How Is Beowulf An Epic Hero

Every epic hero acquires certain heroic characteristics. The poem, “Beowulf, is about the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon period. Beowulf is a warrior from Geatland that comes to help Hrothgar, the king of Danes, defeat the monster Grendel who has been killing men in their kingdom. Beowulf defeats the unstoppable beast, Grendel. Then Grendel’s mother comes to try to avenge Grendel’s death, and Beowulf slaughters her in her underwater lair. After 50 peaceful years of ruling the Geats, Beowulf in his old age fights his last battle with a dragon. He defeats the dragon, with help from Wiglaf, but dies as a result. The main character, Beowulf exemplifies many characteristics that an epic hero possesses. Beowulf’s characteristics include

Author, the character Beowulf portrays several traits of an epic hero .The first trait of an epic hero Beowulf demonstrates is superhuman strength. The narrator describes Beowulf as the strongest in the world ‘’Beowulf, Higlac’s follower and the strongest of the Geats – greater and stronger than anyone in this world’’ (line 110, pg23).This quote from the epic poem goes to show Beowulf’s superhuman strength makes him an epic hero, furthermore, without his strength he would not fall into the category of an epic hero. In the next example of how Beowulf possess traits of an epic hero is his bravery. Beowulf is not afraid to chase monsters ‘’I drove five great giants

An epic hero displays bravery, courage, and strength. An epic hero also wants to achieve immortality through heroic actions. Beowulf can be categorized as a legendary epic hero. There are many things that prove Beowulf is an epic hero in the poem. He proves that he is an epic hero through his heroic actions that occur throughout the poem.

Beowulf’s strength is exemplified many times in the story. Beowulf was said to have “the strength of thirty men in his mighty handgrip.” He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all but his last. In his argument with Unferth, Beowulf explains the reason he lost a swimming match with his opponent Brecca. Not only had Beowulf been swimming for seven nights, he had also stopped to kill nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean. Beowulf is also strong enough to kill the monster Grendel with his bare hands by ripping off his arm. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s mother, he is able to slay her by slashing the monster’s neck with a giant sword that can only be lifted by a person as strong as Beowulf. When he chops off her head, he carries it from the ocean with no difficulty, but it takes four men to lift and carry it back to Heorot. This strength is a key trait of Beowulf’s heroism.

Beowulf is a hero because of his actions in the novel. Heroic traits includes determination, physical strength, courage, loyalty, and leadership, which Beowulf demonstrated throughout the story. A quote from Beowulf shows an example of his determination, “…Fought with fate against him, with glory/ Denied him. He knew it, but he raised his sword/ And struck at the dragon’s scaly hide,” (Beowulf-Translator). Beowulf realized that there was a chance he would not win the battle, however his determination did not stop him from trying. Another quote from Beowulf shows his courage, “Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life/ Against the monster,” (Beowulf- Translator). Beowulf fought against Grendel without any weapons, just his

An epic hero is someone who is of great importance, they have supernatural abilities, have some form of connection with the Gods, and accomplish great deeds. In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is the epic hero in his tale and he is considered great by those who know of his life. There are two versions of his story which portrays him in a certain way. The video version does not do its best to portray him as an epic hero but instead show that he is a liar, a womanizer, and a coward. The written version does not portray him as such, it portrays him as someone who is strong, brave, and fearless. The written version best portrays Beowulf as an epic hero by showing his actions involving superhuman deeds in battle.

In Anglo Saxon times, Beowulf is considered a well known epic hero. “Epic heroes are literary characters from ancient mythology and other stories, which were written down in the form of long, narrative epic poems. The hero is the main character, or protagonist of the poem”("Epic Hero: Definition, Characteristics & Examples."). The epic hero usually battles for accomplishments to a set of tasks to complete important goals. Beowulf is described as an epic hero because of his honor, bravery, and intelligence.

