The Characteristics Of Beowulf

Beowulf is a mostly perfect representation of how an epic hero is supposed to live and act. He went on many journeys, during in which, he killed several monsters to make the land and sea safer for safer for those who traveled there. He had two very prominent attributes that made him stand out: his unmatched bravery in dangerous situations and his incredible strength. He was stronger than all men and had the ability to accomplish things that others could in no way accomplish while showing very little fear or discouragement in the face of danger. Beowulf was not born from a common part of society, however, but was instead born of royal descent.

His traveling in his younger years is not comparable to that of a normal person. He was born

His defeat of the monster Grendel is where we first see his strength and it is also where we can really picture how unbelievable of a character he was. He mortally wounds Grendel, not with a sword, but with his own hands. In lines 273-278 the speaker says, “The shepherd of evil, the guardian of crime,/Knew at once that nowhere on earth/Had he met a man whose hands were harder;/His mind was flooded with fear-but nothing/Could take his talons from the tight/hard grip.” and this really shows how powerful Beowulf was. Grendel was an unstoppable monster who could rip people apart in seconds and yet Beowulf was able to capture and defeat him with only his hands. After defeating Grendel he faced Grendel 's mother, who was even stronger and more cunning, and what made this different was his use of a weapon that was made only for use by giants. I lines 513-516 Beowulf describes the weapon saying, “Hanging on the wall, a heavy/Sword, hammered by giants, strong/And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons/ But so massive no ordinary man could lift it”. This weapon was made for use only by giants but Beowulf was able to use it and defeat Grendel 's