Who Is Beowulf A Hero

One iconic story, Beowulf, has been told throughout the centuries. Beowulf was written to tell a tale of a hero who triumphed through the land to make a name, and did so by beating the best. Beowulf was an individual who had god like qualities, a man who can do the impossible and would risk his life for anything. In the story of Beowulf we see a lot of heroism, courage, boasting from the men, such as Beowulf himself and King Hrothgars men. “When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel (Norton 55)”. Beowulf was symbol of greatness, from a warrior to a king. I looked up the definition of a hero, and according to the Merriam – Webster definition, a hero is; “a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent

When Beowulf was defending the village from Grendel, you could see that they were ravaged from the terror that was brought upon them. Beowulf freely volunteered to fight someone not knowing what he was up against. When he arrived, Beowulf did not ask the king for money or fame. The only favor that he asked of Hrothgar was that he and his men were to fight the monster, Grendel. Coming away from one's homeland to help get rid of a man-eating monster and asking for nothing in return takes a lot of courage and is an extremely brave move. “Beowulf, my friend, you have traveled here to favor us with help and to fight for us (Norton

No man would have the courage to do so, except Beowulf. Grendel’s mother was trying to exact revenge for her son’s death, and attacked the king’s men. Beowulf had the courage to track her down and fight her in her lair at the bottom of a lake (Cliff notes). Beowulf cut her head off with a magical sword after hours of being underwater battling the beast. “The hero hard pressed and enraged, took a firm hold of the hilt and swung the blade in an arc, a resolute blow that bit deep into her neck; she fell to the floor (Norton 75)” The third act of bravery was when Beowulf was old in age and he was a king of his land. A fire breathing dragon was attacking his kingdom, and he did what a king would and that was defending his people to the death. He slayed the dragon, but died during the process. (Cliff