Beowulf As An Epic Hero Research Paper

A true Hero risks his life to fight for a noble cause. He does not run away in the face of danger, but faces it with courage to help people live better lives. Beowulf is an epic poem that tells a story of a legendary hero who fights for the greater good for all people. Heroes all exhibit bravery, courage, loyalty, honor, and leadership when faced danger. Beowulf displays all the qualities and characteristics needed to be an epic hero throughout the epic.

Helping the once great Hrothgar, Defeating the monstrous Grendel, and proclaiming his everlasting honor are all reasons Beowulf earned and preserved his everlasting honor. Honor can corrupt the strongest minded of men, but not in the case of Beowulf. Beowulf used his greed for honor and fame to better himself and improve the reputation of his namesake. He proved himself time and time again through countless quests and deeds, spreading his name across the lands. Due to Beowulf’s

also demonstrates loyalty to King Hrothgar, who “led / The Danes to such glory that comrades and kinsmen / Swore by his sword” (12-14) even though King Hrothgar is not his king. Beowulf knows that he came onto King Hrothgar’s land, so he should be loyal and respectful to Hrothgar.

Last of all, Beowulf is an honorable man. To be given an honor you must be upright, have a good reputation, and good character and Beowulf satisfied all these

Beowulf demonstrated honor when he fought Grendel without using a weapon. Beowulf decided not to use a weapon while fighting Grendel because Grendel was unarmed. By doing this Beowulf had made the fight fair and was able to keep his honor. Beowulf would have also fought the dragon without a weapon had it been possible, but due to the dragons immense size, strength, and fiery breath he could use his sword and shield while retaining his honor. Honor is an important characteristic for an epic hero to have and Beowulf demonstrates it quite well throughout the poem.

Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities: epic heroes are superhuman types of beings. They show great bravery, intelligence, strength and resourcefulness. They have a strong admiration for the values of their society. They are dominant male figures and suffer severe pain, but in the end, they

Beowulf killed Grendel, and his mother to save the Geats. “Beowulf carried the head of Grendel / to King Hrothgar and the returns gift laiden / to the land of the Geats, where he succeeds to the throne” (Beowulf 666-668). Beowulf successfully saves the Geats from monsters terrorizing them, and he was throned for his accomplishments. Ultimately Beowulf was killed in his last fight against the dragon, saving his people one last time, and he is forever honored for that. “ Then twelve of the bravest Geats / rode their horses around the tower / ,telling their sorrow, telling stories / of their dead king and his greatness, his glory / ,praising him for his heroic deeds, for / a life as noble as his deeds” (Beowulf 830-835). Beowulf’s legacy will forever live with his people. Beowulf’s accomplishments molded his everlasting legacy he has among his people.

Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities: epic heroes are superhuman types of beings. They show great bravery, intelligence, strength and resourcefulness. They have a strong admiration for the values of their society. They are dominant male figures and suffer severe pain, but in

Beowulf is an epic poem passed down from generations during the Anglo-Saxon era of the British empire. It tells the story of a brave warrior who overcomes great obstacles including a serial killer and his mother and even a dragon. The greatest obstacle that Beowulf faces is that of proving himself as noble. Merriam Webster has two interesting definitions for the word noble: “possessing outstanding qualities” and “possessing, characterized by, or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals”. Which is interesting because Beowulf is noble in the sense of possessing outstanding qualities. The Beowulf poet commentates his opinion on the Anglo-Saxon warrior culture all-the-while distributing evidence to prove that Beowulf,

     Beowulf’s high self-regard acts as a promise to his people. It is a promise saying that he will provide for them and he can keep his country in order and away from harm. Because

Every epic hero possesses certain heroic characteristics. Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities: epic heroes are superhuman types of beings. They have a noble birth and show great bravery. They display great intelligence and resourcefulness. They have a reverence for G-d and for the values of their society. They are dominant male figures and suffer severe pain, but in the end, they conquer evil (Vivone 9/27/99). In addition to Beowulf’s heroic qualities, he is very strong. Beowulf was said to have “the strength of thirty [men] in his mighty handgrip” (Bloom 11). Early proof of Beowulf’s extraordinary strength is evidenced by his dismemberment of Grendel’s limb, the fight in the cave under water, and the

An epic hero, an Anglo-Saxon hero, a modern-day hero; A hero is is often defined by certain qualities, looked upon traits. We have heroes amongst our lives everyday, from saving a life to simply helping someone out. In the epic poem, “Beowulf”, Beowulf was the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The Anglo-Saxon code reflects much of the code of Chivalry, the code of the Samurai, to the modern-day code of just doing good. He embodied courage, honesty, loyalty, and much more, attributes that were all valued by the Anglo-Saxon code. Beowulf was truly an Anglo-Saxon hero of his time as he possessed all the traits of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Beowulf showed his honor as he traveled from his homeland to battle the vicious monster Grendel, who was terrorizing the Danes. Grendel “Raided and ravaged” the mead hall, showing no honor by killing intoxicated men in their sleep. Beowulf knows that there is a chance that he may die in his great battle against Grendel when he says, “If death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac…”, yet he is still willing to attempt to defeat Grendel. A hero in the Anglo-Saxon time is always very confident, as well he should be. It would serve no purpose to face battle with doubt of ones ability to do so, and with fear of all that awaits him. Beowulf’s morality came also in the form of loyalty to people and his word. Promises by Beowulf were kept . Acceptance of death, and care for the welfare of his people were Beowulf’s greatest virtues. His

Beowulf displays pride in himself and through his battles. We quickly learn this when he first enters the epic reciting his kenning, “. . . They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains.” (Carol Jago, Deborah Appleman, Kylene Beers et al.) However, before he leaves for his homeland to fight the dragon, Hrothgar foreshadows that Beowulf entering the dangers that are involved with hubris. Beowulf ignorantly does not take Hrothgar's advice into account and eventually dies for fame and fortune, the main things in his life. From an Anglo-Saxon standpoint Beowulf’s downfall is seen as an heroic and loyal act to the Anglo-Saxons because of his ultimate sacrifice. During the greatest challenge in Beowulf’s life, that being his fight with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf and his ego are blown up tremendously. This is because he is faced with his toughest opponent that could not be killed with bare hands, instead he had to use a specialized sword to slay the she-demon. This shows that Anglo-Saxon culture valued bravery and loyalty as having utmost importance. Through the epic you find that the morals of the people in Anglo-Saxon society was not only to help themselves but also to help others through anything they were to

Beowulf can definitely has the important characteristics of an epic hero. An epic hero must be strong, have a supernatural element and be brave and courageous. Now these are just a few of the characteristics of an epic hero but I believe that they are the most important. I believe that this is the brave and courageous aspect of Beowulf.