The Characteristics Of An Epic Hero Of 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

The main characteristics of an epic hero are strength, courage and loyalty. Beowulf demonstrates his strength in his battle with Grendel. With his extraordinary strength, Beowulf is able to bend back the claws Grendel “as Beowulf leaned up on one arm” (Beowulf line 190), and he keeps hold of Grendel’s hands long enough for Grendel to eventually fight back so hard his arm rips off. Not only is he strong enough to defeat Grendel with his bare hands, but Beowulf also lifts the sword of a giant to defeat Grendel’s mother. He courageously volunteers himself into battle with “A powerful monster, living down / In the darkness” (34-35). This monster also has a mother who is stronger than him, but Beowulf does not fear. Beowulf courageously goes down to the darkness where their den lies and comes up with Grendel’s head and the handle of the sword he uses to kill Grendel’s mother. Later in life, “Beowulf [utters] his final boast: / “ I’ve never known fear; as a youth I fought / in endless battles. I am old, now, / But I will fight again” (483-486). Beowulf utters his final boast before he courageously goes into his final battle which he loses to the dragon. In loyalty to the men that serve him, Beowulf makes sure that if he does not return from his battle with Grendel’s mother they will be able to return to their homeland. He

Another way in which Beowulf represents a characteristic of an epic hero is he travels and fights with a group of people. “So Beowulf chose the mightiest men he could find,/ The bravest and best of the Geats, fourteen/ In all,” (ln. 119-122). Beowulf personally chose the warriors he journeys with himself; although Beowulf is generally the one to conquer the monsters, these soldiers are with him through all of his battles. In The Battle With Grendel, all of the men are sleeping in Herot; yet, when Grendel appears, Beowulf is the one to fight and execute him. The story is similar in The Battle With Grendel’s Mother; his men follow him to the edge of the lake, yet he is the one to explore the lake and fight and kill Grendel’s mother. Likewise, in The Last Battle when Beowulf fights the dragon, he begins fighting with all of his men, yet all but one abandon him. Beowulf obtains a strong group of people that he travels with, yet ultimately he solves problems himself.

The character of Beowulf demonstrates several characteristics that make a great epic hero. Throughout his lifetime he displayed several characteristics such as honor, bravery, physical superiority, leadership, and glory. These characteristics all formed how the Anglo-Saxons believed one should live their life. Along with the valorous deeds that Beowulf accomplished he is considered to be a prime example of an epic hero. Beowulf would have even been considered a model human to the Anglo-Saxons due to how he consistently demonstrated these qualities.

An epic hero displays bravery, courage, and strength. An epic hero also wants to achieve immortality through heroic actions. Beowulf can be categorized as a legendary epic hero. There are many things that prove Beowulf is an epic hero in the poem. He proves that he is an epic hero through his heroic actions that occur throughout the poem.

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 the end, they

Beowulf is a true epic hero because he is fearless, very strong, and well honored. Beowulf portrays all of the traits of a hero throughout the epic. He never hesitated to kill a monster, or even to give a helping hand at any time. He could always back up his boast with perfection. Beowulf is not a god, or a supernatural man, but he was the closest man to

An Epic Hero is a brave, noble character in an epic poem, and they are admired for great achievements or affected by a grand event. In another point of view, A Epic Hero has to have strength, faith and Braveness in order to perform heroic deeds. In the story Beowulf , Beowulf is an epic hero because he kills Grendel the monster, Grendel’s Mother and a dragon that no one else could have defeated. All the things Beowulf did throughout this story showed evidence of an epic hero, also with his personality and dedication. Beowulf is an epic hero because of how he sacrificed his life to perform heroic deeds. Also for his extraordinary strength, Braveness, and Faith.

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

Throughout the story, Beowulf displays many attributes of a hero. In the story Beowulf shows many characteristics of hero such as strength, courage, and intelligence. In the story, Beowulf displays these qualities of a hero in battles that he is involved in during the story. The battles Beowulf is involved in is how Beowulf earns his fame and gains these characteristics. In the story, Beowulf fights and defeats monsters around the different kingdoms in the story protecting the other humans in the story which leads to him being king.

In Heaney’s Beowulf, Beowulf is an epic hero because he is on a journey to find self-knowledge.

An epic hero is someone who is of great importance, they have supernatural abilities, have some form of connection with the Gods, and accomplish great deeds. In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is the epic hero in his tale and he is considered great by those who know of his life. There are two versions of his story which portrays him in a certain way. The video version does not do its best to portray him as an epic hero but instead show that he is a liar, a womanizer, and a coward. The written version does not portray him as such, it portrays him as someone who is strong, brave, and fearless. The written version best portrays Beowulf as an epic hero by showing his actions involving superhuman deeds in battle.

Every epic hero possesses certain heroic characteristics. Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities: epic heroes are superhuman types of beings. They have a noble birth and show great bravery. They display great intelligence and resourcefulness. They have a reverence for G-d and for the values of their society. They are dominant male figures and suffer severe pain, but in the end, they conquer evil (Vivone 9/27/99). In addition to Beowulf’s heroic qualities, he is very strong. Beowulf was said to have “the strength of thirty [men] in his mighty handgrip” (Bloom 11). Early proof of Beowulf’s extraordinary strength is evidenced by his dismemberment of Grendel’s limb, the fight in the cave under water, and the

Throughout the epic poem of Beowulf, the main protagonist Beowulf is shown to thoroughly exemplify all of the traits of the epic hero. His heroism is displayed in two distinct sections of the epic, contrasting his original uninhibited heroism and later, his aged mature heroism. The multiple quests undertaken over the course of his life serve to display the Beowulfs qualities and the application thereof to the monomyth. In the beginning of Beowulf, Beowulf was portrayed as the pinnacle of the young, brave, chivalrous knight-like warriors expected during the Anglo-Saxon period.

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.