How Does Beowulf Forget About Me Essay

Don’t You Forget About Me: Beowulf’s efforts to maintain a heroic standing through boastful, youthful, heroic words in an ancient, withering body

Modesty is the best policy if one wants people to think he or she does not have any awesome characteristics whatsoever. The majority of society through out any age of history, however, think otherwise and will do what ever it takes to be the most unique and interesting person to every soul they encounter. Beowulf is no exception in his epic poem, cleverly and surprisingly titled Beowulf, as the narrator shows that even though he ages overtime, Beowulf still views himself as this vision of a youthful, vibrant warrior. Beowulf tries to keep his heroic status alive within the Danes people by using his charismatic speeches

By boasting and talking of false abilities he no longer has, however, Beowulf eventually puts himself in a predicament when he faces a physically challenging threat. The epic poem Beowulf exhibits a tale of the classic struggle of an aging man refusing to accept the fact that he does not have the same heroic abilities as he did when he was more youthful; since he cannot exhibit his youthful, physical abilities, he relies on the power of his tongue. Before Beowulf is introduced into the story, the people of Danes are suffering from the reign of the current villain, Grendel, and need a young hero to come to their rescue; though Beowulf’s first victory gains himself a heroic status among the Danes people, by doing so, he is forced to live up to this status for the rest of his life. The Danes people lived among a peaceful kingdom ruled by King Hrothgar until Grendel, who is described by the narrator as “a fiend out of hell” (100), starts a rampage of murders, forcing the people to live in