Why Is Beowulf's Loyalty Important

Beowulf’s immense physical and mental strength is a typical trait of the classic hero. He rises to the challenge of defeating impossibly powerful monsters and beasts without hesitation. Mentally, he does not shy away from the horrors of humanity and of the world. While others flee, Beowulf is brave and stands

Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, and the author of Beowulf is unknown. Beowulf is the The setting of Beowulf is in Sweden and Denmark(the book 1231). Beowulf is divided into three parts in which Beowulf fights a dragon, a monster named Grendel, and Grendel’s mother. The Anglo-Saxon people have many values. There are many Anglo-Saxon values throughout Beowulf such as loyalty, strength, bravery, generosity, honor, and glory.

Not only is Beowulf honorable and well respected, he is brave as well. His courage is shown by not hesitating to risk his own life to pursue the Dane’s enemies. By being self-assured, Beowulf is able to successfully defeat the fiends, Grendel and his infamous mother. At the time Beowulf is planning to pursue the vindictive dragon, the epic poem states, “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, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.”(ll. 2511-2515). He feels no fear, is confident in fighting the dragon alone, and has no qualms in risking his life to save others. He declares his bravery by saying, “When he comes to me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins... No one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster.”(ll. 2525-2534). In his actions, Beowulf’s bravery is clearly shown throughout the poem.

This shows Beowulf’s strength, courage and fearlessness. Through this it is evident that he possess courageous traits.

Beowulf ‘s confidence in his abilities and courage to carry out his mission exhibits how he could be considered an epic hero. When he first hears of the Danes’ plight with the monster Grendel, Beowulf wastes no time in “his plan to sail the swan’s road and seek out that king” who desperately needs assistance in his troubles (Heaney 201-202). He eagerly accepts his call to action, wasting no time in ensuring King Hrothgar of his “awesome strength” and exhibiting an unwavering self-assurance as he recalls how he “battled and bound five beasts” (Heaney 418-420). In these first encounters with the hero, it is evident that Beowulf’s defining characteristics include his courage and pride. There is no fear or reluctance in his attempt for glory,

Loyalty and courage are two themes that emerge throughout the poem ‘Beowulf by Seamus Heaney’. With a focus on an extract in Beowulf, this essay will explore how Seamus Heaney shows the themes loyalty and courage through the use of diction and imagery.

When Beowulf first hears of the horrendous creature Grendel who slaughtered many of Hrothgar’s men He sails with his men to Herot he gets stopped at the entrance by a soldier. The soldier of course does not trust Beowulf so he asks who his father is. Whoever was your father really mattered, it said what kind of person you were because of your fathers actions. The soldier says to Beowulf “Tell me your name/ and your fathers; no spies go further into Danish/ soil than you’ve already come” (lines 165-168). Beowulf explains who his father was and his intentions in Herot. Beowulf says that he has heard of the monster and all he wants is to help them because they have suffered for too long. The soldier guarding the entrance into Herot let Beowulf and his men enter, the soldier seems to trust Beowulf and he says to him. “’ A soldier should know the difference between words/ and deeds and keep that knowledge clear in his brain. I believe your words, I trust in/ your friendship”’ (lines 200-203). Beowulf sails to Herot to kill a monster that has murdered many men. He does this for many reasons he to help, he wants everyone to see his ability, and he just wants some glory.

Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.

The Anglo Saxons were an interesting people that were loyal to their lord. Each group had a leader that commanded and directed the warriors. Loyalty was an important part of the Anglo Saxons culture. In Beowulf, the Anglo Saxons were expected to remain loyal to their leader as he was responsible for protecting them in battle. The leaders of the Anglo Saxons were admired for their courage and determination as they guided the group of warriors in their endeavors. In “The Wife’s Lament”, the wife remains loyal to her lord even though she is treated harshly by him. She chased after him when he left, and continued to love him after he ostracized her. As evident in Beowulf and “The Wife’s Lament”, the Anglo Saxons greatly relied on a noble leader to protect them from danger and direct them towards success; as a result, the followers were loyal to their lord by showing reverence and admiration as well as honouring their legacy, even if the lord neglected to fulfill his duties.

Courage, generosity, faithfulness are the qualities that every hero, today, has embodied. Everyone looks towards these figures for leadership and in the Anglo-Saxon religion actually tends to put heroic figures on a high pedestal. Besides the king, heros are looked up to just as much. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon hero because he shows loyalty towards his king, selflessness and a sense of justice in everything he does.

In the epic poem Beowulf, there are numerous themes portrayed. Themes such as honor and reputation, revenge, loyalty, and allegiance are shown in the poem. Loyalty is shown in multiple parts of the poem: such as when Wiglaf helps Beowulf in his last battle, when Grendel's mother seeks revenge for the death of her son, and also when the Geats didn't leave Beowulf even when they thought he was dead. In the battle between Beowulf and Grendel's mother, it mentions that Grendel's mother is seeking revenge for her son. It says, ¨… she drew a dagger, brown with dried blood, and prepared to avenge her only son¨ (501-503).

Loyalty was a big theme in Beowulf which by the way without loyalty Beowulf would have been alone but loyalty helped him in many different parts of the story. For example, as he was in the halls of Hrothgar his loyal subjects knew that sleeping there might cost them their life but they stayed there because they knew they had a warrior who could save them. They stayed through the loyalty to Beowulf. Beowulf the main character showed the most loyalty out of all which prove the point that loyalty is the main theme of the story. He showed such loyalty by never fearing anything by Always think of other before himself by thinking of his people and his duty to his people by helping them from danger to helping them financially and also keeping his words to the king of Hrothgar.

Loyalty and reputation are only two major themes seen in Beowulf that can connect to today’s humanity. They are a big aspect of our lives as well as it was for Beowulf. Loyalty is something everyone looks for in a person. If that loyalty is not there then there isn’t a solid base for a relationship whether it be in a work environment or in any environment. A good reputation is searched for by almost everyone.

The scene in Beowulf when main character Beowulf proclaims the reasonings he felt to go protect the Geats suggests among the Spear-Danes classification as a warrior related with proving loyalty in the form of self-sacrifice. Additionally, I will argue in what follows that other scenes in the poem, such as, Wiglaf giving the speech on what amounts of cowardice behavior proves respect came from an urgency for loyalty proven through self-sacrificing methods. However, I will argue on top of loyalty being expressed as important it was not matter of want for Beowulf to sacrifice himself but his understood purpose. Influentially, a tension is formed between how reputation and loyalty is defined throughout the poem. The passage I will analyze is when Beowulf is speaking in the mead hall about urgency to be loyal towards the Geats right before Grendel attacks the hall. Here in Beowulf dictates that in order to be a good warrior he knew it was necessary to go to sea to defend the Geats which would entail him having to go extremes to prove his loyalty. Beowulf’s urgency suggests the believable notion that loyalty is necessary to survive in this society even when it means a warrior would sacrifice his own life for others. This in makes it difficult to withstand the belief that reputation was as important as loyalty.

Courage and wisdom reflect the encouragement to prove his determination and decisiveness when he fought the dragon. His great amount of vigor brought himself at imminence to perform collective acts of heroism. Beowulf caused me wonderment for he looked up fame through courageousness in the harm's way having unworthy circumstance.