Is Beowulf A Hero?In the epic poem Beowulf, the titular character is called upon by King Hrothgar to dispose of a beast, Grendel, that is plaguing the festival hall. Hrothgar is king of the Danes, while Beowulf is a warrior of the Geats. He slays the beast, and when Grendel’s mother is angered, he righteously slays her also. At the end of the poem, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats, and he gives his life to kill a dragon, which saves his people and enriches his kingdom. The actions Beowulf takes throughout the story prove he is a hero. By willingly helping the king with an issue he could not conquer, dealing with the consequences of his actions in the form of Grendel’s mother, and sacrificing himself for the good of his kingdom, …show more content…
Beowulf is a man of virtue and morals, which is shown from the very beginning of the poem when he courageously accepts the quest of defeating Grendel. There is no real compensation for the task, only food and celebration. Beowulf’s heroics are talked about by the knights at the table during the dinner before the clash with Grendel: “Art thou that Beowulf, Breca’s rival, who emulous swam on the open sea, when for pride the pair of you proved the floods, and wantonly dared in waters deep to risk your lives?” Beowulf’s bravery and heroics have been heard of across the land, and he is a well-respected man. His story of saving Breca from the sea monsters is just one example of Beowulf’s previous deeds.Beowulf heroically defeats Grendel. Of force in fight no feebler I count me, in grim war-deeds, than …show more content…
Beowulf, instead of leaving after completing his task, decides to stay and help the Danish kingdom that is in need once more. Beowulf displays spectacular strength when he swims to the mother’s underwater lair and defeats her with the help of a magic sword. Beowulf is courageous and responsible, which are both qualities of heroes, ancient and modern.The conclusion of the poem details Beowulf’s journey to the king of his people, his years of ruling, and his eventual tragic end with a dragon. For years Beowulf ruled honorably, with no real issues, until one man walked by the cave of a dragon and stole his golden goblet: “Some man, however, came by chance that cave within to the heathen hoard. In hand he took a golden goblet, nor gave he it back, stole with it away, while the watcher slept, by thievish wiles: for the warden’s wrath prince and people must pay betimes!” The dragon, obviously upset, began to terrorize villages of Beowulf’s kingdom. Countless were murdered, and Beowulf, with help of another warrior of the kingdom, decided to put an end to the dragon. In the end, Beowulf sacrificed himself to save the kingdom, stole the riches from the dragon, and made that special warrior the new king
Heroism is shown throughout the poem. Beowulf was heroic in the fight with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. “Behind some broad linden shield: my hands alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster…” (lines 172-174). In those lines, Beowulf is saying he will fight Grendel alone and without any weapons. “Then Beowulf rose, still brave, still strong…” (line 633).
Beowulf shows his heroic qualities when he heard of Grendel’s wrong doings and went off to save the people and help the king, “That man called for a ship, said he would cross the ocean and help the king who needed help.” Beowulf successfully rid the King of the evil Grendel and was a hero due to his bravery and willingness to help and save the people from further devastation from Grendel. Grendel himself shows the reader that Beowulf is a fairy tale.
Beowulf comes and saves the day by defeating Grendel,
Thinking Beowulf as a folk hero, he seems to be a real- warrior who is brave enough to defeat Grendel and has no -fear in himself. Besides that, Beowulf depicts himself as a hero when he replied Unferth saying, “the truth is this: /when the going was heavy in those high waves/ I was the strongest swimmer of all" (529-534). When it comes to dying Beowulf wants to make a barrow on his name.
Beowulf was honorable throughout this epic story. Beowulf was strong, smart, one whom the town was looked up to. When he killed Grendal, the townsfolk were happy and relieved. My idea of a hero is a strong, intelligent, honorable man who opts for the correct path in all he does.
Now, he uses Grendel’s magic sword doused in his blood and is ultimately victorious. This victory is, in essence, Beowulf’s entry into adulthood. He now faces complex choices and decisions. The war wounds and the fact that Beowulf is a mere mortal have awakened a deep sense of righteousness in the
It however is not shown in the same way. Since Beowulf is seen as someone coming to save the town he is obviously seen as a stereotypical hero. He tries to save the not as capable like every other story hero, they kill the dragon to save the town, or fight the villain to get what is theirs. He looks to be doing the right thing. The heroism however is false because of his intentions.
His personal character had nothing to do with what made him a hero. In the story, Beowulf defeated a monster that had been plaguing Herot Hall which made him a local hero. When he also defeated that monsters mother, his fame grew. As Beowulf grew older, he became Kind of the Geats, and was considered a great ruler. The kingdom had money and nobody was willing to attack from the fear they had of Beowulf.
“It was a hard-fought, a desperate affair that could have gone badly; if God had not helped me, the outcome would have been quick and fatal” (76). Beowulf was a great hero and didn 't give up when things got tough. He would give his life to protect his people. “The treasure had been won, bought and paid for by Beowulf 's
Beowulf is motivated by glory, duty, and sacrifice to take on Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon. He shows an inspiring amount of courage to fight all three deleterious monsters in his life. Even though glory is important to Beowulf, it isn't the most important aspect. The fact that Beowulf was able to conquer all three monsters is fortuitous. Beowulf knew he was expected to save the day for many of his followers, which at the end meant that sacrificing his life was
Beowulf is confident enough in his abilities that he believes he can fight off Grendel with no weapons or armor. I believe Beowulf, in the time of this writing was truly seen as a hero. But in this day, I do not believe he is seen as a hero. Heroes today are seen as those who do things not for themselves and for the recognition, but to protect others. They do not brag about the abilities they have, they do not boast about their strength.
According to Google a hero is defined as “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities”. Beowulf was portrayed as a true hero throughout the poem by fighting in many battles and protecting other people. After Beowulf's death
These great traits empower him when he encounters evil that he must endure and overcome. Beowulf depicts a Germanic warrior society, where relationship between the king and his thanes, or warriors is of paramount importance (“Beowulf”). So within this time, he is faced with killing the trollish, monstrous creature Grendel and battling against Grendel’s mother. He puts
Beowulf was courageous. He fought many enemies and did not back down. He felt encouraged to find Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon and kill them all.
When battling Grendel’s mother, Beowulf’s weapon and armor began to fail him after “she ripped and … clawed at him”, leaving him defenseless to the “water-witch” (71). Any sane person would have retreated to fight another day, but Beowulf’s wish for fame and glory motivated him to find an alternative way to continue fighting. Also, even though others left him for dead, his power to overcome the impossible left everyone in awe, granting him even more respect than he already had. Did Beowulf expect the new fame? Most likely, since it was his main motivation.