A Literary Hero Of William Shakespeare 's ' Othello '

The Importance of Beowulf in Modern America By Jennifer Carley Modern culture and literature include many stories of great heroes and fictional adventures. Many people grow up reading about these great adventures and looking up to the heroes of the stories. Heroes are great roll models because they are portrayed as courageous and trustworthy individuals, two very admirable qualities. Despite numerous cultural and technological advancements, life in modern America continues to bear resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon world of the hero Beowulf. The poem Beowulf, though written many centuries ago, still contains the same universal themes of any great action-adventure story in today's society. The poem is about a great hero who overcomes seemingly

Beowulf is a hero during the Middle Ages because of his generosity, strength, power, and courage. A hero is one who places himself or herself at great risk while performing acts of courage. Beowulf is a hero that put his life on the line for an entire kingdom. He has heroic and superhuman qualities. He must prove his worthiness of a superior warrior. He is recognized for his strengths and power of protecting his people. Beowulf is faced with three forces to fight, Grendel (a monster), Grendel?s mother, and the dragon. Beowulf becomes the king of the Geats for fifty years and eventually dies in a battle against a dragon.

Set in an era long before the customs of contemporary western civilization, Heaney’s translation of Beowulf follows the courageous hero through an epic journey that solidifies his figurative immortality. Much like the Greek’s great Odysseus or the Roman’s devout Aeneus, Beowulf serves as an impressive and almost godlike warrior for the Anglo-Saxons, providing insight into the constituents of greatness for that society. Confident in his abilities and committed to his task, Beowulf voluntarily embarks on a mission to defeat Grendel, the treacherous enemy of the Danish kingdom. Beowulf solidifies his classification as an epic hero as he satisfies his quest for glory, saves a kingdom from destruction, and reveals the values of an era.

Beowulf is a wonderful hero that didn’t deserve to die the way he did. But, he died an honorable death to which many people will remember. Being the strongest man on Earth wasn’t what made Beowulf a hero, it was the ways in which he used his powers. He used his gifts for the greater good and to help humanity from the evil fiends in it. All of these qualities combined to create one on the greatest heroes there ever was-- fictional or

First, Beowulf displays the anglo-saxon hero characteristic of bravery and courage throughout different points in the poem. “Proclaiming that he’d go to the famous King, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar, now when help was needed.” (114-116) Beowulf stood up and was brave enough to go and

Beowulf is determined as a hero in my eyes, throughout the brave and heroic attributes that he had undertaken within this poem. When defining a hero in our first week of class, we had come up with the idea that a hero is someone who is: selfless, has strength, sacrifices everything that they have for the greater good and shows confidence. Beowulf has shown all of these attributes beginning with being selfless. Beowulf came to the Danes because he knew that he needed to not only keep his kingdom safe, but surrounding kingdoms. Beowulf’s heroism was defined on these next couple of lines. On line 193, “There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful. He ordered a boat that would ply the waves. He announced his plan” (Heaney, 15, 193-196). Beowulf knew the dangers that fighting this demon could bring, but he sacrificed everything he had. If Beowulf would have lost the battle, his Kingdom (Geats) would have been left with nothing and Hrothgars kingdom would still be under attack. Beowulf also shows his strength throughout the poem. When Beowulf arrives at the Danes, he shows no fear. Beowulf speaks with Hrothgar to learn what is true about his threat. Beowulf speaks giving the Danes much hope, line 294 “ whatever it is, this danger abroad in the dark nights, I come to proffer my wholehearted help and counsel” (Heaney, 21, 294-298). Beowulf is a hero and a leader, even if we look at him within modern times. Beowulf shows cause and reason to why he is at the Danes, he creates leadership upon his men and he has shown devotion towards this cause of wanting to defeat Grendal the demon in the poem. Every move Beowulf takes in this poem is what I believe we would want in the modern times of war. We want a leader that will be able to take charge and follow through with the actions they speak upon. In modern time, we also want a leader that protects our land and has their best opinion out for their Country. We want a leader like Beowulf. There is times that as a reader one could think that he is only completing these heroic attributes to uphold his overall reputation of himself, but isn’t that everyone’s main goal when completing a monumental task?

