An Epic Hero An epic hero stands high above all other regular humans. The hero’s important ideals of his society are reflected by his characteristic traits. An epic hero courageously saves lives and does it out of good deed. Regular humans rely on an epic hero to determine their fate when it is in danger. Spider man is a modern day epic hero because he possesses all the qualities an epic hero should.
Heroes choose to abide by their role and stick with it. They do not try to reconcile themselves with the rest of the world. Times of heroism are generally times of terror, but that day never shines in which this element may not work. The circumstances of man, we say, are historically somewhat better in this country, and at this hour, than perhaps ever before. One of the best examples that I can think of is when Beowulf fought Grendel and won.
He was a normal man who faces problems and conquers them, while becoming an awesome hero. This makes Batman human and because he is so unlike Superman, an alien from krypton who has laser eyes and super strength far beyond the reach of the average person. Batman is the average guy. However, Batman's normalness is not the only thing that makes him a better example of a hero and his origins play another part in this. Batman, being a normal human being, obviously has no superhuman powers.
Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, is considerably successful in keeping his promise to the ghost of his father. While he manages to purge Denmark of its corruption and avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius, the commandment does not live “all alone…within the book and volume” of Hamlets brain, he is not indecisive, but morally astute. Hamlet finds himself trapped between two moral imperatives, whether to obey his filial duty to his father or commit a mortal sin by killing another man. Ultimately, Hamlet overcomes his moral complication and fulfils the ghost’s wishes. From the outset of the play, and the first appearance of the ghost, Hamlet knows what he must do; however, his moral obligations get in the way.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the main characters, Gawain, goes against the typical qualities of a hero. Heroes are stereotypically thought of as brave strong men who fight for their stance on a presented issue and also save the day by their actions. However, Gawain goes against this stereotype by making the poem feel like a lighthearted comedy about heroism as he faces hardships. In addition, another character that faces challenges as a hero of modern world is Shrek. Unlike the difficulties Gawain faced, Shrek has managed gaining his house back and fighting for the woman he falls for.
This makes Batman more realistic because Superman has supernatural powers that are un-relatable to humans. However, Batman’s human like character is not the only thing that sets him apart from Superman. Since Batman is a human he has no supernatural powers. Unlike Superman, Batman cannot fly, he doesn’t have super strength, but he still has the exact same character role that Superman does which is fighting the villains and the saving the cities from crime. He is able to do this because he physically trains
His ideas are deemed “dangerous,” “hare-brained,” and “uncertain” confirming that honour is not confined to valorous fighting. It is thus Hal who emerges as an optimal marriage of courage, intelligence and connection to the people. Encapsulating the best of both societies, Hal earns ‘grace’ and a ‘princely tongue’ as he grows into the archetypal leader England requires. Defeating his nemesis Hotspur in battle, Hotspur’s final words “thy wound my thoughts worse than thy sword my flesh,” which exacerbate his incompetence as he values honour, an intangible concept, above his own livelihood. Contrasting Hotspur’s desolate view of life and humanity, Hal remarks “two stars keep not their motion in one sphere” identifying his values, and leadership superior to that of Hotspurs, as he
The Fall of Macbeth Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare some time between 1603 and 1606. The play is written about an ambitious man, Macbeth, who like Humpty Dumpty, had a great fall. Shakespeare’s principal sources for the tragedy are the accounts of Kings Macbeth, Duff and Duncan in Holinshed’s Chronicals (1587), a history of England, Scotland and Ireland. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the character Macbeth has prominent traits, the greatest influence, and shocking motivations that leads him to his tragic demise. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is depicted as loyal and trustworthy in the eyes of his King, Duncan, and his duties.
Duncan appraises Macbeth by holding Lady Macbeth by the hand and saying “We love him highly and shall continue our graces toward him” (I,iv,364, 29-30) believing that Macbeth is a loyal man that has such a great heart; considering that he risked his life to save Scotland: something that the Thane of Cawdor was supposed to do. Macbeth, a dark evil soul, uses the promotion and honor of Duncan as a stepping stone to begin his destroying of Scotland. Instead of being happy with the honor that king Duncan gave him the honor of Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth gets greedy and wants more than what is granted to him, “If chance will have
Oedipus saves the citizens from the totalitarian rule of the Sphinx, by solving the difficult and complicated riddle. Then again, near the conclusion of the play, Oedipus shows courage and self-sacrifice for the benefit of his people. He gouges out his own eyes and exiles himself from Thebes to save his people from the devastating plague. All this is evidence of Oedipus’ abundance of integrity and overall heroic qualities, in turn exhibiting his morality, virtue, and nobility. Oedipus is undoubtedly a righteous hero.