Beowulf Honor Analysis

“Then when darkness had dropped, Grendel went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors would do in that hall when their drinking was done. He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting nothing , their dreams undisturbed. The monsters thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws: He slipped through the door and there in silence snatched up thirty men, smashed them, unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies, blood dripping behind him, back to his lair, delighted with his nights slaughter (Narrator pg. 42 lines 30-40)”. Beowulf is a folk epic translated by Burton Raffel. Its a story about a hero with the strengths of a bear and a wolf called to a desperate town to defeat vicious monsters who have been tormenting them for the past

Honor, something powerful enough to sculpt the world’s oldest and most powerful empires. Throughout history great empires such as China, Japan, and the Anglo-Saxons have fought and died in the hunt for honor and fame; bringing life to many great and powerful heroes. Beowulf, one such hero, who fought many great battle in the name of honor and fame; putting his all into each battle he encountered. In the epic Beowulf, Beowulf decides to help Hrothgar with the dreaded monster Grendel and then battling him bare handed. Throughout the epic of Beowulf, Beowulf is mainly concerned about honor and fame, in his hunt for honor he agrees to help Hrothgar and fight the monster, Grendel, bare handed; but why?

One of the strongest men on the face of Earth was Beowulf—savior of souls, and annihilator of evil. Beowulf is an epic poem that originated in the Anglo-Saxon period, told in Anglo-Saxon English. The poem depicts the odyssey of a man, Beowulf, who comes from the land of Geats to defeat a hellish creature, Grendel, which has been spawning terror upon King Hrothgar and his men, who live in the land of the Danes. On the way to King Hrothgar’s land, Beowulf encounters many monsters, and upon his arrival to the land of Danes, Beowulf vows to destroy Grendel in order to return peace and safety to King Hrothgar and his men. The poem often characterizes Beowulf with two distinct traits: pride and selflessness. Beowulf shows several moments of motivation

Beowulf’s first demonstration as a leader, comes from him being a protector of his people. Hrothgar quotes this in his sermon as he quotes Beowulf as,”a protector of his people.” (McArthur). He describes Beowulf as a protector because he came to the village to fight off the monster that is Grendel (McArthur). Because of this action, the people of the village now place their trust in Beowulf, which is a common idea in the relationship between people and their leaders. Beowulf can excel at leading the village because everyone in the village thinks that he could do no wrong. Trust is a very essential skill in becoming a reliable leader. Hrothgar exclaims the importance of this by saying,”…and forts to command in his own country…” (McArthur). This means that Beowulf will look out for his people by commanding his country.

Beowulf is an Old English poem written somewhere between the eighth century and the tenth century; the culture of Germanic times is depicted through varying concepts of masculinity that not only describes their capability as a warrior, but also their aptitude as a leader. Beowulf shows of a demon named Grendel attacking Heorot, and the king, Hrothgar, calls Beowulf, a warrior, for help with the slaying of Grendel. Characteristics and qualities of leadership are directly linked to the masculinity of the characters within Beowulf. The leaders in the prologue are demonstrated with the aspects of masculinity through their strength and brutality. In Beowulf, a man demonstrates his essential worth through evidence of masculinity as seen in Unferth’s cowardice, Beowulf’s heroism, and Wiglaf’s bravery.

Beowulf’s first battle is against Grendel in an attempt to help King Hrothgar of Denmark and the Danes. The king builds a great mead-hall known as Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the bards. All the noise and commotion angers Grendel, who is a horrible demon that lives in the swamplands of the king’s kingdom. Grendel is an outcast who desperately wants to be a part of the Danes. He is bitter about being excluded from the mead-hall festivities. As a result of his jealousy and loneliness, Grendel terrorizes the Danes every night, killing them and defeating their efforts to fight back. The Danes live in fear, danger, and suffer death from Grendel for many, many years. Eventually, word of the kingdom’s suffering at the hands of Grendel reaches Beowulf. He feels inspired by the challenge of defeating the monster and decides to help the Danes. The king holds a big feast to celebrate Beowulf’s help,

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that tells a story of a Geat hero named Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, and agrees to help his people defeat the monstrous Grendel. After successfully ridding the land of the beast, Beowulf eventually becomes the king of the Geats for quite some time until his own demise at the hands of another beast. The story was influenced by both pagan and Christian mythologies as it was written during a

Beowulf is an epic poem that has been handed down orally for centuries, but was finally written down in the eighth century. It is the story of an epic hero, named Beowulf, who travels with his men, the Geats, to conquer the many beasts who terrorize the lands of the Danes. The scops describe Beowulf as “greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”(110-111). This example shows one of many qualities that make Beowulf the epic hero that he is. He uses his strength to demonstrate both the dedication and bravery needed to bring peace and justice to the people who have been terrorized for such a long time. Cultural elements exemplified in Beowulf occur in the aspects of the mead hall, the warriors, and their belief system.

