Beowulf An Epic Hero

Heroes can come in many different forms. Some can fly and have super powers, while others are just extraordinary people who are braver than others. Beowulf was the type of hero mad from his bravery. Burton Raffel tells Beowulf’s story in an Old English poem entitled Beowulf. This heroic tragedy takes one on the journey of Beowulf’s rise and fall as a hero. Beowulf is an epic poem because it features a central hero, various forms of conflict, and a lesson in morality. When Denmark was in need of a hero, the brave Beowulf was brave and became their hero. Defeating many enemies and losing his life in the defeat of one lead to Beowulf’s rise to the position of the central hero in this poem (117). In most of Beowulf’s battles he faced the monster alone showing his heroic bravery and great skills (103). Beowulf single-handedly defeated a monster named Grendel that had been defeating armies in Denmark, proving that he was the greatest of all the heroes of that time and the most significant (37). But like all great heroes, Beowulf earned his respect and title of central hero through the defeat of multiple enemies. Earning any great title with one conflict is almost impossible; Beowulf took part in various conflicts to earn his. One of Beowulf’s great victories was Grendel. Grendel had been terrorizing the Danes when Beowulf came and in one night Beowulf had ripped off the villain’s arm and left him for dead (43). The defeat of Grendel lead to Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother (56). Beowulf tracked her down and killed her in her own swamp lair after her dreadful appearance in Herot (70). As years went by, Beowulf found himself in combat with a dragon. Being the only man brave enough for the task, Beowulf found himself abandoned even though he had brought an army with him (105). The dragon was the end to Beowulf but not before Beowulf defeated it