Bravery In Beowulf

He came to Hrothgar to offer his service because Hrothgar provided help to Beowulf's father. It is loyalty and appreciation that leads Beowulf to the Danish kingdom to help out. Hrothgar welcomes Beowulf, saying, "Beowulf, you've come to us in friendship, and because of the reception your father found at court" (Beowulf 39). Because of Hrothgar's intervention, there was peace between the Geats and the Danes, therefore ensuring the loyalty of Beowulf's family. Beowulf’s sense of loyalty is recognized when he speaks to Wealtheow, Hrothgar's queen, about his motives for coming to the court. “I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. As I sat in the boat with my band of men, I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend's clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead-hall” (Beowulf 632-638). Beowulf shows that his loyalty is with the king and the Danes, and he is willing to die in the process of trying to save them.

The main characteristics of an epic hero are strength, courage and loyalty. Beowulf demonstrates his strength in his battle with Grendel. With his extraordinary strength, Beowulf is able to bend back the claws Grendel “as Beowulf leaned up on one arm” (Beowulf line 190), and he keeps hold of Grendel’s hands long enough for Grendel to eventually fight back so hard his arm rips off. Not only is he strong enough to defeat Grendel with his bare hands, but Beowulf also lifts the sword of a giant to defeat Grendel’s mother. He courageously volunteers himself into battle with “A powerful monster, living down / In the darkness” (34-35). This monster also has a mother who is stronger than him, but Beowulf does not fear. Beowulf courageously goes down to the darkness where their den lies and comes up with Grendel’s head and the handle of the sword he uses to kill Grendel’s mother. Later in life, “Beowulf [utters] his final boast: / “ I’ve never known fear; as a youth I fought / in endless battles. I am old, now, / But I will fight again” (483-486). Beowulf utters his final boast before he courageously goes into his final battle which he loses to the dragon. In loyalty to the men that serve him, Beowulf makes sure that if he does not return from his battle with Grendel’s mother they will be able to return to their homeland. He

Beowulf displays bravery several times throughout the story. He shows bravery by coming to Herot to help Hrothgar and his men by offering to fight Grendel. He stated “Now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come, grant me then, lord and protector of this noble place, a single request” (pg.48). He again shows bravery when he goes down in the water to fight Grendel’s mother, after she attacked and

Throughout his reign as the ruler of the Geats, Beowulf is a benevolent leader bringing peace and power to his nation as Hrothgar instructs him to do after the great warrior defeats Grendel’s mother. Hrothgar relates to him as “King of the Danes”, who brought little joy to the Danish people, only death and destruction. He tells Beowulf to learn from this and understand true value. Hrothgar intends that this information can be carried on with Beowulf. Hrothgar was a brave and strong-minded man.

Not only is Beowulf honorable and well respected, he is brave as well. His courage is shown by not hesitating to risk his own life to pursue the Dane’s enemies. By being self-assured, Beowulf is able to successfully defeat the fiends, Grendel and his infamous mother. At the time Beowulf is planning to pursue the vindictive dragon, the epic poem states, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.”(ll. 2511-2515). He feels no fear, is confident in fighting the dragon alone, and has no qualms in risking his life to save others. He declares his bravery by saying, “When he comes to me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins... No one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster.”(ll. 2525-2534). In his actions, Beowulf’s bravery is clearly shown throughout the poem.

Beowulf first displays his courage during his fight with the evil monster Grendel. In the poem, Beowulf challenges the beast to duel and says that he will fight him with no weapons and armor to show his courage. “No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares” (Heaney 683-685). This shows how much courage Beowulf has because he is fighting a descendent from Cain and is taking him on without any weapons and armor. Secondly, Beowulf does not hesitate for one second and takes on the beast without any help, this shows how courages the hero is.

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.

