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Motivations In Beowulf

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Epic Motivations vs. Epic Hero
(Analysis of Beowulf's Motivations)
Motivation has a funny way of pushing people beyond their limits, allowing them to succeed even more than they previously thought possible. Everyone's motivations are different; some people are motivated by other individuals while others are motivated by goals. A common appearance of motivations is seen in the epic poem Beowulf as well. This ancient epic piece of history was originally told orally for numerous years, captivating audiences long ago as it still does today. This poem gave light to the Anglo-Saxon way of life and code, as there is little record of the people living during that era. There is no one specific author or date tagged onto the poem, but has been rewritten …show more content…

Throughout this story glory and duty can be seen going hand in hand. One has a sense of duty to protect and fight and conquer with this end knowledge that glory will reign down upon the dutiful. There is glory in the fight, but not without the knowledge that there comes a duty to protect those in need of it, and that's who he is is fighting for. The quote from Beowulf, “When he heard the tale of Hrothgar’s distress, he set sail for Denmark to rid the land of its fear,” tells of Beowulf going to help the Danes. This shows that he is not only going to leave his country to help another but it also sets up the duty aspect of the story. He feels it is his duty, his obligation to help these people and to rid them of demons prosecuting them. A duty really is just a royal or theistic obligation in this case. Since he has the ability to fight, well then by jove he is going to fight and he will either die with honor or return with glory. The entire Anglo-Saxon culture was built around that. There wasn't a weak hero, there were only powerful men who set an example for others to follow. Duty is something that for Beowulf he accepted with the knowledge that glory would by in store upon the fulfilment of the task. This is one the key motivations for Beowulf; the idea that one has a duty but with duty comes great

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