Literary Conventions In Beowulf

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 strength is beyond any of human comparison and has allowed him to accomplish tasks that would have obliterated lesser men and gain renown throughout the world. Beowulf’s boasts of his strength are not to be received as prideful or egotistical but rather as a true representation of his power as Beowulf always fulfils his boasts. When Beowulf pledges to vanquish Grendel, he does not take it lightly and tells Hrothgar and his wife, Wealhtheow, that “..I shall fulfil that purpose, prove myself with a proud victory or meet my death here in the mead-hall.”(636-638), showing that he is prepared to die, if needed, to defeat this hellish creature. Later that night, in his battle with Grendel, Beowulf showed his strength. “The Captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth… in all his days, he had never been clamped or cornered like this”(749-752,755-756). Beowulf’s strength surpassed that of even supernatural beings and allowed his to go on the offensive against a foe that had ravaged Heorot for years and thus allowed him to fulfill his boast. Beowulf power is brought out in his recitation of his deeds and again later actions against the mother of Grendel and a fire breathing dragon that threatens his home. In all of this fights, Beowulf is not seeking glory for himself, but

Beowulf is a very brave and noble prince. He proves this statement in the way he humbly boasts about his ability to complete quests, fighting monstrous creates continuously, and going into each battle or challenge by his lonesome. “Hail! King Hrothgar! I am Hygelac’s thane, Hygelac’s kinsman. Many a deed Of honor and daring I’ve done in my youth… The best of my people, prudent and brave, Urged

Beowulf and Grendel are two different stories, and characters, who look at the same situation in polarized ways. Each character has their own story that is written from different time periods: the Anglo-Saxon time period and America in the 1970’s. Both of these time periods have different attributes that make them special; the Anglo-Saxon time period consists of the literary movement of the epic poem and America in the 1970’s consists of the literary movement known as postmodernism. Beowulf is shaped by the Anglo-Saxon time period through its use of the heroic code and religious influences and Grendel is shaped by the American 1970’s time period through its use of metafiction and an unreliable narrator.

Beowulf is a classic story of a hero. His immense strength allows him to complete impossible deeds, and his honorable personality and strong moral compass means he is focused on helping people, not on winning glory. Beowulf’s strength as a hero beyond physical strength is exemplified by his extreme stubbornness and persistence when faced with a difficult challenge. His battles follow the arc of his character development, from a minor hero to a powerful and loved king with his conquests being so important in the warrior-culture which he lived in.

The main character in the epic poem “Beowulf” is Beowulf. An epic hero is one that has superhuman qualities and who beholds values of his society and is braver than life. “Epics are stories told on a grand scale, with armies, heroes, gods, and the brutal forces of nature depicted over long character arcs and sweeping landscapes.” (Rebecca Ray 1) Beowulf is a selfless warrior that puts the kingdom of Herot first and tries to rid evil for the people.

Beowulf’s embodiment of both warrior-like and king-like heroic traits is the predominant reason he is so successful in Anglo-Saxon society; however, it is also the cause of his demise. As stated previously, Beowulf’s loyalty towards his people drives many decisions he makes, and when faced with the impeding threat of the dragon, Beowulf’s loyalty drives his decision to personally fight it. Although this action directly complies with the values of loyalty and protectionism associated with the heroic code of kings, it is directly contradicted by the ideal of political skills, that is kings making decisions with the best interest of their people in mind. Although at the time, fending off the dragon seems to Beowulf like the proper course of action

"You don't need to be strong like a superhero, you just need to be better than you were yesterday. " During this time period, Fate was thought to be the driving force of everything and Beowulf was no exception to this belief. Whether it was with him when he sailed across the sea to purge Grendel for his king, or against him when he challenges a dragon enraged by thievery, he fights; not only to bring honor to his and his followers names, but to make things safer for his people. In this way, throughout this epic poem, Beowulf is constantly proving to not only his followers in his time, but to readers in modern times that he was the ideal model of a true Anglo-Saxon hero during the time period that the epic takes place.

