Beowulf Epic Hero Essay

Beowulf The Epic Hero In the epic poem, Beowulf, by the Beowulf Poet, it talks about the battles, and the challenges that Beowulf the protagonist has with the supernatural antagonists Grendel, and Grendel’s mom. After reading this poem and discovering what it took to become an epic hero, Beowulf strongly represents most of the characteristics of a hero. Some people may say that Beowulf was just a guy with some good luck, and he was not an epic hero at all, but this statement is proven to be false. In the poem it talks about the Anglo- Saxon way of life and what an epic hero was to them. The Beowulf character is based off many of the Anglo- Saxon characteristics and beliefs, which are portrayed throughout the poem.

The poem starts out talking

He takes part in dangerous adventures and accomplishes many good deeds. And as stated above it shows that he goes on long difficult journeys, where he displays courage and supernatural strength. This is shown both when he defeated Grendel in the great hall at Herot and when he defeated Grendel’s mother in the cave in the battle hall. An example of this is when it says, “Sword, hammered by giants, strong And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons But so massive that no ordinary man could lift… lifted it high over is head And struck with all the strength he had left”, this is showing that he has supernatural strength and he has an incredible amount of bravery (lines 514-523). Meanwhile, others say that Beowulf does not represent, that he is just a character that is in a poem and that there is no epic hero in the poem but that is false. Beowulf obviously represents the greater good, and the values of the Anglo- Saxon

They believed in word, or fate, rather than in afterlife, but they hoped that acquiring fame and treasure through acts of valor would give them a kind of immortality” (page 409). This is the basis to this poem relates Beowulf because he came from a far distant land, to conquer the evil monsters, while leaving all his faith to God and King Hrothgar. Before Beowulf’s battle with Grendel it says, “God must decide Who will be given to death’s cold grip”, this is showing that he has a strong belief in faith and that is the basis to everything he does (lines 174-175). At the same time someone might think that Grendel is an epic hero because he has all the supernatural strength, and he represents something bigger than this world, but a true epic hero is someone who represents bravery, fame, glory, kinship, generosity, strength, and faith on a daily basis like Beowulf.

As previously stated, in the epic poem, Beowulf, by the Beowulf poet, it talks about the traditional Anglo- Saxon beliefs and how Beowulf is an epic hero because he lives up to all of these beliefs. Beowulf goes through many battles and faces many challenges along the road, but he also always believed in God. While others may say that he does not represent an epic hero because