There are many types of heroes--some with superpowers, some who do amazing deeds, and some who are in our everyday lives. However, one of the best examples of a hero is Beowulf from Beowulf: a New Telling. Beowulf is a brave man who is willing to accept weaknesses and turn them into strengths. He aids Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, in defeating many monsters such as Grendel and Grendel’s Mother, which kill people and bring terror. Afterwards, he heads home and is crowned king after the king dies, and thus kills the Firedrake, which was destroying land in anger. Beowulf is a hero worthy of notice. In Robert Nye’s novel Beowulf: a New Telling, sacrifice and humility are heroic traits seen throughout the novel within Beowulf’s character.

Beowulf’s bravery, strength, and loyalty present him as a hero. Beowulf showed he was a brave hero from youth to death. He always puts his life in the face of danger in order to protect innocent people. Beowulf even tells the Queen of Danes “This was my thought, when my thanes and I/ bent to the ocean and entered our boat,/ that I would work the will of your people/ fully, or fighting fall in death,” (Beowulf, Chp 9).

In the epic poem of Beowulf, the main hero, Beowulf, proves himself as the hero everyone thinks he is over and over again. Whenever the revered hero and his men face adversity, they simply do not shy away. They will stand against it and fight to the end to protect the goodwill of others. Although there are different definitions of what a hero is, there is only one that really sticks out to me. Beowulf represents this definition of a hero because of his courageousness and selflessness. He simply doesn’t care if he dies, but he will do whatever it takes to protect others.

Strong-hearted and unafraid, Beowulf’s character is the example of the heroism that many of the characters in novels, movies, and even various of real-life people have aimed at achieving. The iconic hero of The Dark Knight (2008), Bruce Wayne, otherwise known as the “Bat Man”, steps up to protect and save the people of Gotham City. The two of these protagonists are very different- but the similarities they share are key when asking the question: “Are they ‘Epic Heroes’?” Beowulf is emphasized as being a loyal, honest, and strong leader.

Beowulf was considered an warrior with extraordinary strength, he was sent to do many treacherous tasks for his kingdom. He was indeed a true hero, countless people would not even think to do some of the things he has done. It was all for the love and respect of his people, often times most of his duties were to fend off evil monsters and dragons.

"Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked." (Line 572-573) All of these traits illustrate first hand that Beowulf can be classified as nothing less than a true hero.

In the poem “Beowulf”, translated by Kevin Crossley-Holland, the protagonist Beowulf is the hero. Many people have the concept that a hero is someone who defeat evil, can stand up to the impossible, and never give up no matter how difficult the situation is to overcome. This character is the hero because he saves an entire kingdom from fall into the hands of a terrible monster. He did not back down when the mother of the monster try to kill him. When other men fall, he persevere and use his skills and experience to think of different ways to defeat Grendel. Beowulf is shown to be a hero because of his abilities to win every fight against evil. The reader can tell that Beowulf is a hero because the poem is all about him. The poem glorify

In a time when the Danish king, Hrothgar, and his people were frantic with fear; a man, Beowulf, hearing of this, comes to the Danes rescue becoming the hero they were hoping for. His courage and determination, brings comfort to the Danes. A hero is someone who puts others before themselves; it is someone who will risk everything, even their lives, for the common good. Beowulf fits the profile perfectly because he voluntarily risked his life for the Danes. He not only killed Grendal, but he killed Grendal’s mother and the dragon. These acts proved Beowulf’s heroism, making him fit into the category of being an epic hero. In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf possesses the characteristics of a hero through how he is portrayed, through his devotion

William Shakespeare, born in the year 1564, is often considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, writer in the English language. His works range from ingenious poems, such as Fear No More, to plays, such as The Tragedy of Othello. In The Tragedy of Othello, Shakespeare details the story of a celebrated military hero who falls victim to the machinations of a conniving villain who goes by the name of Iago. In his play, he portrays Othello like a tragic hero, a type of literary character. A tragic hero has many characteristics, 3 of them being that they must have an error in judgement, they must have a reversal of fortune, and they must recognize that the reversal of fortune was brought about by their own actions. Furthermore, they must also have a fatal flaw, that eventually leads to their downfall. Othello demonstrates all of these characteristics in the play, proving him to be a tragic hero. Othello makes an error in judgement, which leads to his change in fortune, and later realizes that his actions are what caused said change in fortune.