The Tragic Hero : Beowulf, An Perfectional Epic Hero

Epic heroes such as Beowulf are seen as god-like men who possess inhumane strength and agility, making them the ultimate fighters and the deadliest of enemies. Naturally, the heroes boast of their strength, usually by retelling a fearsome battle when he emerged as the victor. Beowulf proves to Hrothgar that he is strong enough to undertake the task of defeating Grendel when he recounts his famous quests and tests of strength (cm).

Is Beowulf, the strong and epic hero of legends, battling against a force he could not aspire to overcome? J.R.R. Tolkien, a famous scholar and writer, believes the epic hero is in a hopeless struggle; many people support the notion of Beowulf’s certain demise as well. There are parts in the legend that may lead to the impression that Beowulf may not have had the potential to conquer the aggressive world he is met with.

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

A characteristic of an epic hero displayed through Beowulf is he is larger than life or as some see as a superhuman. He was known as the strongest man in the land and seemed unbeatable. Beowulf abused his power of being superhuman. He did it in a good way by helping the Danish people by killing Grendel and then later his mother. He did more than what he was capable of. He continued to fight the dragon even while he was hurt and only had one other fellow warrior. Beowulf could not overcome his internal struggle that his superhuman ability made him feel indestructible. Unfortunately, he did not

An epic is a long poem, usually derived from ancient oral stories, describing the adventures and deeds of a legendary hero. Typically, most epics follow a pattern or hold certain characteristics. These characteristics are; a hero, a quest, valorous deeds, divine intervention, and great events. The hero is usually the protagonist that in which is sent on a quest. As the heroes proceed on their quest, they will exhibit valorous deeds or actions that show their character. Epics also intertwine great events to set the theme of the story. Some of these events develop from myths or cultural aspects. Lastly, the hero must undergo divine intervention, or the help from a person or supernatural force. One of the most well known Anglo-Saxon Epics is Beowulf. The story of Beowulf contains all of these characteristics, along with the values of the Anglo-Saxons.

The poem, Beowulf acknowledged the Old Testament during the Anglo-Saxon period in the late 900s. No one actually knows the correct dates when the poem was written down. Throughout the poem, Beowulf gives many different examples of an epic heroic character. An epic is a long narrative poem that portrays the heroic acts of legendary figures and mythical gods. In the poem, there is three different battles that Beowulf, a warrior from Geats acts the legend of Hrothgar. The ruler of the Danes, Hrothgar whose new hall, Herot is being ambushed he needs Beowulf’s assistance. Beowulf is the quintessential epic hero because of his high social status, superhuman strength, and his desire for fame that ultimately leads to his downfall.

Beowulf demonstrates traits of an epic heroism by showing off his courageous acts throughout the battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and also the dragon.

“A hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve.” (Riordan). Beowulf chooses to embrace his fate and boasts that he is the only man who can kill Grendel. He travels to the land of the Danes. His Anglo Saxon society believes in fate rather than immortality. Beowulf wants to achieve immortality through his actions. Beowulf is an epic hero because he is significant and glorified, has superior or superhuman strength, and performs brave deeds.

Beowulf is an epic poem that tells the story of a man’s heroism in the time of tribulation, loss, and tragedy. Beowulf, a powerful man, can be defined as a legendary Geatish warrior and hero of the Old English poem Beowulf (Dictionary. com). In Beowulf, Beowulf traveled to Hrothgar’s, King of Danes, kingdom to kill a man-eating monster named Grendel. He not only kills Grendel, but he swims to Grendel’s underwater lair and kills Grendel’s mother too. He saves the kingdom from death and brings victory to his homeland. Beowulf was not just a man of physical capability, but of psychological strength. Beowulf’s heroism is seen through his three main heroic attributes: bravery, humility, and leadership.

On the surface, Beowulf emulates every single characteristic of a hero; he is brave when he fights Grendel, he was confident when he fought unarmed, and he did not fear for his life when he died battling the dragon. It is actually quite easy to get the impression that he is the Anglo-Saxon version of Thor, that he is the epitome of the heroic archetype. However, throughout the course of the poem, the text begins to evoke certain emotions and thoughts of Beowulf’s psyche and prerogative. The story prompts readers to think of what it means to be a hero or what the definition of heroism itself means, in terms of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature. The typical definition with the usual characteristics begins to meld with the events of Beowulf’s life and his downfall. But, it also merges questions of whether he genuinely cared to fight for his people or if he was just boastful. Despite Beowulf making some reckless decisions and eliciting a cocky personality, in turn creating blurred lines between what it is to be a good warrior and king, his character is best understood through the positive repercussions of the events that made him memorable because of his ability to protect his kingdom.

