Heroism in Beowulf Essay

How does beowulf's heroic acts compare to today's heroes.Becoming a hero you do not necessarily need brute strength, but can have mental strength as well. Having pride and honor is

In “The Battle with Grendel” we also see how Beowulf can be violent. For example, lines 385-397 demonstrates how powerful Beowulf is while fighting Grendel. The quote says, “Grendel/ Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws/ Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at/ His hands. The monster’s hatred rose higher,/ But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,/ And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder/ Snapped, muscle and bone split/ And broke….Grendel escaped,/ But wounded as he was could flee to his den,/His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh,/ Only to die, to wait for the end/ Of all his days” (385-397). This moment in the text shows how intense and extreme Beowulf’s actions were while fighting the monster. We, as readers, start to see how Beowulf slowly becomes who he is trying to defeat.

The time Beowulf choose to battle Grendel if God willed him his weakest match so that he can declare an easy victory. ´´When he comes to me I mean stand not run´´. Grendel was so frightened and scared when he came eye to eye with Beowulf, then realized that his almighty strength was no competition between the weighting of the two people going at each other in that particular event .Grendel has cursed any type of metal from being able to hurt him, which shows that Beowulf was correct in not using any type of weapons against him to win so easily than defeat. When reacting to seeing Geats in the Herot, Grendel's reaction was gleeful at the prospect of all the people he would kill.

Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities: epic heroes are superhuman types of beings. They show great bravery, intelligence, strength and resourcefulness. They have a strong admiration for the values of their society. They are dominant male figures and suffer severe pain, but in

He then slashed at it with his sword. At that instant he dropped his sword because it was doing no damage to the monster. He raised the beast and threw her to the floor. But she rose and began slashing at him, he fell to the ground. She drew her dagger and was ready to avenge her son but Beowulf’s chain mail saved him. Beowulf got back on his feet and grabbed a sword that was hanging on the wall it looked like it was hammered by the gods. He lifted it over his head and stuck the beast with all the strength he had left in his body. He ripped through bone and all. Beowulf rose from the water and all the Geats stood there

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Hero’s are around us in our everyday lives such as firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect people and their property. Other hero’s can be found in literature. These hero’s, also know as an epic hero, exhibit superhuman qualities to help fight and protect others while on their quest. Being a hero means taking on enormous responsibilities. With these responsibilities comes great praise from others which both Beowulf and everyday firefighter receive for their extraordinary work.

The first major battle that Beowulf fights in is against Grendel. Beowulf’s motive for this particular fight is to get revenge for what Grendel did to the Danes. Grendel raided the Danes for a total of twelve years. As we learned throughout the book Beowulf was very selfless and was always willing to help out other people. When Grendel comes to Heorot, he devours and kills a Geatish warrior all while Beowulf watches very closely. After this, Grendel tries to reach out and get Beowulf, but is surprised to find his arm gripped with the great strength of Beowulf. Grendel tries to run back to his home in the swamplands because he knows that he will not be able to compete with the mighty Beowulf. At the end of the battle Beowulf summons great strength and rips Grendel’s arm off his body. Grendel, now fatally wounded, goes back to his home and eventually dies. Beowulf holds up the bloody arm of Grendel like a trophy and hangs it on the wall in Heorot as proof that he defeated Grendel. Around the

A hero is one who is not only strong, but one who uses his strength to uphold others. A hero is humble, philanthropic, magnanimous and selfless, a humanitarian at best. In the unprecedented epic Beowulf, the tale’s namesake exemplifies every characteristic befitting an Anglo-Saxon hero. He is honest, loyal, and courageous. He portrays these characteristics in the battle against Grendel, the affray with Grendel’s mother, and the fight against the dragon that inevitably ended his life.