In the epic poem, Beowulf holds a trait of being strong. There are many ways Beowulf shows he is strong on this poem. Grendel is harming people, so Beowulf is out to kill him. It states on line 468-472 “In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain and defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel’s taut throat, he’ll captive caught in the arms of him who of all the men on earth was the strongest.” Grendel is fighting the strongest man on earth, there will be no way to defeat him. Grendel had not been able to be defeated in 12 years, and Beowulf is able to defeat him with his bare hands in a night, showing how strong he actually is in comparison to other people. In lines 151-155 it tells you “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, chased all of that race from the earth.” We can assume that Beowulf was in battle with the five great giants, and he defeated them. Beowulf was able to drive five giants into chains, that is not something

During the time of anglo-saxon culture there is certain virtues that everybody must display to be considered an epic hero during that time period. Epic heroes are individuals that are good in society and they usually go out on journeys to defeat evil with god on their side. Beowulf is the main character in the story Beowulf and he's considered to be an epic hero because he displayed the virtues in anglo-saxon culture, this resulted in having his name passed down. Beowulf relied on the virtues to succeed in life because, if he failed to display them to be considered an epic hero his name and ruling in Geatland would cease to exist.

Beowulf is considered to be an epic hero. An epic hero is a character in an epic poem who is noble, brave, and is affected by great events or admired for his achievements. Beowulf was a dedicated person and devoted to his kingdom. Throughout the story, Beowulf achieved many accomplishments and goals. While overcoming achievements such as killing monsters and saving Heorot, Beowulf was beyond brave, strong, and heroic.

Hero is a term that is very over used in modern-day society. People often use the word to describe someone who has simply helped another person out without risking anything himself. However, though these people do deserve to be praised, they are not real heroes. Beowulf, on the other hand, frequently displays all the qualities that a hero should have and is absolutely deserving of that title. Beowulf is an exemplary archetypal epic hero because he is very ethical, is a strong and responsible leader, and demonstrates superior strength, intelligence, and courage.

In the story of Beowulf, he demonstrates many heroic qualities. One of Beowulf’s most memorable qualities is his inhuman strength. While defeating Grendel, Beowulf decided weapons were child’s play and of no use to him in battle. To defeat the Grendel, Beowulf decided to do the job hands-on, no weapon or any help. Beowulf severed Grendel’s arm,and the monster bled to death. Soon after Grendel’s death, his mother came for Beowulf. When Beowulf went to fight her, he almost died. He survided though, due to his incredible strength. He had picked up a giant’s sword and killed Grendel’s mother in one fail swoop.

A character that conquers evil, exemplifies bravery and is personified as a cultural legend can be considered an epic hero. An epic hero is someone who is noble and brave and accomplishes heroic acts that define their legacy while suffering an internal conflict. An embodiment of an ideal epic hero is Beowulf from the epic Beowulf who sets an unmatched example as an epic hero due to the fact that he displays a great deal of bravery, overcomes evil, and stands as a cultural legend while fighting with internal conflict. Beowulf’s journey as an epic hero involves killing demons and their moms along with protecting his kingdom by fighting a fire breathing poisonous dragon. Most epic heroes have an internal struggle that comes up throughout

Beowulf, an adventure story translated by Burton Raffel and Seamus Heaney, is an Old English epic poem about Beowulf, a hero who falls into the category of an epic hero due to his willingness to die for others or glory, his performance of brave deeds, and his skills as a leader. Beowulf's willingness to die for glory or society is shown when the translator writes, "He had traveled to the bottom of the earth… and died there if that shining woven medal had not helped." (Raffel 27). This shows how he valued the life of others and the potential of greatness above his own. It is possible to argue that Beowulf assumed this fight would be similar to his fight with Grendel and therefore did not think his life was at risk until

Beowulf was an ancient oral story told by the Anglo-Saxon about a hero who saves a kingdom from two grueling monsters. Roman monks took account of this story and wrote it down to bring it back to Rome. A nasty monster named Grendel has been attacking Herot, the kingdom of Hrothgar, so a warrior named Beowulf comes to the kingdom to kill the monster. When  Beowulf kills the monster and its mother, only be slain by a dragon years later. Beowulf was different from a normal person, and possessed many characteristics of a hero.