Beowulf As An Epic Hero

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There are many aspects of Beowulf that one could consider for him to be heroic. One aspect would be his actions that he takes when facing difficult times. A second aspect would be his thought process when trying to accomplish a task. Lastly, Beowulf being bigger than life would make him the epic hero of this quest. All of these are the values that the Anglo-Saxons believe in because this is what every citizen tries to strive for throughout their lives..

The actions that Beowulf undertakes are what make him an epic hero. One action would be him willing to go and save Herot from the monster (Grendel) that haunts the halls of the king’s castle. Beowulf then went to Herot and successfully fought the monster (Grendel) because he wanted …show more content…

Beowulf could feel that his strength was not as fierce as it once had been. However, Beowulf knew that eventually his time would come; he had fought Grendel and his mother,but it was only time until he met his fate. With all of these forces going against him he still chose to confront the dragon. In doing so, he made sure that his name was known for years to come; his honor had been achieved. Also, the ability to know when his time was up is honorable; he was able to realize that his life was finished and passed on his torch to Wiglaf.

The final aspect of Beowulf that makes him an epic hero is the fact that he is larger than life and achieved seemingly impossible tasks. The first task would be his overcoming Grendel and saving Herot. The second task would be him facing Grendel’s mother and winning. The final task would be when he and Wiglaf overcame the dragon.

The reason defeating Grendel makes Beowulf larger than life is the fact that he is even able to compete with the monster himself. Grendel is of epic proportions and yet he is no match for Beowulf. Another reason defeating Grendel makes him larger than life is Beowulf is able to crack the claws of Grendel; in addition to being able to rip off the arms of the monster would make him larger than life. Defeating Grendel would most likely be enough to classify Beowulf as an epic

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