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Fictional heros like beowulf compared to real life heros
Fictional heros like beowulf compared to real life heros
Beowulf hero traits essay
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Beowulf is a story that has stood the test of time. Its history is extensive and our fascination with it appears never-ending. As mysterious as it is epic, the poem tells the tale of a man on glorious and unimaginable quests. Beowulf is a warrior capable of slaying the most horrifying monsters of his time. He is a great hero and later a great king (Greenblatt 2006). Yet, is there something lacking in his character? What of the people around him? How do they stack up against the creations of modern day writers?
The psychological complexity of the characters of Beowulf needs to be taken within the context of the time in which the story was composed. As a mostly forward thinking society, we tend to be a bit more open with our emotions and ourselves than the people of a thousand years ago. We are less restrained both in our daily lives and in our literature. Our literature is of a time where we are more outlandish and occasionally write of things that were taboo for the first readers of Beowulf. What is complicated to us may be extremely revealing in another time. Any complexity may be demonstrated in a different form than we are accustomed to. The author of Beowulf goes into a mountain of detail regarding the background of the characters. In the tradition of the time, this may have been a perfectly acceptable way to expand the complexity of characters, a type of impersonal character development. However, the humanity of the characters is amazingly real. While their actions are unbelievable, they have flaws. This imperfection is something not often in our literature. Only the most accomplished authors create characters that are faulty. In a way, this makes Beowulf more psychologically complex than most stories today. It is a rare qua...
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...ntinue indefinitely, and it may never reveal all of its secrets. Regardless, it remains quite the piece of note.
Works Cited
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Bloom, Harold. “Introduction.” In Modern Critical Interpretations: Beowulf, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Clark, Gorge. “The Hero and the Theme.” In A Beowulf Handbook, edited by Robert Bjork and John D. Niles. Lincoln, Nebraska: Uiversity of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Francis, Erik Max. Beowulf. From The Harvard Classics. Volume 49. P.F. Collier & Son, 1910. Etext version by Robin Katsuya-Corbet. Online. Internet. November 26, 1998. Available HTTP: http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/beowulf/
Beowulf was a strong young man who was able to defeat a terrible monster known as Grendel. During this era in human history young men were expected to be far more durable and adequate compared to those of today. Those young men commonly had the dream of becoming king, defeating strong monsters, go on adventures, or even die a hero. All of which Beowulf managed to do making him a perfect role model for the young men at the time. The story of Beowulf truly captured all of the dreams of young men at the time and it was a perfect story for the time. Although times changed the dreams of the people never died, they were just advanced, edited and remade into new stories, better stories for better
Anonymous. “Beowulf.” Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. Seamus Heaney, trans. New York: W.W. Norton &Company Ltd. 2001. 2-213. Print.
Beowulf. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Expanded Edition Volume 1. ED. Maynard Mack et al. New York: Norton, 1995. 1546-1613.
Beowulf is a great tale but as a person, he isn’t that all that people make him out to be. In his older years his need for attention and glory ended up with the death of him. He fought the dragon alone and in return, ended up killing the dragon, but also sacrificed himself. Even as he died he asked for one thing, his people to build him a memorial near the sea so everyone could see the person that he was. His need for attention, lack of planning, and need for glory caused him to be just a prideful man, not a
Donaldson, E. Talbot, trans. Beowulf The Donaldson Translation, edited by Joseph Tuso. New York, W.W.Norton and Co., 1975.
Beowulf. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume A. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2006. 34-100.
In the novel, there is a whole different representation of the character Beowulf, he is viewed as a conniving snake that is feared by his fellows. People see him in an unsettling manner, with tense attitudes, and resented feelings. “The Danes sat sulking, watching the strangers eat, wishing some one of them would give them an excuse to use their daggers.
Wright, David. “The Digressions in Beowulf.” In Readings on Beowulf, edited by Stephen P. Thompson. San Diego: Greenhaven Press,1998.
Hieatt, Constance B. "Envelope Patterns and the Structure of Beowulf," English Studies in Canada 1 (1975): 249-265.
Beowulf is an epic poem telling the story of Beowulf, a legendary Geatish hero who later becomes king in the aforementioned epic poem. While the story in and of itself is quite interesting, for the purpose of this paper it is important to look at the character more so then his deeds, or rather why he did what he did.
Beowulf. Holt elements of literature. Ed G Kylene Beers and Lee Odeel. 6th ed. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2008. 21-48. Print.