Fame And Glory In Beowulf

The Importance of Beowulf in Modern America By Jennifer Carley Modern culture and literature include many stories of great heroes and fictional adventures. Many people grow up reading about these great adventures and looking up to the heroes of the stories. Heroes are great roll models because they are portrayed as courageous and trustworthy individuals, two very admirable qualities. Despite numerous cultural and technological advancements, life in modern America continues to bear resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon world of the hero Beowulf. The poem Beowulf, though written many centuries ago, still contains the same universal themes of any great action-adventure story in today's society. The poem is about a great hero who overcomes seemingly

A prolific and boastful hero prince who goes on many breathtaking and daring adventures that would, later on, come back to bite him in the end. This heroic tale was greatly known as “Beowulf”. Which was written around the 8th through the 11th century by an Anglo-Saxon poet. The intended audience for this story were the soldiers that followed Beowulf into battle, to instill confidence and bravery or the soldiers from other countries that were in conflict with or against Beowulf, to instill fear in the soldiers. The Beowulf tale was an oral tradition told by poets or bards before and after battles; while the warriors drank, ate, and sang. Beowulf is about a warrior prince coming to the aid of King Hrothgar of Denmark who is tormented by a demon

Beowulf is an ancient English poem that tells the tale of a young, brave warrior and the victories he obtains throughout his lifetime, up until his death. He is widely regarded as a hero throughout the lands and honorably puts his life on the line multiple times. Throughout the poem, Beowulf’s reasoning for being a hero changes. He begins his journey wanting to be a protector of people, a savior of humankind, but as the poem progresses, there is a distinct change in motivation for Beowulf, becoming more about craving glory and victory over his opponent as opposed to out of pure kindness. Beowulf conveys through this change that while it is worthwhile risking his life and being a hero in order to save his people and carry out his family

Beowulf’s virtues of courage and strength appear throughout the poem during his life as a warrior and as a king. He begins the story with courage and “the strength of thirty / in the grip of each hand” (380-381), which are vital to his accomplishments as a warrior. His courage and strength are apparent when he fights Grendel without the use of weapons. Both virtues are crucial to his success in that battle and lead him to become a leader of wisdom and stature. As king of Heorot he uses his courage and strength in the battle against the dragon. Before the fight he has a feeling of uncertainty and it is stated “He was sad at heart / unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. / His fate hovered near, unknowing but certain: / It would soon claim his coffered soul.” (2419-2424). His sense of forthcoming death may illustrates a lack of confidence in his ability to slay the dragon; however, it also shows tremendous courage by involving himself in an unevenly matched fight. Although his physical strength may have abandoned him in his last fight against the dragon, his courage and wisdom intensified his glory beyond his death.

No one, not even Beowulf himself, expected triumphing over the demon. In fact, his sullen acceptance of death in battle has allowed him to let go of fear and give in to the ending God had for him. Even after 50 years, Beowulf’s attitude towards death remains the same because he still believes that “wyrd” or fate will determine his time of death. He has lost his trust in his abilities, however, and as he gets ready to face the dragon, he knows that he no longer has the strength he used to have and will die in battle. Even so, he holds on to his position as a warrior and charges into battle before the dragon’s poisonous bite takes his life away.

“Beowulf” is a medieval heroic epic. The poem originated on the basis of ancient traditions related to pagan times. The poem represent an early example of precisely moral heroism, but not the one that is caused by the desire for fame and power. The main character of the poem, Beowulf, is capable of sacrificing himself and courage in the name of justice. He is a true hero by honoring his country and exerting his power and strength to protect others. 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. As king, Beowulf is the

Before the story of Beowulf was written down, the tale was spoken through the oral traditions characteristic of Anglo-Saxon Literature. This oral ritual was mindful not only of the particular event and time in which it was recited, but also of the receptive nature of its audience. Moreover, these stories contained repetitions of key elements and themes as a way to stress their significance. Ultimately, however, all the stories told through the oral tradition usually mirrored the principles and ideals of the Anglo-Saxon culture at the time they were told. This tradition remains ever-present within the modern text of the medieval poem of Beowulf. Two notable tales of character in the poem gain deeper nuance when placed in Beowulf’s

Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, is an oral story about a Norse hero. Beowulf is a pagan story with Christian influences. This story takes place in the Norse kingdoms of Denmark, and Sweden. The basic Viking tenants included “courage” (2), and “greatness” (2). However, there are values that are displayed by people who are greater than the common man. These values include being “prudent” (19), and being a good leader. In Norse culture, honor is a key aspect in defining a person’s status in a kingdom. Honor is defined by one’s respect, wealth and power. The primary Norse traditions are funerals (burning a ship), sailing, being a warrior, and giving gifts as sign of respect and peace. In several instances, there is a threat to civilization, or society. In most of these cases, a glorious hero saves the day. Beowulf is this hero. Beowulf arrives in Heorot hall to maintain order, in order to gain glory, and save the Danes. However, these heroes do not last forever. Beowulf’s downfall occurs because he did not listen to Hrothgar’s advice, he was a good king; but his followers did not come to his aid, and his actions, attitudes and beliefs.

In Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, Beowulf’s courageous conquering of several vicious monsters throughout the poem inspires me to continue my journey of getting through difficult times in my own life. Beowulf, a great Geat warrior, has battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon, in which he defeated them all with prowess. Beowulf puts aside his ego and wins against these monsters by focusing on protecting the Spear-Danes from the evil forces by himself, not wanting others to get hurt in the process. He perseveres through these tough actions not out of selfish ambition, but in selflessness, saying, “'Tis no matter of yours, and man cannot do it/ But me and me only, to measure his strength with/

Beowulf is an interesting, old English epic poem. Often referred to as one the most important works of Old English Literature. The author of the poem is unknown, but the date the poem was made into a manuscript is c. 975 – 1010 CE. Although, the manuscript was damaged from a fire in 1731. The poem of Beowulf is set in Scandinavia c. 700 – 1000 CE. It starts with Hrothgar, king of Danes building a mead hall for his loyal followers. Then Grendel, the monster hears everyone’s joyfulness and is over come with jealousy. The over jealous Grendel decides to attack the men in their sleep. No one is brave nor strong enough to stand up to Grendel either. This goes on for 12 years until a young warrior by the name of Beowulf over hears of Hrothgar’s troubles.

For every one of us, living in this world means waiting for our end. Let whoever can win glory before death. When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark" (Heaney 1384-1389). Beowulf’s statement is a clear depiction of a man molded by his society. He is indicating that there is no point in grieving or wasting time sitting around when vengeance could be taken.

In heroic novels or poems, there is always some sort of ulterior motive for the hero. Maybe they are doing what they do for someone else, or for a prize as in some sort of money. In the epic poem Beowulf, he is doing some things that you don’t really understand why he is doing them. There is a monster that is attacking a town in another country and he decides that he wants to help. He hears of the attacks so he heads over to meet the king of the country that is being attacked. It seems a little out of his way to sail to another country to fight a monster that isn’t even terrorizing him. You really begin to question what is driving him to do such a thing, he is completely putting himself at danger with the situation that he is about to take on. He knows that the monster Grendel is an extremely strong and dangerous monster, yet he wants to be the one to take him down. A little later on he tells you that he is doing it for three reasons: it’s his duty, he wants vengeance, and he wants the fame.

Beowulf is a poem that tells the story of a hero’s victories and defeat, first killing a demon and his mother and after being defeated by a dragon. This poem shows how spectacular epics were at this time and as the Anglo-Saxon literature took a long a long time ago. Furthermore it shows how important and recognized the heroic deeds were, so much to the point to write about the hero with qualities and characteristics that were a little overdone such as the strength of Beowulf that with one fist he tore Grendel's arm off. In the epic, the reader can witness that willpower and loyalty are more important than physical strength in battle as these allow him to be willing to face a very strong and terrifying enemies and defend his principles and friends.

In the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf struggles with prioritizing health and defending himself over his desire for fame and glory. Throughout the story Beowulf shows that he would rather get the most fame and glory possible then to protect himself. Especially towards the end he starts to not care about his health, and this shows through the fact that he is around 70 and about to fight a dragon just for fame and glory. Beowulf shows that he would rather risk everything to get glory and fame throughout the battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.

Before Beowulf was ever published as a poem, this heroic epic was told in mead halls in medieval England as an entertaining tale of bravery and glory. This manner of story telling was a major source of entertainment in that particular era and most stories were made to relate to the values shared by the community at the time. Back in Anglo-Saxon England there were few but very firm social values shared by the majority of the community. The actual creator of Beowulf is impossible to know for sure, due to the spoken aspect. However, after centuries of the story being passed down through generations, somebody had the idea to write it down, translate it, and publish it as a poem.