The tale of Beowulf has been taught and studied for hundreds of years. As such, it only makes sense logically that scholars should discern certain lessons from the text, relevant to the original tellers’ lives and to our own. Throughout the poem, we see examples of leaders in Hrothgar and Beowulf, both epitomizing great leadership and displaying characteristics that people could learn from today. Beowulf shows us that a great leader inspires courage in his followers, remains true to his word, can swallow his pride, and rewards loyalty and acts of valor.

Beowolf is an epic peom that was told by the Anglo-Saxon, collected and refined by the Christian monks. The events take place in the land of Herot, a peaceful land with trees and relaxing harp music. Ruled by a noble man goes by the name of Hrothgar, the king of the danes. Hrothgar created a wonderful mead hall for his people, to let them celebrate and relief their pain and stress, till the darkness drops, a vicious monster called Grendel rose from hell, deep down the earth, to bring the terror and chaos with him. Grendel started attacking the guards and people of Herot, leaving no one behind. The vicious monster had no mercy. At daybreak, they saw the slaughtering of Grendel, Hrothgar sat joyless and helpless. Herot stood empty. Twelve winters

The story of Beowulf begins with his quest to aid the kind of the Danes. Hrothgar built the great mead-hall called Heorot. The mead-hall represents Hrothgar’s success in building a powerful military and social entity. The mead-hall” Meant to be a wonder of the world forever;” (Beowulf.69-71) a place of light and warmth during the cold winter was attacked by a powerful demon called Grendel. Grendel resented the happiness of his neighbors and attacked Heorot for twelve winters leaving the hall empty for years. Once Beowulf learns of Hrothgar’s problem with Grendel he

Heorot was a clean representation of the unity of the warriors in their specific tribe and also represented brotherhood. Heorot is where we first learn about the protagonist, Beowulf. Beowulf hears about Grendel (which is the creature that Beowulf fights) and without hesitation rounds up all his men and sails to the land of the Danes. Beowulf first shows up there with his men for none other than the normal Mead-Hall festivities, a feast and a party in front of a formal audience. While at the Heorot, Beowulf is invited to speak to the people of Hrothgar. Due to the setting of the Mead-Hall, this gives Beowulf the opportunity to speak to the people that are being bothered by Grendel. Beowulf’s speech mainly consists of him boasting about himself and his previous fights where he came out victorious. He then goes on to make his proposal to the people of Hrothgar, and says he plans to fight Grendel with no weapons, due to the fact that Grendel does not use any weapons at all. As one can see, the Mead-Hall plays a key role on the story of Beowulf. It is a place full of feasts and partying, where the King and his court may have a great time as well as show off their extremely lavish belongings. The Mead-hall also gives Beowulf the proper platform to propose to the people of Hrothgar and offer to defeat Grendel, so they may have peace of mind after dark. Which takes me to the next point of discussion.

The epic poem Beowulf, is an Angelo Saxon tale that represents heroism and strength. This poem was written be an unknown poet between around 1000 A.D and showcases the heroic character named Beowulf who comes to save the land of Danes from the beast Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel and then faces his mother the evil monster who is killed as well and is viewed by all the people of Dane as a hero who can never be beaten. An evil Dragon comes and Beowulf is able to kill the Dragon but sacrifices his own life as he is killed by the Dragon’s poison. Beowulf is about more than heroism this epic poem shows true English narration, represents Angelo-Saxon religion, and depicts women’s roles in Anglo-Saxon society

Beowulf is a piece of Anglo-Saxon literature that is expressed in Old English and provides an image of early medieval times. It is known as one of the greatest epic poems ever written. The main character, Beowulf, displays personality traits that set him apart from the other warriors. The bond between family and clans shapes the powerful warrior’s action that would either form an alliance to help protect against enemies or gain enemies. There are many elements that are significant to a person’s life. In Beowulf, establishing reputation is one of the most important aspects in life. In the Anglo-Saxon culture, when a man has a higher reputation, he will most likely have a stronger respect and trust amongst other warriors. Each character has a reputation that plays a role in society. Having a superior reputation can make someone have a recognition in a part of the history. In every epic poem, a character becoming too concerned with his image is the main flaw that causes problems. The character only thinks about their image and not what is best for them in order to overcome challenges. However, in Beowulf, this pride of reputation helps enhance him as a great warrior. Beowulf is establishing his reputation through his “building blocks” of challenges he will have encountered. Reputation is the defining concept because Beowulf is constantly concerned of how people view him.

Heroes shouldn’t seek accolades, heroes should stay humble and never be selfish; not doing so makes you selfish and non heroic in every aspect possible.