Gilgamesh And Beowulf Comparison

When Beowulf first hears of the horrendous creature Grendel who slaughtered many of Hrothgar’s men He sails with his men to Herot he gets stopped at the entrance by a soldier. The soldier of course does not trust Beowulf so he asks who his father is. Whoever was your father really mattered, it said what kind of person you were because of your fathers actions. The soldier says to Beowulf “Tell me your name/ and your fathers; no spies go further into Danish/ soil than you’ve already come” (lines 165-168). Beowulf explains who his father was and his intentions in Herot. Beowulf says that he has heard of the monster and all he wants is to help them because they have suffered for too long. The soldier guarding the entrance into Herot let Beowulf and his men enter, the soldier seems to trust Beowulf and he says to him. “’ A soldier should know the difference between words/ and deeds and keep that knowledge clear in his brain. I believe your words, I trust in/ your friendship”’ (lines 200-203). Beowulf sails to Herot to kill a monster that has murdered many men. He does this for many reasons he to help, he wants everyone to see his ability, and he just wants some glory.

Yes Beowulf was a “hero” but he didn’t have to kill someone in cold blood. When he felt the wrath of Grendel’s mother that was the pain and anger caused by him from killing Grendel. He could have banished him or blockaded him from the town. There were numerous things they could have tried to keep him from killing people.

Beowulf has come because he has heard the stories of Grendel taking over Herot at its weakest, at night. His people have said, for him to go to the Danes Great king because they know about his battles. His battles being he captured five great giants into chains, and at the darkest of the night he would swim and hunt monster out of the ocean. So now that Beowulf has told his accomplishments his single request was to make him Lord and protector of the Danes, and with him and the help of his men they would eliminate all evil from that hall. Beowulf has now decided that he would fight Grendel with no weapons, and Higlac would think less of him if did, he would leave it up to God to decided who would die in that battle. Beowulf’s is thinking of

Beowulf proclaims “In the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together” (liens 156-160). Beowulf claims that he must go to defeat Grendel, as it was his errand, or his duty, and his fate. This speech he makes to King Hrothgar reinforces his true reason to come to the King, not for any pride. Another vow Beowulf makes is when he says “That this is one favor you should not refuse me—That I, alone and with the help of my men, many purge all evil form this hall” (lines 163-166). In this line, Beowulf is pleading for the King to do one thing, which is to give him the permission for him and his men to go and fight Grendel, what Beowulf had arrived for. The fact that Beowulf asks the king for only one thing, which is to fight Grendel, shows Beowulf’s selflessness and concern for the safety of others. At no part does he ask for a reward, but even says that if fate is in favor of Grendel to give his armor back to his family. These words help paint the image of Beowulf being concerned for others, not for his

“...Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror And quickly commanded a boat fitted out, Proclaiming that he’d go to that famous king,...” (36). Beowulf went to the King confidently, he wasn’t intimidated and he didn’t back down because he is brave. By him having those heroic attributes, he made the story different by actually going to fight rather than “fleeing.” He chose 14 of the strongest and bravest men he could find and went to find

In the first part of the poem there is no questioning of ethical standards of the hero by the author. In the first part Beowulf puts his trust in God, and gives himself in selfless service to his fellow-man, to people in need, and to his king. He distributes very generously almost all the gifts received for services rendered at Heorot. His death in combat in Denmark would have brought no calamity to others. But later in the poem, with 50 years of kingship behind him, Beowulf had a huge responsibility to his nation. And he let his nation down. How did it happen? First of all, he discontinued his acknowledgement of God as the source of his strength and good fortune in combat (Who made available to him the sword for killing Grendel’s mother?). Secondly, the hero becomes more selfish in the second part of the poem: As Beowulf goes to meet the dragon, does he mention the

To begin, Beowulf has a complex motivation for fighting the monster Grendel. His first motivation is duty which is part of the Anglo-Saxon code he’s obligated to go and kill Grendel. His people told him so go and do it so he does duty comes first and personal choice comes second. On page 47 lines 244-246 Beowulf says, “My people have said, the wisest, most knowing And best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king.”