When the mother attacks Heorot, Beowulf runs after her and while all of the other warriors exhibit cowardice, Beowulf, being courageous, simply jumps into the depths of the other world to defeat her. This is also another characteristic of the hero, he selflessly crosses a boundary in order to protect social stability, not caring if he dies or not. This battle seems somewhat transitional as Beowulf is unable to defeat the mother with his bare hands. In fact, his sword doesn't even get the job accomplished, and Beowulf is almost killed. By some fantastic notion a giant's sword magically appears and Beowulf is able to defeat her at last. Perhaps through relying on tools to help defeat the mother, Beowulf is stepping towards being able to have

The story of Beowulf gave me a great impact because it was a story of a mighty hero who can’t resist the beauty of a woman who turn into hideous creature. As a story started when the monster named Grendel attack the kingdom of king Hrothgar then Beowulf when to that place and kill the monster, as a reward he become a king and married with a beautiful queen. But the straggle starts when the son Beowulf from the monster appear. Beowulf was also the one who kill his own son but the sad story was Beowulf killed in the end.

The hero of this age is a caped, altruistic man with superpowers. The hero of the time of the Anglo-Saxons, as well as much before and much after, was considerably different and was referred to preceded by the word “epic.” The best way to understand the Anglo-Saxon hero is to read the epic poem, Beowulf, and study the title character, as he is the epitome of epic heroism. Beowulf’s tale begins when the Danish king, Hrothgar, and his citizens are being terrorized by a monster, Grendel. Grendel attacks the heart of the kingdom, the mead-hall, Herot, and viciously destroys many soldiers. To handle this beast, Hrothgar calls Beowulf, a well-known, strong soldier, to bring his army and reclaim Herot. Beowulf does so. He kills Grendel without using any weapons, then kills Grendel's mother, who appears to avenge her son. After this, Beowulf lives a peaceful life as king of the Geats, until he has to face a dragon. He, with the help of his sole loyal soldier, Wiglaf, defeats the dragon, but loses

Beowulf was a larger than life hero who can seemingly overcome any obstacle of challenge in his path. Beowulf is a Geat from Geatland, which is commonly known as Sweden. Despite not knowing much about his past we know he was great warrior because his father Ecgtheow was, during the Anglo-Saxon period being a great warrior was believed to be an inherited quality. The initial problem that brought Beowulf into the forefront was the monster Grendel terrorizing the mead hall, Herot. This conflict began between the people of Herot and their king Higlac, the monster Grendel, then Beowulf and fourteen other Geats came to intervene. Beowulf was faced with defeating Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and finally a dragon. He defeated Grendel in a one-sided battle, by ripping the monsters arm off in hand to hand combat. The battle between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother was an intense fight that Beowulf

In the beginning of the book Beowulf travels to see King Hrothgar to offer his duty to defeat the malicious demon names Grendel. Beowulf begins to boast about his strength when he went up against supernatural monsters. Beowulf states “ All knew of my awesome strength. They has seen me boltered in the blood of my enemies when I battled and bound the five beast, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea-brutes”. (Heaney 29). The audience begins to get an image about the kind of character Beowulf is since he talks about killing these supernatural monsters that an ordinary person couldn’t kill. Beowulf is obviously a strong anglo-saxon warrior as he is the one to go up against Grendel to save the kingdom and defeats evil. In the book it states “He was overwhelmed, manacled tight by the man who of all men was foremost and the strongest in his days”(Heaney 88). In the first battle Grendel and Beowulf are fighting and Beowulf shows his strength by gripping Grendel in a tight embrace and is able to beat him, causing Grendel to run off and die alone. At the end of the battle Beowulf proves the that he is the strongest and was granted victory. The author stated in the book “Beowulf was granted with the glory of winning; Grendel was driven under the fen-banks” (Heaney 78). Grendel was this vicious monster that was attacking