During Beowulf’s time, a trait many Anglo-Saxons valued was loyalty. This trait was necessary in the pagan warrior culture that Beowulf lived in and was a key factor in many actions he did. For example, he participated in many events that were grueling for any person, but for Beowulf he would do it in the name of his nation. This is shown when he states, “They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies / when I battled and bound five beasts, / raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea / slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats” (419-423). Beowulf is willing to put himself through long lasting hardships in order to represent his nation. Also, it may appear Beowulf originally kills off Grendel for the Danes (his other fights have been strictly for the Geats) but really, he is paying off a debt to the Danish king for protecting his father’s life and ending a feud started by his father. The king briefly explains this occurrence when telling Beowulf, “There was a feud

Beowulf demonstrates his loyalty toward his troops and his superiors time and time again throughout the poem. The first time this virtue is demonstrated in the story is when Beowulf shows eagerness to help Hrothgar and the Danes defeat Grendel. Aside from his desire to get rich and famous, Beowulf feels indebted to Hrothgar because he assisted Beowulf's father, Ecgtheow, a long time ago (470). He feels as though he owes Hrothgar his service after what Hrothgar did for his father during a feud. Beowulf also shows loyalty to his king and his homeland by returning home to Geatland after his victory in Denmark. He eventually becomes king of the Geats after Hygelac dies (2370). In this way, he fulfills his loyalty to the king and to his people.

After the first victory, Beowulf’s “comrades willingly go with him because of their confidence in his ability to lead them and to achieve their objectives” (Loughman). Beowulf becomes a role model not only for his thanes, but for the Danes of Heorot as well. Following defeat of Grendel’s mother, Hrothgar gives a sermon before the celebration honoring Beowulf begins. Hrothgar says “Beowulf, my friend, your fame has gone far and wide, you are known everywhere….forever you will be your people’s mainstay and your own warriors’ helping hand” (McArthur). King Hrothgar informs Beowulf of his significance to the Danes and how he serves as the backbone of his group of warriors.

Beowulf’s heroism does not change over time; he develops from a youthful energetic warrior into a wise old man that still protects people no matter what. In literature, heroism can be best described as showing great acts of bravery and someone that displays courage mainly in battles. Beowulf is a prime example of a hero, seeing that his traits as a hero consists of bravery, loyalty, honor, physical strength and the willingness to risk his own life for others. He displays these qualities best because he conquers a lot to get the title “hero” and by the end of the book all of those assets pay off. The Geats is his tribe and it settled in the southern part of Sweden. Hrothgar and the mead hall of Heorot were from the Danish island, Sjaelland. Beowulf has experience with battling monsters; it will not be difficult for him. He feels as if he has a reputation to uphold and that he must show his bravery.

A characteristic of Beowulf is courageous. Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. Beowulf wasn’t necessarily frightened, but he did do something that frightened the men of Hrothgar. Beowulf does many things to show his courage to the people of Hrothgar. One way he shows his courage is when he fights Grendel, the monster who was killing and eating the men of Hrothgar, without any

“I sold my life for this treasures and I sold it well. Take what I leave, Wiglaf, lead my people” (59, 820). Beowulf was loyal to Higlaf because he wanted to send his armour to Higlaf. “ IF death takes me, send the hammered mail my armour to Higlaf. “ The Geats and Higlaf considered Beowulf as a loyal

In Beowulf the classic epic, Beowulf, the hero of the epic, and other major characters reflect heroic ideals and beliefs of courage, generosity, unquestioning loyalty and devotion. Courage is most evident throughout Beowulf Beowulf does not back down from any challenge that stands in his way whether it be Grendel, Grendel’s mother, or the dragon. His bravery is most evident in his preparation for his fight with Grendel, Beowulf, “took off his shirt of armour, the helmet from his head, handed his embellished sword, best of irons to an attendant,…” He chose to bravely fight his foe, man to beast without weaponery for he knew it would be “cowardly” to defeat Grendel with a sword and armor when Grendel himself had none. Even in his

Next, while Beowulf is traveling to Denmark he knows that he might not be as good as he was back home because now he will be facing Hrothgar. And he will always be protected by god because Hrothgar is the king of geats. But Beowulf is already familiar with Hrothgar because Hrothgar was good friends with Beowulf’s family but mostly he was friends with Beowulf’s father . Beowulf and Hrothgar both was a combat which meant that they both fought between the armed forces..