Beowulf : The Ideal Anglo Saxon Warrior

The Anglo-Saxons’ cultures and traditions are rooted in their beliefs of the perfect hero. Their ideal hero has many key characteristics influenced by their culture including courage, strength, bravery, thick skin, loyalty, humbleness, and the ability to create strong trustworthy friendships. Beowulf is an epic poem that exhibits the ideal Anglo-Saxon hero. The Anglo-Saxon traditions illustrated in Beowulf accurately represent the Anglo-Saxon traditions of the time period. This is accomplished through the distinct correlation of heroic characteristics between Beowulf and the culture’s traditional depiction of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Being a hero can mean many different things. A modern day hero might be someone who has a strong moral code or someone that has extraordinary powers and abilities but, looking back in time the meaning of a hero has changed slightly. During Anglo-Saxon times, being a hero meant being loyal to their lord and god, having a sense of duty, being selfless, having honor, being intelligent, and boasting. It also meant being brave and having courage, having a sense of justice, and having larger than life strength. A great example of an Anglo-Saxon hero is Beowulf from “Beowulf,” written by an unknown author. In this poem, Beowulf exemplifies the characteristics of an Anglo-Saxon hero because he was brave and courageous, he had superhuman strength, and he had a unique sense of justice.

The story of Beowulf is an ancient one, and one that has been passed down for generations. The ideals and themes are traditional and its message is clear throughout the entirety of the epic poem. Beowulf is told from the third person omniscient point of view, his conflict was always what one would call “the bad guy” or “the villain,” and though he died in the end, he won gold and victory for his kingdom; all bad guys defeated. John Gardner, author of Grendel, decided to take the classical story of good and evil, and tell a new story from the villain’s perspective. Grendel explores varying literary elements which exposes the character of Grendel to readers along with various themes represented throughout each page.

In the epic poem Beowulf, there is an obvious distinction between good and evil. The hero and his foes play roles that are commonly associated with Anglo-Saxon literature. The lines are clearly drawn and expressed in the poem. As the story moves, the reader cannot mistake the roles being played, based on the characterizations in the epic, one recognizes each character for their purpose and place.

An epic hero is a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. The epic hero of a story embarks on a quest in search of fame and glory, and encounters challenges throughout their journey. No matter the adversity, the epic hero maintains bravery and courage, never backing down. However, what the epic hero does not know is that the “real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster 3). In the epic Beowulf, Anonymous employes the affection of a king, bravery in battle, an eternal quest and a lasting legacy to show Beowulf as an epic hero.

In the epic poem “Beowulf”, Beowulf is an extremely masculine warrior who comes to the rescue of the king, Hrothgar. Beowulf slays the monster Grendel with no hesitation and is very self-confident. Beowulf is your typical heroine character. John Gardner’s book, Grendel, is written from the point of view of the monster, from “Beowulf”, who has many feelings. In Grendel, the reader is shown that a monster of a tale is not always purely evil.

The story of Beowulf, written during Anglo-Saxon times, is a classic epic tale between good versus evil.  It is a story that gives us insight into the values of the Anglo-Saxon people.  The Anglo-Saxons glorified heroism and the conquering of evil.  In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the character of Grendel symbolically represents evil through his setting and heritage, his hateful attitude toward men, and his vicious acts of murder.

Ms. D’Eon World Literature 10 October 09 2015 Five Paragraph Essay How does one use a book to portray a message? There are many authors in this world who wrote a book that ends with a moral or a message. This idea of making sure the reader learns something goes way back in history, even back to the Anglo-Saxon Period. Beowulf, is the story of a hero who uses his inhumane powers for the good of others and is the key image of a Germanic Warrior.

When looking at Beowulf and Grendel, one perceives them in different ways when reading different versions of the story of Beowulf. Each character goes through the same or similar actions they had gone through in other versions but they are either shown as a hero or a villain depending on the writer’s opinions, beliefs, and lifestyle. The Beowulf poem displays a more compelling argument for Beowulf by eloquently wording his actions and words, diligently staying on topic, and constantly showing Beowulf under the same lime light throughout the poem.

Beowulf’s last test of courage comes in his old age when his people are threatened by a “mighty” dragon. Beowulf felt as if something he had done had caused the irascible beast to wreck havoc on his people, “killing and destroying” them and their homes with its “molten” breath. Knowing what had to be done, Beowulf bravely faced the dragon, while all of his people, except for one, fled in fear. His last battle, which ended in death, displayed Beowulf’s unwavering courage, the type that every hero should possess.

The tale Beowulf was written by an unknown author in the 8th century. Throughout the tale the author compares and contrasts good vs. evil. The evil character is portrayed through Grendel, an evil “monster.” Different characteristics of him such as, what he looks like, where he lives, and what he does, conforms the idea of evil in the 8th century. Today evil can not be described the same way it was in Beowulf.

Originating in the Anglo-Saxon period, the epic poem Beowulf portrays a legendary hero. Beowulf established the earlier form of heroism, and was then later introduced in to the English culture. Praised and admired by many people, Beowulf possesses several distinct traits that allow him to be defined perfectly as an ideal Anglo-Saxon hero; his eagerness to seek glory and fame, rather than richness and treasures, his loyalty and graceful attitude not only to his rulers but also to his followers, and his contradictory beliefs of faith and fate

Beowulf (Ray Winstone) is a legendary Geatish warrior who travels to Denmark with his band of soldiers, including his best friend, Wiglaf (Brendan Gleeson). They travel in response to the call of King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), who needs a hero to slay a monster called Grendel (Crispin Glover), a hideously disfigured troll-like creature with superhuman strength. Grendel attacks Hrothgar's mead hall, Heorot, whenever the Danes hold a celebration there, and Hrothgar was forced to close the hall. Upon arriving, Beowulf immediately becomes attracted to Hrothgar's wife, Queen Wealtheow (Robin Wright Penn), who does not love her husband and reciprocates Beowulf's interest.

The epic tale of Beowulf was written sometime after his death. In other words, a long time ago during the Anglo-Saxon period. Today, directors in Hollywood did not keep from creating their own rendition of this epic poem As a result, plenty of modern interpretations of Beowulf, such as Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel, have been released. Naturally, the cultural values that might be reflected in modern Beowulf renditions will demonstrate a clash with those of the original fifth century Beowulf literature. One reason for this is that in the modern age we value characters with profound characteristics, characters that change due to the challenges they experience; characters that we as the audience can attach to. Flat characters like those of the original Beowulf text are difficult to empathize with since they are not realistic enough for our standards. Due to these differences in culture and values, the Beowulf and Grendel from the original Beowulf text possess definite contrasts when compared with their Beowulf and Grendel counterparts.

The word Viking is defined as a person of any Scandinavian seafaring pirates and the traders who raided and settled in many parts of the northwestern Europe in the eighth century to the eleventh century. However not much is known about the culture. In the Viking era, the character Beowulf would be seen as a valiant and courageous warrior. On the other hand, today in present times, it may be possible for him to not be seen in such an upstanding light.