Why, Beowulf?
(A Discussion of Beowulf’s Motives in the Epic Poem, Beowulf)
Every hero in history has had things that motivate them to do the things they do. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the Anglo Saxon code is extremely evident in everything the characters do. This story is an ancient story that has been told for generations, mainly among places in Europe, such as Sweden and Denmark. The Anglo Saxon code greatly influences Beowulf actions in this epic poem. In the story, Beowulf is an epic hero that fights three monsters: Grendel, Grendel’s mom, and a dragon. In these actions, there are three things that motivate Beowulf: respect, glory, and remembrance. The first specimen that motivates Beowulf to do the things he does is respect. In the Anglo Saxon code, respect is the most important to the people. They respected the older Anglo Saxons and showed that respect to everyone they came in contact with. In this epic, Beowulf does just that. One example of that would be the respect he shows to king Hrothgar. On page 47, line 233, Beowulf is described as doing this: “Standing on that prince’s own hearth, helmeted, the silvery metal of his mail shirt gleaming with a smith’s high art, he greeted The Danes’ great lord: Hail, Hrothgar!” Even though Beowulf is aware of his own greatness, he still shows great respect to Hrothgar, his king.
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Glory is also one of the greatest lessons that the Anglo Saxon code teaches. Glory has many aspects that make it what is: fame, victory, accomplishment. Again, Beowulf is an epic hero, so the glory after he conquers something is a great motivator in his actions. One action Beowulf took that resulted in glory was killing Grendel. After he killed Grendel, he was celebrated by the people, and he had glory thrust upon him. On page 51, line 392, it says: “The battle was over, Beowulf had been granted new glory”. No matter what action he is about to take, Beowulf is motivated by
In the anglo saxon society in which Beowulf took place, there was a warrior code which resulted in everyone trying to gain power over one another. Everyone lived by a heroic code that encouraged battles, feuds, and murders and rewarded the victor with treasure. By showing your insecurities or weaknesses in this age you will be taken advantage of. Beowulf understands the heroic code and uses his pride to get the upper hand on everyone else, Beowulf boasts himself as an invincible hero and goes in battle with out an ounce of fear. Beowulf’s justifies his excessive pride through his . Lastly, Beowulf’s pride made him a leader and led by example to defeat the dragon and ultimately sacrifice himself in the process. Beowulf’s desire for pride
Beowulf was a great king in many ways based on the Anglo-Saxon values. One example is when Beowulf showed when he was courages. When Beowulf decided to get invoked with Grendel, a monstrous man, in a battle, it was a big deal because it was thought to be that Grendel had more courage; things turned out to be
8. Based on Beowulfs opening address to Hrothgar my first impression is that he is very confident and perhaps even self obsessed. He brags about his success and his strength. He says “of my youth have been filled with glory” and also states “my people have said, the wisest, most knowing, and best of them, that was duty was to the Danes’ Great king. They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth.” And also to continues to list all of his world changing achievements that he accomplished all on his own. To me personally, he comes off as self conceded and feels as if he is untouchable.
Early in the poem, Beowulf hears accounts of Grendel’s destruction of Herot, Hrothgar’s majestic mead hall. Knowing his strength and military prowess, Beowulf immediately devises a plan, recruits men, and orders boats, thrusting himself into a battle that was not necessarily his to fight. Beowulf felt obligated to end Grendel’s reign of terror. Though he knew the death of Grendel would bring him fame and honor, the idealized Beowulf was able to set aside personal ambition in order to end the suffering of the Danes. Shortly after slaying Grendel, Beowulf again displays an awareness of duty when Grendel’s mother extracts revenge upon Herot, killing one of Hrothgar’s best men, Aeshere. Instead of leaving Herot in a state of frenzy, Beowulf comes to King Hrothgar’s side, pledging allegiance and service. Bolstering the defeated king’s moral, Beowulf boldly addresses the older King Hrothgar saying, “So arise, my lord, and let us immediately set forth on the trail of this troll-dam. I guarantee you: she will not get away, not to dens under ground nor upland groves nor the ocean floor. She’ll have nowhere to fall to. Endure your troubles to-day. Bear up and be the man I expect you to be.” Beowulf could not set aside his duty and obligation, though he knew full well the suffering and pain that might result from his actions. Thus, Beowulf is a portrait of
Beowulf outlines turmoil between three opponents: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. These separate discords each serve to fulfill different metaphoric purposes. Grendel’s character epitomizes the adverse persona of how an Anglo-Saxon warrior should not be. His mother represents everything that a woman during the time era should seldom be. Lastly, the Dragon embodies all the values that an Anglo-Saxon king should not dare retain. Without a doubt, the symbolic implications of the monsters in Beowulf bring the context to a new level of understanding.