While they possess respect for him like many in the face of danger they became cowards and their will unstilled and they couldn’t rise to the challenge when needed. The strength of Beowulf shows itself in a plethora of different ways, in Beowulf it is shown as a possession of wisdom, skill with swords, and brute strength. “For the narrator and characters, wisdom and fortitude represent an ideal to which every man aspires and which every society needs. Physical bravery was most appreciated” (Constantakis) Beowulf has both of those qualities which is what makes him such a perfect hero. This quote shows the many different forms of strength that can be present in a hero and Beowulf possesses all of them making him somewhat of an ultimate hero of

In the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, it is said, "Behavior that's admired is the path to power among people" (Beowulf 5). That being stated, it is very apparent throughout the entirety of the story. The main character, Beowulf, quickly comes to a position of power once defeating multiple atrocities and executing numerous heroic deeds. The people in the city admire Beowulf and abide to his ways; but once offered kingship, he declines. Throughout the epic poem, it is obvious that Beowulf would rather be a hero than a king because of the individual representation that comes with it, the rewards, and the self-reliant aspect.

In the epic Beowulf, readers or listeners are introduced to the powerful hero Beowulf and his band of thanes, who have come to the aid of a clan terrorised in the night by a monster who wanders the fens and attacks their mead hall. Grendal haunts Herot hall for twelve years before, killing Hrothgar’s followers as they sleep in his magnificent meadhall, drawn to their celebrations and pushed to rage. Yet, when the hero of the epic arrives with his warriors and the power of thirty men in each arm, he is not all he’s cracked up to be. For the people who lived during the time this story was told, Beowulf was a magnificent hero, who behaved just as a hero should, seeking out glory, power, and riches, but by today's standards, those very same character

As a member of Anglo Saxon Society, Beowulf accomplished to be king for fifty years after the death of his Lord. Beowulf showed that he was capable of having leadership, being able to have great fighting techniques and also having loyalty. Beowulf was a different character from the rest of the roles. In “Beowulf an – Epic Poem” he lacks being greedy. Enough though he’s king, he does want to be honor and he wants the glory, but he doesn’t want is the payment as well. Beowulf takes on the different fights on his own because he wants to build up the confidence in his people. He also lacks greed when he kills the dragon, to save his people and not for the treasure. Just like Beowulf is characterized as an ideal hero and king, in my life I feel as my mom is the modern day

Imagine that you are the hero of a village. You are the person that everyone looks up to- you have all the fame and fortune you could possibly want. But, this doesn’t just come to you on a silver platter. There are risks to take, challenges to overcome, and lives to be put at stake. You must defeat creatures of all sizes and strengths to gain this honorary title. This is Beowulf’s reality as he must conquer unbelievable tasks that nobody else would dare to face. Because of this, Beowulf is recognized as a boasting person, brave, and selfless; and rightfully so.

“[Beowulf is] is recognized … as an embodiment of the contradictory nature of heroic ideals” (Wanner. Page 2). Beowulf’s religiously following of the Comitatus leads him to his doom. Beowulf’s lust for fame and hubris lead him to break the code of Comitatus. Beowulf as a king was supposed to let new heroes at the time take care of the dragon. Instead, he gets severely injured by the dragon because of his huge ego and pride to slay the dragon alone. Ironically, at the end Beowulf would not have even killed the dragon without help from the emerging hero Wiglaf. At the end Beowulf breaks the code he followed by heart only to be shown at his death, that one must remember their rank in the feudal

The poem of Beowulf is one of the earliest recorded pieces of literature in history, written at an estimated time of around 1000 A.D. and set in the pagan world of sixth-century Scandinavia. Disregarding the poem’s age, the writing uses many of the same literary devices people use modern day-- such as kennings, alliteration, and caesura. Kennings are compound expressions used in Anglo-Saxon writings that have a metaphorical meaning. For example, the word sea-traveler could be used to describe a boat. Alliteration is when there is a repetition of words that start with the same letter. Caesura is a type of verse unique to Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin literature that breaks the text into two with each side sharing a similar number of syllables to create an intense, ominous tone of rhythmic sound. With the use of these three devices, pictures are painted in the minds of readers, and characters are both directly and indirectly developed to enhance the story. Often in this epic poem, courage is expanded upon and interpreted in different ways with the use of these tactics.