Beowulf's Unstoppable Courage Essay

This could have also swayed Beowulf to leave and give up, but he kept going. His great courage and selflessness really shine in these moments. With no support except for Wiglaf, Beowulf continued to the dragon’s lair. After a crucial battle with the dragon, it is vanquished, but Beowulf is injured. He dies an honorable death, having spared his kingdom of the dragon.

Prior to the battle, Beowulf is preparing to fight the dragon and proclaims,

He knows he is getting crushed by the dragon, but still fights with great intensity. The narrator states, “... And for the first time in his (Beowulf’s) life that famous prince // Fought with fate against him with glory // Denied him.

Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow, “began the greatest feuds” for killing Heatholaf, and was denied by everyone except Hrothgar for refuge (16). Hrothgar not only helps Ecgtheow earn back his honor by paying off his debt for killing Heatholaf, but he provides Ecgtheow with enough money and resources to be able to return to home. Since Hrothgar showed Beowulf’s family a great deal of hospitality and generosity, Beowulf traveled to the Danes to return the same generosity and kill the monster that had been terrorizing and killing Hrothgar’s men. The monster Grendel, gives Beowulf a way to not only pay back Hrothgar’s kind act towards his family, but also a way to restore honor to his family name and improve his heroic reputation by killing this monster that has been undefeatable for twelve

Not only have we seen brute strength, honorable courage, and admirable loyalty shine through beowulf, Beowulf also possess a great trait not many others have; his will to fight to the death, or self sacrifice. Not once throughout the story did Beowulf ever turn down a battle. Not once did he fear or flee his enemy. Not once did he ever give up even if death had him by the throat causing his mind to flood nothing but fearful thoughts and feelings throughout his body. Every battle Beowulf fought, he fought as if it was his last and that is what truly makes him the great warrior he is.

Questions of Honor: Beowulf Beowulf’s honor and integrity can be questioned throughout the entirety of the epic poem, Beowulf. Whether or not his actions are inspired by his own pompous arrogance or confidence, one can argue that he is a hero nonetheless. Evidence and experience prove that Beowulf is more of a fearless hero than an excessively prideful man, and his hubris is more than justified due to the formidable duties he is able to execute. Throughout the poem, Beowulf expresses his intense strength and courage to the fearful people in the poem. His daring sense of self-assurance is backed by his victories against all three monsters, (even though he suffers a tragic death after facing the dragon, it is a defeat nonetheless).

He does only what he knows and that's to protect his people, so he takes on the dragon. During the battle, his courage is at its peak and the epic really shows that. He has aged and the dragon is much more powerful than him but he doesn’t back down. “None of his comrades came to him, helped him, his brave and noble followers: they ran for their lives…” (lines 708-710) The soldiers abandoned Beowulf because they were to scared.

The third and final evil Beowulf must face is the dragon. At this point in the poem, Beowulf has been the “ring-giver” or king for half a century (Beowulf 2207). The role of a king in Germanic times included rewarding warriors with treasure captured in battle; however, the dragon keeps his treasure to himself. This greediness is in direct opposition to the qualities of a good king, and the dragon becomes the representation of selfishness and destruction. Beowulf takes on the role of a warrior once again, and defeats the dragon.

Beowulf embodies many universal societal heroic values that are signified in the modern world like courage, bravery, and strength. In the poem, Beowulf displays courage. “Now, I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Heaney 425-426). This quote shows courage because he’s telling them that he can fight Grendel and wants to weather he wins or loses.

The epic poem states “ wait, for me close by, my friends we shall see, soon who will survive this bloody battle, stand when the fighting is done no one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster no one could try,” (lines 679-685). This quote shows how the hero steps up to slay the all mighty dragon that no one was able to kill but him. Beowulf tells his men to stay behind so that he could do it on his own. Beowulf was doing something that all hero’s do, which is giving his opponent a fair fight and seeing who comes out on top.

The story tells of many characters who faced the same circumstances as Beowulf, yet failed to respond in a similar and valiant effort, like Beowulf. For example, when facing the dragon nearly all of his hand picked soldiers coward in fear. Beowulf then showed humility by turning down his first offer to be king. When Hrothgar died, he offered Beowulf the throne; however, he refused, which allowed the rightful heir, Hrothgar’s son to be placed into power. This decision exemplifies the value he placed on ethics and honor.

Anglo-Saxon Culture The Anglo-Saxon Culture is based on kinship,courage,and honor. Kinship in the Anglo-Saxon culture was the respect of social standards and the hierarchy and in turn helped the society to run relatively smoothly. Courage to the Anglo saxons was very important because it showed how high your social status should be and how much of a “man” you are and weather you deserve the honor given to you . Honor is arguably one of the most important things to the Anglo-Saxons seeing as if you earned enough honor you could move up in society and accand to positions such as a high ranking soldier or even at times under some conditions the king.

Bravery, defined as, courageous acts of one’s character. The main person in this epic poem to demonstrate the act of bravery would be, Beowulf himself. Beowulf’s battle with Grendel shows true courage. Beowulf then “took off the helmet and handed the patterned sword”. (672-673)He was completely unarmed as described in the lines previous.

He could send troops and let someone else deal with the dragon but he does not. He faces the dragon himself like a true hero would. Knowing an enemy this strong could kill him he fights regardless in order to protect his people. Beowulf killed the dragon and gave his life for his people truly the actions of a hero. Even as a king he has nothing to prove to anyone by facing the dragon, which shows that he does not fight for himself he fights because he believes he needs to.

Beowulf knows that he will die in the battle with the dragon. Nevertheless, Beowulf voluntarily chooses to fight the dragon alone because he knows that he can kill it. He realizes the danger that presents itself with fighting the beast, and he does not want to subject his men to the ordeal. Beowulf enters the dragon’s den knowing that he will not return alive. Beowulf’s courage in entering the lair exemplifies the culmination of his perseverance.