There are four main values in Anglo-Saxon society. These consist of justice, unselfishness, valor, and loyalty. Valor is the value that stands out to me in many ways during Beowulf; as Beowulf, himself is a very courageous hero. An example of this can be seen several times throughout the epic. For instance, Beowulf during the fight with Grendel’s mother, he jumps into a lake filled with unknown creatures. This would take a lot of courage, the idea of jumping into unknown territory at all is a difficult choice to make. This definitely shows that he conveys great valor. Another example of Beowulf showing his courageous self is battling a dragon near the end of the epic, all of his men flee in fear of the dragon, but not Beowulf he continues
In the epic poem, Beowulf truly exhibits bravery and courage. There is no doubt that Beowulf is a brave man. As soon as Beowulf is summoned by Hrothgar, he doesn’t hesitate to take up the challenge to battle with Grendel. Beowulf is valiant as he said,“ my hands alone shall fight for me” (Beowulf 38). He intends to fight Grendel with his bare hands not knowing what the outcome will be. Beowulf is willing to risk his life for others which makes him courageous and brave of them all. As a young warrior, Beowulf has proven
Beowulf is a prime example of what it means to be courageous. In his fight with Grendel, he chooses “[n]o weapons, therefore, / for either this night: unarmed he shall face me / if face me he dares” (683-84). Beowulf has never encountered Grendel before. He has only heard the stories of the beast’s evil doings, so going into a fight with no protection requires great strength and bravery. Beowulf is the only man to dive into the waters to fight Grendel’s Mother. He goes into the fight believing “life doesn’t cost him a thought” (1536). The outcome of the battle does not faze Beowulf because a warrior should
Most heroes receive accolades, rewards, or some type of fame for the heroic things they have done. But for the people who don´t get any kind of recognition, usually they feel as if what they did was not appreciated. That´s why people should receive the positive attention they deserved for the great deed they have done.
Beowulf is a classic example of heroic code, which consists of honor, generosity, bravery, truth, hospitality, and perseverance. These are the Anglo-Saxon values, and were treasured above religion. Beowulf, as an epic hero, symbolizes many of these, but the clearest would have to be honor, bravery, and perseverance. In the time period for Anglo-Saxons, honor was extremely important for various reasons, so it makes sense that Beowulf would be so strongly integrated with integrity.
Courage is certainly a trait which every hero must possess, particularly because no one wants a hero who is a coward. Thankfully, Beowulf is no coward. When Beowulf hears of Grendel’s exploits in Denmark, he travels to the “distant” land, without hesitation, to rid the Danes of that “demon…conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God”. Beowulf’s courage is displayed even more when he chooses not to fight with weapons, despite knowing
Some of the most common values during the Anglo-Saxon period include courage, loyalty and generosity. The Anglo-Saxon era was almost always in the state of war which is why it is a time when fighting is valued more than working things out. This meant that heroes of this period fought for fame, glory, and pride. Heroes were expected to boast. Beowulf, the best symbol for Anglo-Saxon heroes, proves this by volunteering to fight the monster just because he was bored and wanted to do something he can brag about. In the story, Beowulf boasts of his bravery by talking about his past battles and victories. Beowulf basically acts more for his own glory than for the general well-being to his people. While in our modern period,
Courage classifies as a trait that hero’s must have to be considered a hero. Beowulf shows courage throughout the epic poem. For example, when Beowulf goes to battle Grendel, “Too, that the monster's
Beowulf in Beowulf and King Arthur in The Once and Future King both exhibit their courageousness. Arthur shows his courage when he fights the army of King Lot. “In the morning, almost before they were formed, Arthur was on them. In conformity with his own tactics, he sent only a small troop of forty spears to start the work.” The excerpt shows Arthur decides to still go to battle despite Lot’s army being vaster than his own. Beowulf shows his courageousness when he fights Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. “‘I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought/In endless battles. I am old, now,/But I will fight again,seek fame still,” This extract shows Beowulf’s courage before he goes into battle. Beowulf tells