Beowulf first task on his path to gain glory is to defeat the merciless monster Grendel, who haunts Heorot for twelve long winters. If he wins this battle, he does not only gain glory and respect for himself, but also for his king and clan. He exhibits all the great qualities of a person and has a lot of esteem and admiration for his king Hygelac. One of the ways we can show Beowulf’s loyalty to Hygelac is when Beowulf explains to Hrothgar how he was going to fight Grendel “I have heard moreover that

Heroism is found throughout stories and legends, in Beowulf we see the heroic hearts of two heroes-Gilgamesh and Beowulf. Gilgamesh is a historic figure and has impacted many nations and fueled some of the most interesting and heroic legends around his name. He possessed super-human strength and lead an exceptionally long life. This makes for great potential in an epic character to be remembered throughout history. He was the fifth King of Uruk, which suggests his authority as well as being a born leader.

Beowulf’s people describe him as the strongest and he has the Geat's trust; therefore, when he found out about Grendel, Beowulf knew he was capable to fight. This shows that he was a hero of high status and legendary importance. His goal was to “purge all evil from this hall.” (Beowulf 48) and that was what he did. The Geats saw Beowulf as confident and he saw himself like that as well. The gasconade exemplified Beowulf as greedy “they have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood” (Beowulf 152). The qualities of a hero are noticed in Beowulf throughout his first two battles.

Beowulf was a good king. He wasn’t greedy or mean or selfish, he put his people first. And it’s evident in the fact that he went to fight the dragon himself, when he could’ve got some other “hero” to do it. “...he saw nothing to fear, thought nothing of the beast’s claws,

The character Beowulf embodied the Pagan heroic code (comitatus), but he also exhibited Christian values. Overall, he was a warrior and a hero who sought fame and reputation. Most of his actions were motivated by his desire to be remembered after his death as a courageous and loyal warrior. When Beowulf hears about Hrothgar’s trouble he goes to help him. He wants to help him for a few reasons, all of which relate to the comitatus. He wants to acquire fame and he wants lifelong honor. By beating Grendel he would receive honor and his reputation would be enhanced. Also, Beowulf wants to repay Hrothgar for settling a feud for his father years before. Beowulf is willing to do battle for the old king even though it means that he could die.

I must disagree with you here Daniel. I do think that Beowulf received what he wanted as a warrior. He received the glory of defeating Grendel. and Grendel's mother and even became the King of the Geats. Yes Beowulf might have not deserved his death at the end but he certainly brought himself into it. No one called him to come forth to the land of the Scyldings to defeat the monster, Grendel. He in fact came by himself, although he never officially stated that he sought glory he in fact did so when we came to fight Grendel. There was no need for him to come over, logically speaking. But he let his emotions get the best of him. One, he most likely came to seek glory and fortune. Secondly, and less likely, he came to defend the Scyldings and

Beowulf is always seeking to help his enrich his image. This flaw in his character, as well as his feeling of invincibility leads to his downfall later in life. “Again and again the angry monsters made fierce attacks, I served them well with my noble blade, as was only fitting. Small pleasure they had in such a sword-feast, dark things in the sea that meant to eat me, …I had chanced to kill some nine sea-beasts. I never have heard of a harder night-fight under heaven’s vault, or a man more oppressed on the ocean streams.”(Beowulf p83) It is very apparent here that Beowulf is extremely proud of what he had accomplished, and was not going to let some other person who had done no major heroic deed try to put him down. In fact, he goes on to say that no one in the world has fought such a hard fight as he did that night.

Beowulf was also a loyal and noble warrior. Even though he kills Grendel and is ready to go back to his kingdom, he stays when Grendel’s mom attacks. He gave his word to Hrothgar and followed what he said plus more. Beowulf also leads the Geat kingdom for fifty years in peace and prosperity. The book states Beowulf is a “noble protector of all seamen” since he would do whatever he could to get rid of the bad to insure good.