Beowulf's Heroic Ideals

A hero can be defined in several ways. Someone can be considered a hero by the qualities he or she displays. The epic poem Beowulf, written by an unknown author, describes the most heroic man and role model of the Anglo-Saxon times. This hero Beowulf has all the qualities and traits that a true hero expresses. Beowulf, as depicted in the epic Beowulf, is the prototype of the epic hero, a larger-than-life figure who embodies the virtues and ideals of his culture.

Beowulf is a hero, and we all know a hero when we see one. There are many traits and characteristics that make someone a hero. These traits and characteristics are more expressed in ancient epics and poems. Beowulf is one of the most famous ancient Anglo-Saxon poems still taught to this day in schools and colleges all over the world. The story starts off of how a man by the name of Beowulf receives news that a neighboring land is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. Beowulf shows several characteristics of here such as, bravery, loyalty, generosity, friendship, and showing a high level of intellect. Beowulf first shows his heroic character through his bravery while journeying on his epic quest. There are several cases where he is not afraid, and instead of being frightened, he shows great bravery. An example of from the poem is, “Instead, they inspected omens and spurred his ambitions to go, whilst he moved about like the leader he was, enlisting men, the best he could find; with fourteen others the warrior boarded the boast as captain” (Beowulf 205-210). This quote gives proof of his bravery because he was the head of the group leading his men. Beowulf proves that even he himself must be brave in order to lead the bravest of men into battle.

In the epic poem, Beowulf truly exhibits bravery and courage. There is no doubt that Beowulf is a brave man. As soon as Beowulf is summoned by Hrothgar, he doesn’t hesitate to take up the challenge to battle with Grendel. Beowulf is valiant as he said,“ my hands alone shall fight for me” (Beowulf 38). He intends to fight Grendel with his bare hands not knowing what the outcome will be. Beowulf is willing to risk his life for others which makes him courageous and brave of them all. As a young warrior, Beowulf has proven

First of all, Beowulf shows courage and bravery on his way to find Grendel and battle him. He runs after him to find out where Grendel is going and why he won't let him battle, this shows bravery because most people don't run towards danger and Beowulf did exactly that. Beowulf runs towards danger throughout the entire poem, for example in the text it says, “Have watched me rise from the darkness of war. Dripping with my enemy’s blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all that raced from the earth, I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean and killing them one by one.” (247-254). This is a great quote because it shows how it takes a great amount of bravery to battle someone that has greater than or equal strength compared to himself,(Beowulf) with it being night time it was hard to see let alone battle monsters. Another example of Beowulf showing courage is when he says, "He needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I. My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to…” (263-264) because this shows that he doesn't like an unfair fight and believes whatever his opponent has to fight with he should have the same because that's what a fair fight consist of.

Beowulf is the perfect embodiment of what a hero's role in society should be through using his unique abilities to protect the innocent, just like modern individuals and groups do in today’s society.

The author, Raffel, casts Beowulf as an epic hero, as he embodies all the characteristics of a hero. He was willing to risk his life for the love of his people because it was imperative for him to protect them from any danger. Beowulf’s agility and strength worked towards his advantage to defeat mythical creatures.He proved his worthiness and capability to defeat creatures, in order to protect the Danes, by displaying a warrior conduct of loyalty.Although he undergoes a downfall, he is a true hero who persevered until the

Working a part time job, school, and a sport can be hard sometimes. Having to juggle everything around can get tough, but you have to learn that everything won't be easy and it will get tough. Beowulf is a warrior who doesn't back out of any battle. Even when he knows it will be a tough battle, he still goes and proves himself to everyone. His bravery is what pushes him to help fight these battles that no one else thinks they can. Bravery comes in all shapes and sizes, any individual can be strong enough against anything if they put their minds to it.

