Just as Dumbledoore fights to the death as in the book series of Harry Potter. Beowulf however, risks his life by defeating the evil villain Grendel, his mother, and the dangerous dragon. “Beowulf had killed Grendel, ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering forced on Hrothgar’s helpless people by a bloodthirsty fiend.” (354). “I’d use no sword, no weapon, if this beast could be killed without it, crushed to death” (614). He risks it all to protect the Danes.
The greatest value of Beowulf is his bravery. There is no doubt that Beowulf is one of the greatest warriors of all time in literature. Beowulf’s nobility is much different than King Arthur or Sir Gawain due to the time period. His bragging about his heroics could be interpreted as cowardice if placed in a different time period. Could his journey be to find himself?
Both Beowulf and Achilles are epic heroes who take dangerous quests for glory; Beowulf must slay the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and eventually a dragon while Achilles must find and kill Hector, the commander of Trojan forces. Grendel is a “powerful monster”(1. 21), whom is wreaking havoc among the Danes, especially in King Hrothgar’s hall, where Grendel “Stalked Hrothgar’s warriors, old And young, lying in waiting, hidden In mist, invisibly following them from the edge of the marsh, always there, unseen. So mankind’s enemy continued his crimes, Killing as often as he could” (75-80. 23).
In the poem, Beowulf travels to Denmark without an invitation to reveal his destiny as “the mightiest man on earth, / highborn and powerful” (Lines 197-198). Only because Beowulf thinks it his is job to kill an indomitable monster, he travels across the sea to defeat him. Once Beowulf reached Denmark, he said, “Then news of Grendel, / hard to ignore, reached me at home…Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, / settle the outcome in single combat” (Lines 409-10/ 425-26). Beowulf travels across the sea thinking it is his job to defeat Grendel, yet not knowing what will come of his actions. He risked his existence, his wealth, and his men.
Beowulf Analysis The epic poem of Beowulf was written in a time period where the people believed in heroic warriors, and beastly creatures. It was written in an era of English literature when it was noted as being honorable and heroic to die fighting for one’s name or country. Literature during this era usually contained the protagonist as heroically larger than life, often the source and subject of legend or a national hero. For example in Beowulf, he is stated as being the greatest king to ever rule for his heroic triumphs. It’s as if it were written in order to gain pride in their country and its warriors amongst the rest.
The characteristics of superhuman strength and courage are seen throughout the story of Beowulf and define why he is an epic hero. Beowulf gets these characteristics because the people want to show that only Beowulf could be the only one to defeat Grendel because everyone else who tried failed and got killed. Beowulf is an epic hero because he performs brave deeds. We can see this in the scene after he fights Grendel. Even though that is all that he planned on doing he stayed and went to go find Grendel’s mother and kill her since she was in distraught of her only son dying, and she took Hrothgar’s friend.
Beowulf Essay What makes an epic hero? This is a popular question that all civilizations have pondered, and have answered with legends, myths, and epics. One of the greatest epic heroes of all time is found in the epic poem Beowulf, the most famous early Germanic heroic poems. The hero, Beowulf, is a lager than life man who embodies the epitome of courageous aggression mingled with an egotistical nature. Beowulf, the story of an epic hero confronted with various monsters, demonstrates the ultimate aggressiveness and courage it takes to by an hero.
Beowulf embodies the idealized epic hero in the Anglo-Saxon culture that come together to create and epic tale. Beowulf displays many of the characteristics that are respected by the Anglo-Saxon culture. He displays many of the same virtues, beliefs and traits. Throughout the tale Beowulf displays his virtues through a series of different circumstances that show him as an epic hero as displayed by the Anglo-Saxon’s. In the tale he is described as the being the greatest and strongest of anyone in the world.
Beowulf Literary Analysis Research Paper What is your definition of a hero? In the epic Beowulf, the main hero is a great hero named Beowulf. In the epic, Beowulf is seen performing heroic acts and demonstrating great character. Beowulf is courageous and his loyal to the people is unmatched. He puts his life on the line to protect his kingdom and that’s the most important trait of a hero, self -sacrifice.
Grace Smith College English 1301 Period 2 October 3, 2012 Definition of a Hero According to Merriam Webster’s School Dictionary the word hero means a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength and ability, an illustrious warrior who people admire for achievements and their qualities. A hero is one that shows great courage also known as a chief male figure in a literary work or in an event or period. Webster’s New World Thesaurus lists some synonyms as brave, man, model, popular figure, warrior, saint, or a god. Webster’s New World Thesaurus also gives antonyms such as a coward, weak, and a slacker. The definition of a hero is a bold statement and demonstrated in both poems “Sir Gawain and