The Complex Hero in Beowulf Essay

Beowulf demonstrated another important Anglo-Saxon characteristic, bravery, when he fought the dragon. Beowulf knew he was old when he decided to face the dragon but did not back down from the fight at hand. He decided to stand and fight the dragon instead of running even when he knew he could not defeat the beast by himself. Like the true hero he was

Beowulf is cruel and that makes him a hero- Grendel is cruel but it’s a result of his alienation with society and jealousy of society

Being a hero can be defined many different ways. Several qualities like courage, respect, and strength can define heroism. A hero is noted for his or her actions for being brave, powerful, and acting with honor. In the epic poem, Beowulf, the main character Beowulf shows all of these characteristics by defending the Danish king, Hrothgar, and his people. He is a true hero by honoring his country and exerting his power and strength to protect others. Beowulf embodies the qualities of bravery, being powerful, and demonstrating his honor; therefore, he can be considered a true hero.

Set in an era long before the customs of contemporary western civilization, Heaney’s translation of Beowulf follows the courageous hero through an epic journey that solidifies his figurative immortality. Much like the Greek’s great Odysseus or the Roman’s devout Aeneus, Beowulf serves as an impressive and almost godlike warrior for the Anglo-Saxons, providing insight into the constituents of greatness for that society. Confident in his abilities and committed to his task, Beowulf voluntarily embarks on a mission to defeat Grendel, the treacherous enemy of the Danish kingdom. Beowulf solidifies his classification as an epic hero as he satisfies his quest for glory, saves a kingdom from destruction, and reveals the values of an era.

Being a hero can mean many different things. A modern day hero might be someone who has a strong moral code or someone that has extraordinary powers and abilities but, looking back in time the meaning of a hero has changed slightly. During Anglo-Saxon times, being a hero meant being loyal to their lord and god, having a sense of duty, being selfless, having honor, being intelligent, and boasting. It also meant being brave and having courage, having a sense of justice, and having larger than life strength. A great example of an Anglo-Saxon hero is Beowulf from “Beowulf,” written by an unknown author. In this poem, Beowulf exemplifies the characteristics of an Anglo-Saxon hero because he was brave and courageous, he had superhuman strength, and he had a unique sense of justice.

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.

While the actions of Beowulf may seem heroic, he obtains the opposite of Anglo-Saxon traits since he does not protect the Danes during the fight with Grendel. The Anglo-Saxon traits include bravery, strength, gumption, and selflessness; Beowulf does not exemplify these traits while waiting to attack Grendel. Beowulf felt “mighty and canny” and “was keenly watching/ for the first move the monster would make” (Heaney 736). As Beowulf waits to fight Grendel, he witnesses one of the men whom is supposed to be protecting get devoured by Grendel. Not only does he watch the murder, but stays

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

An epic hero, an Anglo-Saxon hero, a modern-day hero; A hero is is often defined by certain qualities, looked upon traits. We have heroes amongst our lives everyday, from saving a life to simply helping someone out. In the epic poem, “Beowulf”, Beowulf was the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times. The Anglo-Saxon code reflects much of the code of Chivalry, the code of the Samurai, to the modern-day code of just doing good. He embodied courage, honesty, loyalty, and much more, attributes that were all valued by the Anglo-Saxon code. Beowulf was truly an Anglo-Saxon hero of his time as he possessed all the traits of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Bravery. Strength. Sense of justice. Heroes in Anglo-Saxon literature show these characteristics and more. Furthermore, Beowulf, the son of Ecgtheow and one of the strongest and bravest person known to man wanted to take down every evil thing that was around him or aggravating him that he had to step up and fight them. In the epic poem, Beowulf exemplifies the Anglo-Saxon Hero characteristics of bravery and courage, sense of justice, and strength.

The movie The legend of Hercules was captivating. It depicts the archetype of a Greek hero. Betrayal, treachery, slavery and the odds of his life did not stop him to fight his way back to his rightful kingdom. He was bold and brave. We can find a very similar hero in the Anglo-Saxon literature of Beowulf. In the Anglo-Saxon culture a hero was a warrior. He/she was strong, clever, God-fearing and venturesome. Beowulf, a famous Anglo-Saxon poem, was about the adventure of a hero who had inhuman strength that fought a monster named Grendel, Grendel’s mother ,and a fire-breathing dragon that’s hung-over from sleep. Beowulf exemplifies the archetype of a perfect hero through his warrior like, admirable, and loyal characters.

There is a hero and a villain in every story, we have: Batman and The Joker, Spider-Man and The Green Goblin, Thor and Loki, and of course Beowulf and Grendel. In the epic “Beowulf” our two main characters are Beowulf the hero of the story, and Grendel the evil demon who terrorized the world. In the epic, Beowulf and Grendel are noticeably different, but at the same time alike in many ways. The people in the story may not have notice the similarities, but they could not be hidden from the peering eye of the reader. In the story Beowulf was was brave, while Grendel was cowardly, Beowulf was helpful, while Grendel only wanted to hurt people; in comparison, they were both unnaturally strong and very arrogant.

Originating in the Anglo-Saxon period, the epic poem Beowulf portrays a legendary hero. Beowulf established the earlier form of heroism, and was then later introduced in to the English culture. Praised and admired by many people, Beowulf possesses several distinct traits that allow him to be defined perfectly as an ideal Anglo-Saxon hero; his eagerness to seek glory and fame, rather than richness and treasures, his loyalty and graceful attitude not only to his rulers but also to his followers, and his contradictory beliefs of faith and fate

By definition, a tragic hero is a protagonist that due to some tragic flaw loses everything he has. Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters possessing some tragic flaw. In Macbeth, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his enormous ambition to become king. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his need for revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s tragic flaw is his need to be remembered. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, Beowulf also has a tragic flaw, excessive pride and the search for fame, which ultimately leads to his demise.

A hero is idolized by his culture for his push forward and never back down attitude. In the story Beowulf there is one man who proves to be the ideal hero for himself and for his culture his name is Beowulf he proves to be the ideal hero by defeating Grendel, Grendel's Mother and the dragon which are the ideal villains according to Anglo Saxons.