The tale of Beowulf is a compelling story about a man that travels overseas to help a king Hrothgar and his kingdom under the tyranny of a demon from the seed of Cain in the bible. Beowulf then slays the demon, keeping his arm as a reward. His mother, sneaks in and steals that arm in revenge, beowulf and his warriors find her in a swamp and they fight. He then kills her and returns back to the land as a hero. He becomes king and rules for 50 years, after this he last battle is with the dragon. He kills the dragon but then is wounded and dies. Whether or not Beowulf is considered a hero will be answered through the analyzation of how he was viewed by others, what Beowulf’s intentions were, and how he saw himself. View by others According

Before sailing the seas to go to the Danish shore to help King Hrothgar, Beowulf chose the strongest men to help him in battle against Grendel, “So Beowulf chose the mightiest men he could find, The bravest and best of Geats” shows how he strategically had a plan before just going right into battle (Beowulf 100-102). He also showed loyalty to his people when he heard about the attack of the Dragon. Instead of blaming his people for what was going on he blamed himself, “Beowulf’s Sorrow beat at his heart: he accused Himself of breaking God’s law, of bringing the Almighty anger down on his people” shows how he took full responsibility for what was going on during his realm as King (Beowulf 707-709). He also would not allow any of his men to go into battle with him to against the Dragon, “And he’d go to it alone, Scorning to lead Soldiers against such An enemy” (Beowulf 725-726). He decided to go alone even though he was much older and not as strong as he was before. Although he knew that he might have needed help he did not want to put his men in that situation and possibly get them injured and/or

In Beowulf, a brave hero is introduced to create an even larger vision in the epic poem. The people who surrounded Beowulf, whether that be his people or the surrounding people he saved, he always had others looking up to him who viewed him highly. Beowulf also obtained the qualities of strength, might, and wisdom. He fought against monsters who were massive compared to him, yet showed no sign of discouragement. Beowulf was also willing to sacrifice. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep the people safe. As viewed today, some might say Beowulf possesses the

All heroes are recognized for how brave and strong they are being shown in the text. A hero of the story is always supported by the characters because the hero is the one who saves them from anything. The unknown author of the epic poem Beowulf creates the character of Beowulf who is a brave, strong, and heroic character, as demonstrate through the use of both indirect and direct characterization. The author’s purpose for creating this character is to make the protagonist be seen and stand out as a hero. Beowulf is announced as someone with the characteristic of heroism by being the one to rescue the people from the beast Grendel.

Although boasting and bravery are strong qualities, you also need to have a little bit of a warm heart to be a hero. Beowulf is selfless, a important word to signify that he would do anything to protect others. The first quote to show of Beowulf’s selflessness is, “I mean to stand, not run from his shooting Flames, stand till fate decides Which of us wins.” (638-639). This means that Beowulf is standing his ground until fate takes its course, which is selfless because he is giving his life up if that is what fate decides in order to rid of the dragon. Another notable text from the book is, “A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel. Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering forced on Hrothgar's helpless people by a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dance doubted the Victory.” (404-408). It can clearly be inferred that the people of the land were in ‘grief’, ‘sorrow’ and were ‘suffering’ because of Grendel. But, because Beowulf defeated him that grief and sorrow has been eased. Beowulf wants fame and fortune, but to also help the people who need it.

Beowulf is a picturesque example of what a hero is, and what a hero does. From his time “ hunting monsters out of the ocean” (155), to his final battle with the dragon, Beowulf was willing to risk his life to ensure the safety of his warriors and his people. As Herot came under siege from Grendel, Beowulf does not hesitate to accept the challenge in the foreign land. He vows to Hrothgar that he will

First of all, Beowulf is the pure embodiment of bravery. A man who “drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth”, and also “swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean and killing them one by one”, is clearly the bravest man alive, bar none. Furthermore, even before he slayed Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon, Beowulf already had a reputation as one of the bravest men in the word. Then, while battling the three beasts we witness in Beowulf, he further shows his bravery by killing Grendel with nothing but “the strength in his fingers.”

Monsters, in the epic poem Beowulf, a hero does morally bad things for good reasons. Beowulf's violence is not justified. He wants to be seen as a hero and get rewarded. Therefore, the Anglo Saxons accept murder and an individual is not that important to them. Monsters need to be stopped, If there was no one to stop the monsters then there would not have been a story. Beowulf, the hero in the story killed monsters just to be rewarded and praised. How far can the hero go before he is considered a villain? All he wanted to do was kill the monsters and be rewarded. The Hero's would be rewarded with possessions like gold and money. Grendel killed many people and was seen as a villain, then beowulf killed him. It raises the question what is Beowulf now? He is now a hero and a villain. Beowulf was a hero, he saved people but had to do morally bad things for good reason.