During these battles Beowulf is motivated by his search for glory. Beowulf’s remotivation during his final battle is a perfect example of this. Beowulf is “inspired again by the thought of glory” during this battle (181). The thought of glory gives him the strength he needs to carry on and defeat his enemy. Beowulf also starts the beginning of the same battle stating that he will “pursue this fight for the glory of winning” (171). These quotes show that the main reason Beowulf battles the dragon is for the glory it will bring him, and this battle is not the only battle wherein Beowulf is fueled by his quest for glory. Beowulf also pursues his battle with Grendel in order to “prove [himself] a proud deed” (43). This proud deed is the first of Beowulf’s great deeds and is the first deed to truly bring him great glory and honor. Even though Beowulf’s fight with Grendel is the first to bring Beowulf glory, Beowulf is said to have been searching for a way to gain glory since before the epic even begun. In one example of this, Beowulf challenges a man to a swimming contest, going through the ordeal “just to prove that he could win” (35). This contest proves Beowulf’s willingness to prove himself and to seek victory in even the small contests and feats. The feats that Beowulf preforms are in order to receive glory, and Beowulf does indeed receive glory for
The first characteristic of a great leader that Beowulf portrays is confidence in the right things. When Beowulf was a young warrior he was boastful in his unmatched strength, but he was also boastful in something more important: his faith in God.
Beowulf is honored after Grendel and his mother’s defeat for his morality and willingness to help the king with his problem. He put aside the life he had at home and gave up everything so they were protected. Upon his return, everyone was praising him and lifting up the wondrous works and all that’d he’d done to protect them. Because of his respectable actions, Beowulf was rewarded for his true heroism. He becomes king over his people and ruled for the next fifty years.
To start off, Beowulf, identified as the greatest Anglo- Saxon, pursues glory and fame. He brags about himself and his accomplishments. When it was time to battle Grendal, Beowulf states “my youth have been filled with glory”. (143-144). He boasts about what the people have witnessed. Beowulf says to his men, “They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of the race from the earth” (151-155). In addition to Beowulf bragging about himself and his accomplishments, Beowulf embodies that fame and glory mean more than anything else. When Beowulf helmet failed him, he jumped back in battle because
Another way that an Anglo-Saxon warrior shows their love of glory is shown br Christopher Garcia: “A hero must be willing to die to achieve glory” (The Anglo-Saxon Hero). With this being said the warriors are to put everything on the line to achieve the ultimate amount of glory. Which is to die for one’s country or kingdom. These are just a few out of many ways Beowulf shows the Anglo-Saxon love of glory.
The story of “Beowulf” begins at a time where a great hero is needed. This is where Beowulf’s character takes the initial place of an epic hero. In the first story of “Beowulf,” Beowulf takes on the responsibility of destroying the great threat, Grendel. This immediately shows the courage, honor and bravery of Beowulf. When Beowulf sailed to the Danes to kill Grendel, he was not searching for money, he was simply putting the Geats lives before his own. Beowulf was not yet
Beowulf displays the qualities of a good leader that were mentioned in the speech given by Hrothgar. The speech speaking of the vices and virtues of great political leaders contains many of the same qualities that Beowulf embodies. His boastfulness, generosity and kindness are evidence that he is a good leader and provides for his people. Although the qualities he posses may not be the best-fit qualities of a common man, they are admirable qualities of a strong leader.
In life, there are many motivations to make people do certain things. Money, love, and power are three of the most common motivations for people. According to the Anglo-Saxon code this is not the case for what motivates them. In the Old English epic poem Beowulf, there are many factors that motivate Beowulf to fight the three monsters. The first monster is Grendel who is followed by the second monster which is Grendel's mom. The final monster is a fearsome dragon who is out for revenge. In the epic poem Beowulf, the three things that motivate Beowulf to fight the monsters are duty, glory, and treasure.
“In my youth I engaged in many wars”, Beowulf boasts to his warriors, which is certainly true. Throughout his life, he faces many deadly foes, all of which he handily defeats, save one. His story focuses on the most challenging, as well as morally significant of foes, Grendel and the dragon. These creatures reveal much about society as well as Christian virtue at the time. Even after Grendel and the dragon are defeated physically, the two monsters pose a new threat to the hero on a higher plane. Beowulf is not only at risk of losing his life, but his humanity, virtue, and even spirituality.
“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle,” Norman Schwarzkopf. In the epic poem, Beowulf, an epic hero from Geats travels far out of his way to help the Danes with their fight against the nasty Grendel. However, in the story Beowulf encounters three monsters that he takes into his own hands and defeats them all. In doing so, Beowulf is rewarded greatly and becomes king and is looked up to by all. In his last battle, Beowulf defeats the dragon but dies soon afterwards, he is given an honorable burial. This poem was told throughout the era of the Vikings and was later written down as the first actually hard copy of the story. It was Burton