Beowulf’s bravery is strongly supported by his actions. The great warrior goes into every battle with the knowledge that death could be a possible outcome, but rather than seeing it as an obstacle, he is always accepting of his wyrd. His motivation is the well-being of his people, as well as a sense of achievement. Beowulf is truly a hero because of his admirable courage and selflessness. Beowulf’s bravery allowed him to face the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. The warrior’s courage shows when he decides to go into the battle with Grendel, a horrifying and powerful creature, without any form of armor, just his strength. He does not hesitate or worry at the sight of another fight, instead he welcomes it. He is always willing
Loyalty and bravery are themes that are often found in literature, and Beowulf is no exception. It is one of the reasons I find this poem so interesting. Beowulf is the hero of the poem who decides to sail to Denmark with hope of protecting the Danish people from a creature known as Grendel, who has attacked and devoured many of King Hrothgar’s warriors while they were asleep. Like all heroes, Beowulf exhibits true bravery, courage, and puts the people before himself, which makes him a very likely candidate for king. Even before he faces the terrifying monster, Grendel, Beowulf renounces the uses of weapons when he says “Soon I shall sink him into death-sleep, not with my sword but solely by strength. He is unschooled in skills to strike against
The portrayal of bravery as a heroic quality in Beowulf differs from that of Dan Evans’ in numerous ways. Being the traditional, valiant hero, Beowulf’s bravery is unmatched among the thanes of Heorot and he leaps at the chance to slay the terrible monster Grendel. Described as a “brave thane of the Geats” (Beowulf 2), Beowulf’s strength and daring spirit is demonstrated with his admirable feats of bravery, including “[destroying] five a family of giants” and “[slaying] monsters on the waves” (372). Beowulf’s daring exploits leads him to challenge Grendel in single combat in order to slay the terrorizing beast. He expresses his courage and confidence through his boast, stating that he considered himself “[…] no less brave than Grendel himself/
Theme is the matter of a subject within a piece of writing. Throughout this essay examples of mesopotamian literature, old english poetry and ancient greek literature are brought up. The central theme throughout all these epics is bravery. I chose bravery because each one of these characters risks their lives to save others. The ability to take on life threatening battles is an extreme form of bravery.
From his astonishing strength, to his unmatched courage, Beowulf is the perfect embodiment of the Anglo-Saxon concept of a hero. Throughout his tail, Beowulf consistently shows his immense strength. For instance, when he decides to fight Grendel without a sword, and wins. In addition, a hero must show unwavering courage, especially in the face of danger. Beowulf displays his courage multiple times throughout his journey, but specifically in the cave when fighting Grendel's mother.
In beowulf the main consequence of cowardice or any weakness really was death and it played a basic but important roll the ultimate end as this it showed how important every battle war challenge was and would be to the people there in that time. Beowulf sees lots of death as it's explained he is a seasoned warrior and has won many battles and from the very beginning it paints a very gruesome picture as it shows the world as the monster grendel attacks showing a world of monsters and uncertainty for men because of those creatures, I'm thinking that longevity was pretty low and getting old was a rare and lucky thing amongst men in in anglo-saxon era the mortality in beowulf shows really when beowulf dies as an old man at the end of his story
Valor is defined as displaying great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. Characters in literature often display intense courage when they face a difficult or dangerous situation. In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, and hero, Beowulf displays extreme courage in the situations thrown his way. Beowulf had to fight many horrible creatures, such as Grendel, a prideful demon who wanted everyone to be as miserable as he was, Grendel's mother, a spiteful she-wolf, and the dragon, who is greedy and hateful. In each of the battles, Beowulf showed intense courage where others did not.
Sir Winston Churchill once said “ Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision”. This relates to Beowulf because the epic poem has a lot of hidden messages. One of the biggest messages of the poem is courage, which Beowulf and Wiglaf both posses the trait of courage. This poem shows that courage is when a person sticks through it when times get tough.
Beowulf’s most magnificent act of courage is when he takes on the dreaded Grendel. “For twelve winters” (147) Grendel terrorized the Dane’s famous hall, Heorot, where the King of the Danes, Hrothgar, resides. Beowulf’s primary reason for traveling to the Daneland is to fight the “ ‘corpse-maker mongering death” (276). Beowulf knows of the destructive path Grendel has went through Heorot Hall but he still shows courage to fight the demonic creature with knowing his history. Beowulf tells Hrothgar of his courage to relieve the doubts of victory “ ‘they [have] seen me bolstered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea-brutes” (419-422).
In Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, courage is undoubtedly the most important trait a man could have. The Geats thrived for 50 years under the powerful and courageous reign of King Beowulf. However, the Danes suffered through twelve winters under Grendel because of King Hrothgar’s fear. The strength and bravery of a strong leader and warrior can lead many countries to peace and power. Throughout Beowulf, many characters exhibit courage, which increases their morale on the battlefield and leads to victory.
Courage is certainly a trait which every hero must possess, particularly because no one wants a hero who is a coward. Thankfully, Beowulf is no coward. When Beowulf hears of Grendel’s exploits in Denmark, he travels to the “distant” land, without hesitation, to rid the Danes of that “demon…conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God”. Beowulf’s courage is displayed even more when he chooses not to fight with weapons, despite knowing
A lack of bravery is seen in Hrothgar's men, who cower in their beds while Beowulf and his fellow Geats face the monster Grendel. Beowulf exhibits great bravery in everything he does before facing Grendel Beowulf took of his helmet and fought weaponless deciding that using a weapon or protection of any kind would make the battle to easy. Reckless and impressive actions like these demonstrate Beowulf's courage and daring and make him appear more heroic. Over fifty years later, Beowulf shows the same qualities when fighting the dragon, as does Wiglaf, who aids him fighting the dragon. Neither man could be deterred by lack of defense because both demonstrated heroic bravery.
Bravery is a big aspect in the book, “Beowulf” which allowed me to reflect on times I have been brave or could have been. As a kid you found it brave to walk into a room that was dark but as I have grown up, it has become harder to find scenarios to be brave. Spots is a big part of my life. Whenever we would face a good team in football or I knew I would have to wrestle someone who was considered superior to me I would usually have some type of fear or discomfort.
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
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 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.