Exeter Riddles

True heroes are brave and bold. They often sacrifice themselves in order to save many others. In a multitude of works of literature, heroes are common and often symbolize the good of humanity and the strength of self. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the character Beowulf, the defender of Geat and Herot, clearly exemplifies the traits that mark an ideal hero. Beowulf’s strength, quest for glory, and egocentric personality characterize him as a true hero.

To honor the Beowulf’s heroic life and battles, I’ve been assigned as one of his closest warriors to exclaim his appellation and share the stories of his battles. One of the citizen came up to me and asked, “I heard that Beowulf was an amazing guy, but I never fully knew him. Could you tell me more about him?” I was extremely excited as this man was the first person to ever ask me about Beowulf. “Beowulf was a strong leader and a great friend. Although he might not have been a very humble man, he was nowhere near being a bully. He’s the type of man that would belittle anyone who hurts the weak and innocent. Beowulf was mettlesome and was never intimidated by any menace.” The man’s eyes were already widen. “He sounds like a guy I would wanna be protected by,” the citizen said, “Can you tell me about one of his battles?” I prepared myself as I was about to begin a long lecture of how strong Beowulf was.

In the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the stupendous hero’s many great deeds often appear to be for other’s benefit, yet Beowulf’s final conquest exposes his lust for glory and fame, thereby showing his lack of concern for anything else. This lust for immense glory and fame feeds his ego and causes his death and the imminent downfall of his great people the Geats.

          "....He meant to kill this monster himself, our mighty king, fight this battle alone               and unaided, as in the days when his strength and daring dazzled men's eyes. But               those days are over and gone and our lord must lean on younger arms. And we               must go to him, while angry flames burn at his flesh, help our glorious king! By               almighty God I'd rather burn myself than see flames swirling around my lord.               And who are we to carry home our shields before we've slain his enemy and ours,               to run back to our homes with Beowulf so hard pressed here? I swear that                    nothing he ever did deserved an end like this, dying miserable and alone,                    butchered by this savage beast: we swore that these swords and armor were each               for us all!..."

He tells them to let him fight the monster alone, “By my courage I will get gold, or war will take your king, dire life-evil.” (60)

Beowulf is a great warrior perpetually pursuing glory. He is regarded as an example to all, described on first sight to be “well born / and worthy of respect,” yet Beowulf is prime example of reckless behavior (368-9). When he hears that the demon Grendel “scorns / in his reckless way to use weapons” he decides to also

In today’s society, we see violence as a way to cope with all types problems. Humans have used violence as a way to resolve issues since ancient times. The poem “Beowulf” was written between the eighth and eleventh century by an anonymous author. The poem recounts the story of a brave warrior, named Beowulf, who battles three great monsters. Two of the monsters, Grendel and Grendel’s Mother, terrorize the people of Daneland and the third monster, the Dragon, lives in Beowulf's homeland. The epic poem “Beowulf” illustrates and normalizes the idea of violence within the Pagan Warrior Culture.

“They themselves looked on when, bloody from my foes, I came from the fight where I had bound five, destroyed a family of giants, and at night in the waves slain water-monsters, suffered great pain, avenged an affliction of the Weather-Geats on those who asked for trouble – ground enemies to bits”(8).

more of our men- and stripped the dead bodies; The brave, bold Danes!” (Beowulf pg. 86]. These words prompt the youngsters to thirst for vengeance and glory with the mention of how their ancestors

His courageousness allowed him the most impressive fight of his life. “He needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I (ll 190-191)”, Beowulf is so

Beowulf on the other hand, uses his strength, he tells Hrothgar that “Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Beowulf50) ,his poem glorifies war and battles, he settles his disputes with battles and

As I am informed this unlovely one/ is careless enough to carry no weapon,/ so that my Lord Hygelac, my leader in war,/ may take joy in me, I abjure utterly/ the bearing of sword or shielding yellow/ board in this battle! With bare hands shall I/ grapple with the fiend, fight to the death here,/ hater and hatred! He who is chosen/ shall deliver himself to the Lord's judgment. (Beowulf 434-441)

In the epic poem of Beowulf, written by an unknown monk in about 725 AD, the Anglo-Saxon virtue of comitatus is displayed as a slowly dying aspect of life. Comitatus is the basic idea that everyone protects the king at all costs even if it means a warrior giving up his own life, and if a king is killed, the warriors must avenge the death of the king or they can no longer serve as warriors for the next king. This value of comitatus is displayed mostly through the three battles that Beowulf encounters during the epic poem. An analysis of the three battles is important because Beowulf’s choice of weapons, behavior of the Thanes, and preparation for and attitude toward battle all emphasize the death of the Anglo-Saxon virtue of

Each and every day we encounter struggles, internal conflicts and external battles throughout one's life. When facing conflict, a man will make his move and the other will proceed to as well. A true warrior would not lose without putting up a fight. Every battle shows right and wrong, good and evil. Jesus symbolizes the virtuous, while the devil symbolizes the wicked. Both serve as substantial contributions to the lives of everyone in this world. The devil fights to take over everything in a person's life. All of mankind has an obligation to fight back, to not let the devil take over their souls, and to call on Jesus for help. Jesus stays right by their side at all times, watching over them at all times. God and his righteousness strikes fear in the devil. The devil fears his power may one day diminish and his world would cease to exist. Because of this, the devil puts in a greater effort as an attempt to win the battle against each individual soul. The widely known epic poem, Beowulf, proves this theory. Some people assume that in Beowulf, the Christianity through the story was added in by Christian monks on a mission to lead the pagan communities closer to an understanding and constant relationship with God himself. The two completely different views help bring the story together to create something so advanced that keeps the reader guessing. Through centuries of the poem being told, it has made its way to high school literature textbooks. Every character in the story

People’s demons, if living with a burden such as a little individual living within you, can bring many sane individuals to their knees. A man’s success at removing this parasite unlocks many avenues for someone to rise above others in regards to mental strength. An example of this in Beowulf’s encounter and response with Unferth, “We were both too young to know better- that’d we risk our lives far out at sea.”(269-270) It represents Beowulf challenging his inner demon of getting even footing by striking out with verbal abuse. Before this, Beowulf’s welcoming party was met with an ill-mannered warrior judging Beowulf on his status, in which during this event he calmly stated his previous exploits in childhood were of desperation and loyalty to each other, and afterwards getting approval and renown unexpectedly from Hrothgar. One other example of fighting an inner demon is located in stanza eight, “That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime, knew at once that nowhere on Earth had he met a man whose hands were harder.” (432-434) This quote represents a factor of power flowing through Beowulf and him already challenging his inner demons to fight a monster capable of turning men to red paste. Before this, Grendel was consuming warriors’ one at a time, during this time Beowulf seized upon his inner strength and deflected Grendel’s own fear back at him, thus making his presence seem less intimidating. Afterwards, making Grendel wish he never came up from his marshes but to run away. Both of these instances provided a gateway for Beowulf to represent his true colors of being a warrior to and both a leader and follower of a code all at