Reputation In Beowulf

Every epic hero acquires certain heroic characteristics. The poem, “Beowulf, is about the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon period. Beowulf is a warrior from Geatland that comes to help Hrothgar, the king of Danes, defeat the monster Grendel who has been killing men in their kingdom. Beowulf defeats the unstoppable beast, Grendel. Then Grendel’s mother comes to try to avenge Grendel’s death, and Beowulf slaughters her in her underwater lair. After 50 peaceful years of ruling the Geats, Beowulf in his old age fights his last battle with a dragon. He defeats the dragon, with help from Wiglaf, but dies as a result. The main character, Beowulf exemplifies many characteristics that an epic hero possesses. Beowulf’s characteristics include

Helping the once great Hrothgar, Defeating the monstrous Grendel, and proclaiming his everlasting honor are all reasons Beowulf earned and preserved his everlasting honor. Honor can corrupt the strongest minded of men, but not in the case of Beowulf. Beowulf used his greed for honor and fame to better himself and improve the reputation of his namesake. He proved himself time and time again through countless quests and deeds, spreading his name across the lands. Due to Beowulf’s

To honor the Beowulf’s heroic life and battles, I’ve been assigned as one of his closest warriors to exclaim his appellation and share the stories of his battles. One of the citizen came up to me and asked, “I heard that Beowulf was an amazing guy, but I never fully knew him. Could you tell me more about him?” I was extremely excited as this man was the first person to ever ask me about Beowulf. “Beowulf was a strong leader and a great friend. Although he might not have been a very humble man, he was nowhere near being a bully. He’s the type of man that would belittle anyone who hurts the weak and innocent. Beowulf was mettlesome and was never intimidated by any menace.” The man’s eyes were already widen. “He sounds like a guy I would wanna be protected by,” the citizen said, “Can you tell me about one of his battles?” I prepared myself as I was about to begin a long lecture of how strong Beowulf was.

Beowulf’s cruelty is never seen as such (except by Grendel’s mother), and that leads him to become an undefeated hero in the eyes of the people

The poem of Beowulf follows the Geat warrior Beowulf as he saves the Danish nation and eventually leads his own. Written after 597 AD, the story was told during a period when Catholics sent missionaries to the Vikings, offering a unique view of the warrior culture, where fame was the ultimate goal of one’s life. The growing Christian movement brought about Beowulf, a Christian view of a pagan past, and while it seems as though the poem glorified Beowulf’s achievements, the poet included some passages that conflict with the warrior culture at the time, indicating a cultural shift. The poet praised Beowulf’s ability as a thane but criticized Beowulf’s inability to give up his quest for glory, causing the reader to question whether fame and glory truly fulfils one’s life.

Beowulf was a hero not only because of his physical strength, but also for his concern for other people. “The hero must move beyond human limits in order to have the capacity to combat the monstrous forces that threaten the social order;” (Sharma 264) Beowulf has been deemed by most to have superhuman strength, but his superhuman strength alone does not make Beowulf any more a hero than Grendel’s strength makes him a hero. Beowulf rises above the limits of a regular human being

Beowulf is a hero in the eyes of his fellow men through his amazing physical strength. He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious

Beowulf, the defender of Hrothgar and Heorot, exhibits far more complicated (and less sincere) shades of revenge than the Grendel’s mother. At the end of the day, Beowulf’s goal is to become the preeminent warrior in all the land. In his society, the only way to gain such widespread celebrity is through courageous and self-endangering acts. Beowulf masks these deeds with a façade of seeking revenge; he supposedly comes to Heorot to save the Danes from Grendel’s terror, but his true motives lie in becoming a hero. His reward is not the pride of doing a good deed; Beowulf is rewarded with lavish and expensive gifts.

As with loyalty, the importance of reputation also guides Beowulf throughout the poem. One’s reputation reflected one’s importance in the warrior culture. When Beowulf first arrives at Heorot, he tells the Danes about his past deeds that have brought honor for him and his king:

Many readers of the poem Beowulf may find it difficult to distinguish the 'good' kings from the rest – indeed, almost every man who holds a throne in the epic is named at one point or another to be 'good'. By examining the ideals of the time period as identified by the 'heroic code', it becomes clearer that a truly 'good' king is one who generously distributes treasure and weaponry to deserving retainers to honour courage and strength displayed in battle and to encourage the defense of the kingdom (Intro). When Beowulf ascends the throne of the Geats, the heroic traits of courage and strength for which he was so highly praised as a warrior do not serve well in making him a good king. Indeed, by exhibiting the traits of a thane, that is, by

Upon entering the Danes' hall, Herot, Grendel is confronted by Beowulf, who immediately seizes Grendel's arms and drives fear into the monster's heart, "... [Grendel] knew at once that nowhere on earth/ Had he met a man whose hands were harder..." (lines 751-752). Through his slaughter of Grendel, Grendel's mom, the dragon, and other monsters, Beowulf proves his amazing strength to the other characters and to the readers.

“That shadow of death hunted in the darkness, stalked Hrothgar 's warriors, old and young, lying in waiting, hidden in mist, invisibly following them from the edge of the marsh, always there, unseen” (Beowulf 2: Line 74). Grendel was smart and a slithery serpent. He did not wish

Grendel, a monster who lives at the bottom of a nearby mere, is provoked by the singing and celebrating of Hrothgar's followers. He appears at the hall late one night and kills thirty of the warriors in their sleep. For the next twelve years, the fear of Grendel's fury casts a shadow over the lives of the Danes. Hrothgar and his advisors can think of nothing to calm the monster's anger.

In Beowulf the classic epic, Beowulf, the hero of the epic, and other major characters reflect heroic ideals and beliefs of courage, generosity, unquestioning loyalty and devotion. Courage is most evident throughout Beowulf Beowulf does not back down from any challenge that stands in his way whether it be Grendel, Grendel’s mother, or the dragon. His bravery is most evident in his preparation for his fight with Grendel, Beowulf, “took off his shirt of armour, the helmet from his head, handed his embellished sword, best of irons to an attendant,…” He chose to bravely fight his foe, man to beast without weaponery for he knew it would be “cowardly” to defeat Grendel with a sword and armor when Grendel himself had none. Even in his

As abraham Lincoln a great president of the united states proclaimed “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” relating to this quote having a reputation can be a bad thing because people will look at you when something happens good or bad. Grendel went to the mead hall and attack the men because he hated the happiness, and the noise of the men at the hall. He attacked Heorot and killed 30 men then came back the next night to kill more, men had to leave the mead hall in order to be safe. Hrothgar called his most skillful warrior Beowulf, Beowulf came to heorot . When Beowulf brought his men with him on his voyage to Grendel's cave, Grendel ended up killing them.” So grendel ruled...by hell forged hands” line 60-64(poet).