To begin, one of the many ways that Beowulf was different than Grendel is that Beowulf was brave. Every night Grendel snuck into Herot Hall to destroy King Hrothgar’s men. He did this while hiding in the shadows, sneaking around in the dead of night, and attacking while the men we asleep and at there most vulnerable. These are not the characteristics the brave, these are the characteristics of a foul, loathsome, cowardly beast. Mean while, Beowulf liked to meet a problem head on, in this case the problem was Grendel himself. Determined Beowulf sailed to Denmark to defeat Grendel, telling Hrothgar that he will take Grendel’s life with his bare hands. As told in the story, “ That mighty protector of men/ Meant to hold the monster till it’s life/ leaped out” (Raffel, 1963, l. 366-368). And when Beowulf got the chance to do just that, Grendel took the cowards road, “Grendel’s one thought

In the poem, Beowulf decides to fight Grendel without weapons and to only use his bare hands. “Behind some broad linden shield: my hands Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life against the monster” (267-269).Using only your hands to battle someone not only shows the bravery of him, but shows super strength because bare hands have a small strength to them unlike swords that have an amazing amount of strength. Beowulf decides to show the other Geats how it is really done. Within the battle with Grendel’s mother, Beowulf uses a sword to defeat her named Naegling. “Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy sword, hammered by giants, strong and blessed with their the best of all weapons, but so massive that no ordinary man could lift its carved and decorated length. He drew it from its scabbard, broken the chain on its hilt, and then savage, now, angry and desperate, lifted it over his head and struck with all the strength head left, caught her in the neck and cut through”(530-539). Naegling is one of the most heaviest swords that needs a lot of power to hoist and obtain its strength. Beowulf used all of his might and God was able to give Beowulf the strength he needed to lift Naegling with its cover and use it against Grendel’s mother. Before even fighting in her lair, Beowulf uses his lung strength to stay underwater for hours while killing the other sea monsters. Normally, people cannot hold their breathe for so many hours underwater. Beowulf used his lungs which takes a lot of effort to hold his breathe and he was able to breathe successfully after he got out of the water once he defeated Grendel’s mother which proves that he has strength not only in his arms, but everywhere else in his

Beowulf does not fail his people, even at the last, when as an old man

Fortunately Beowulf was ready and willing to sacrifice himself to repay the debt of Ecgtheow, Beowulf’s father, to Hrothgar. This Geat warrior possesses almost miraculous qualities: “He was the strongest of men alive in that day, mighty and noble.”  Upon spotting Beowulf approaching, the sea-guard of the Danes says, “Never have I seen a greater man on earth…”  King Hrothgar of the Danes says of Beowulf, “Seafarers who took gifts to the Geats say that he has the strength of 30 men in his hand grip.” Beowulf chooses to fight Grendel by himself and without shield or weapons; previously the hero slew nine sea monsters with his sword. And he is fully willing to sacrifice his very life for this: “… I alone will fulfill the wish of your people … or die in the foe’s grasp.” Beowulf consciously chooses to act in a superhuman manner: “I shall perform the deeds of a hero or I have passed my last day

Looking back at early forms of literature we notice the classic idea of heroism in Beowulf. As time passes by the notion of a hero changes. Consciousness in early literature such as, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, does not enter the innermost thoughts. The notion of a hero and the notion of consciousness changes within literature through time. In the novel, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen the hero is portrayed differently compared to earlier texts as well as the characters being aware of one’s environment. The author Jane Austen, carefully shapes her characters’ actions, feelings and affiliations in a specific way. In Sense and Sensibility we have a clearer picture of the consciousness of characters than what we see in Beowulf or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

In society, dwelling upon material goods usually connotes shallowness, and the pursuit of riches is often prefigured as an inclination towards greediness. However, in Beowulf, the collective reverence for wealth plays a defining role in the acts of heroism and manifestation of power. In fact, the poem oftentimes professes the idea of wealth and glory, most cherished, as an embodiment of strength and obedience among cultural values.

The theme of Beowulf is heroism. Beowulf himself represents the heroic ideal because of his features, strength, and courage, but also because of his intelligence and honor. Beowulf is proud of his strength and great his honor. When Beowulf goes to Heorot, waiting for Grendel, he refuses to keep a weapon. He believes in himself that he can defeat the monster who has devoured many men without using any weapons. It turns out that Beowulf's intelligent approach was right. Glory is also one of the themes in Beowulf. In the beginning, Beowulf comes to Hrothgar's rescue, not just out of generosity but out of a desire to win glory for himself in battle. Beowulf's quest for glory never ends and drives him, in his old age, to face a foe he cannot