaten my Grendel. When Grendel came to the Heorot to kill the warrior’s, Beowulf tricked and attacked him with his bare hands, knowing that the swords does not work on him (Beowulf 51). First Beowulf learned Grendel’s attacking style and with that he counter attacked Grendel. Beowulf uses his wisdom wisely in every situation he encounters. When Beowulf fights Grendel's mother, first he looked around his surrounding and “he sights a famous old sword of the giants, which he seizes and thrusts at Grendel’s mother, who falls in helpless death throes” (Foster 1). In every battle, Beowulf is overpowered with wisdom, which makes him an epic hero.
Beowulf displayed great courage and honor throughout his journeys and battles; he was an epic hero. An epic hero is a person who is viewed as larger than life and possesses values of a certain society. From the time of Beowulf’s battle with Grendel to his brawl against the dragon, he has showed everyone what being an honorable hero looks like. His heroism is revealed through both youth as a young warrior and wisdom as a reliable king. He never backed down and didn’t give up when situations were tough. Beowulf had obligations to fulfill and went about every aspect of his life with courage and strength. He cared for his people and was willing to take on anyone that threatened them or his kingdom. He sincerely was the hero of his time.
Beowulf has a strong belief in fate. If he dies in battle he believes it’s because it is his destiny to do so. "Fate will unwind as it must!" He realizes the dangers but fears nothing for his own life. This is what makes Beowulf a true hero. Even after serving his people as King of the Geats for fifty years, he goes to battle in hopes, or fate, to destroy a dragon who is terrifying all of his people. At this point however, Beowu...
What are the qualities of an epic hero? An Epic hero is a hero on a
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.
As one can see, Beowulf was a great hero with many exceptional characteristics. Beowulf was brave enough to fight Grendel, he had enough strength to pick up a giant sword to smite Grendel’s mother, and he was selfless when Hrothgar needed assistance. All three of those characteristics made a great hero become greater. With a little bit of courage anyone can become a
Beowulf possesses the fundamental qualities of a hero. He has Bravery beyond compare, super human strength, and loyalty to sacrifice. The epic hero often battles to help people, putting aside fear in trade for his faith in God. Beowulf is very aware of his strength and power which enables him to effectively help people who can not help themselves. His heroic qualities were bravery, loyalty, wisdom and physical strength.
Beowulf is considered one of the greatest epic hero poems of world literature. Although it is considered an ‘epic poem’ there are more characteristics of anglo-saxon hero criteria than epic hero criteria. To be an anglo-saxon hero there must be traces of loyalty/honesty, bravery/courage, generosity, and friendship. Beowulf meets all of the characteristics previously listed throughout the story, making him more of an anglo-saxon hero rather than an epic hero. E. Talbot Donaldson makes a remark on Beowulf saying “Courage is the instrument by which the hero realizes himself.” Beowulf is not necessarily a stereotypical hero, but his loyalty and courage make him stand out from the others in the reading.
There has only been one hero in Anglo-Saxon history, only one man can meet every requirement one needs to be classified as hero. Only one man's honor, loyalty, courage, generosity, and wisdom, fits the true definition of a hero. That man is Beowulf. With these leading traits, Beowulf's rise to heroism was not just by chance. He filled each of the five characteristics perfectly, as if it was his destiny to be admired.
A hero is someone that helps others no matter what the situation. There are many qualities that a hero must posses such as bravery, courage, strength, intelligence and honor. These qualities alone are not enough to make a hero. They must also be pure at heart, fight for the good of mankind and only fight when it is to protect the people and not out of revenge. Beowulf is everything a hero should be, but contains a few qualities that a hero should not posses. When Beowulf sailed with his men to Herot he had one goal, to rid the hall of Grendal. Beowulf was under no obligation to destroy Grendal and never asked for anything in return for his services. A true hero would never ask for money or anything of value. He put his life at risk to save the people of Herot, who he didn’t even know, out of his own good nature Great strength has been a trait that has been identified with heroes in many stories and legends. Than he saw hanging on the wall, a heavy Sword, hammered by giants, strong And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons But so massive that no ordinary man could lift... (II. 1557-1560) Beowulf possessed great strength that separated him from other men. Being able to use a sword that no ordinary man was able to carry gives the feeling that Beowulf is something more than a human being. It makes him special and causes him to stand out from all other men. Fame is something that makes a hero more noted. Beowulfs popularity had spread all over the world. He never let this go to his head and he never thought that he was better than everyone else because of it. “Your fame is everywhere, my friend,/Reaches to the ends of the earth, and you hold it in your heart wisely...” (II.1704-1706). A hero should not be foolish or full of himself. Unferth said: You’re Beowulf, are you- the same Boastful fool who fought a swimming Match with Brecca, both of you daring and young and proud,exploring the deepest Seas, risking your lives for no reason But the danger? (II. 506-511) A hero should not have to prove to himself or to anyone else that he is brave, fearless or courageous. If he is pure a heart and his intentions are good then he can be considered a true hero.