What is an epic hero without courage? Well, not a epic hero at all. Beowulf has the superhuman strength, glory and fame, but he cannot embody those characteristics if he does not have courage to drive him primarily. Initially, the reader can get a taste of Beowulf epicness when he heavily boasts about his battle at sea with Breca. Due to jealousy, Unferth calls him out for his loss in the thrashing waves, yet Beowulf shows no embarrassment and even exploits Unferth for his lack of braveness as he claims, “The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly as keen and courageous as you claim to be, Grendel would never have gotten away with such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king, havoc in Heorot and horror everywhere” (Heaney 590-594). He makes it clear that no one can deteriorate or match the courage that he beholds. While he the battle is brought up, Beowulf states that “Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares a man that it has not already marked” (572-573). This is inferring that if one hasn’t died yet due to fate, they can continue living their life through courage. This foreshadows the mindset of Beowulf and how he holds the theory of bravery close in his morals. As Beowulf goes on to explain this rigorous battle, he claims that not only did he swim for seven days in full armor, but also nonchalantly slayed nine sea
Looking back at early forms of literature we notice the classic idea of heroism in Beowulf. As time passes by the notion of a hero changes. Consciousness in early literature such as, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, does not enter the innermost thoughts. The notion of a hero and the notion of consciousness changes within literature through time. In the novel, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen the hero is portrayed differently compared to earlier texts as well as the characters being aware of one’s environment. The author Jane Austen, carefully shapes her characters’ actions, feelings and affiliations in a specific way. In Sense and Sensibility we have a clearer picture of the consciousness of characters than what we see in Beowulf or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
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
Beowulf first displays his courage during his fight with the evil monster Grendel. In the poem, Beowulf challenges the beast to dual and says that he will fight him with no weapon and armor to show his courage. “No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares” (Heaney 683-685). This shows how much courage beowulf has because he is fighting a descendent from cain and is taking him on without any weapons and armor. Secondly, Beowulf does not hesitat for one second and takes on the beast without any help, this shows how courages the hero is. “He was bearing in/ where he lay on the bed: he was bearing in/ wiht open claw when the alert hero’s/ comeback and armlock forestolled him utterly” (764-750). Beowulf then defeats the evil monster grendel by tearing off his arm and killing the beast. In the poem the poeple are celebrating over this victory while Beowulf is dissapointed in himself because he thinks that it would be better if he had the head of the beast rather than the arm. “If you could have seen the monster himself/ where he lay beaten, I would have been better pleased” (960-961). Beowulf does not realise that he was the only one who could defeat this monster and no one else could because they do not have the courage.
He showed courage by risking his own life to help Hrothgar and the people of Herot by volunteering to fight Grendel. Beowulf states “That I alone, and with the help of my men, may purge all the evil from this hall” (pg.48). He also showed courage by fighting the dragon, even though he was getting too old, he still wanted to help and fight the dragon. He stated “I am old, now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, if the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me” (pg.56-57). Beowulf exemplified having courage by putting down his weapons and armor in the battle between him and Grendel, he wanted to fight him equally considering Grendel had no weapons. He made it a battle of strength and he displayed courage by believing in himself and taking a risk in fighting against Grendel. Beowulf was very full of courage, which he proved by fighting in his battles and risking his life for the sake of others.
Courage is a trait shared by Beowulf and King Arthur or “Wart”. Beowulf showed courage through the many battles he fought . Beowulf went to Heorot in hopes of defeating Grendel, the monster that had been attacking Herot for the last twelve years. This was courageous because he knew that he could be killed, but he fought anyway because that's what he needed to do. Wart showed courage when he pulled the sword out of the stone. He did not want to be King of England, let alone at such a young age. He wanted to put the sword back in the stone or let someone else become King. Wart was courageous and became King because he knew that was his duty. These examples show that courage
Beowulf first displays his courage during his fight with the evil monster Grendel. In the poem, Beowulf challenges the beast to duel and says that he will fight him with no weapons and armor to show his courage. “No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares” (Heaney 683-685). This shows how much courage Beowulf has because he is fighting a descendent from Cain and is taking him on without any weapons and armor. Secondly, Beowulf does not hesitate for one second and takes on the beast without any help, this shows how courages the hero is.