Compare And Contrast Beowulf And King Arthur

This shows Beowulf is brave not only in the sense that he is willing to let his own men die, but he is willing to wait for all his men to die to fight Grendel himself instead of taking on Grendel with the help of his men. In addition Beowulf shows cunning in battle by not giving up and having the determination to do what needs to be done, which does go hand in hand with bravery. In the Illiad Achilles shows bravery by refusing to make a pact with Hector.

Beowulf’s bravery is shown throughout the whole story. For example, when he decides to fight Grendel without any weapons seeing as how Grendel does not attack and kill with weapons. This shows much bravery and as he said in the story “My hands/alone shall fight for me, struggle for life/ against the monster.” (Raffel, 267-270) Beowulf here is talking about how he will fight Grendel with his own bare hands seeing as it will be a fair fight.

What he is most noted for is how important he finds glory to be. When he requests to fight Grendel for Hrothgar he states he will fight without a sword, as Grendel fears none and fights using his claws. Beowulf fears that if he points his sword to a creature that uses none would be disgraceful and will not bring glory. “But Beowulf longed only for fame, leaped back into battle” line 486, this shows that even as Beowulf is faced with a fight that may be his last, his need for glory

This society was based on the qualities of courage, being amicable, and the biggest quality of all was loyalty. Even though, for the last battle of Beowulf the all left him alone with the monster except for Wiglaf. He is a very brave man but has flaws and temptations that become his downfall. Although, he was adulated by everyone for killing the monster, he knew that he was a bad king to his kingdom and wanted to make up for it by killing getting the treasure and giving it to the kingdom. In Beowulf, there were similarities and differences between the humanity

Beowulf also displays great courage, for example, when he fought the dragon, he knew it was his last battle, but there was no hint of fear on his face and he fought like a warrior until the bitter end. These traits make someone a hero in today’s society. A hero that is willing to fight for what they believe in and lead people into the correct path. A hero that is willing to give their all and not give up when there is an immense obstacle up ahead. These two heroes might share different stories, but they share the same courage to fight and the honor to give their all.

Despite the fact that Beowulf has already won the acceptance of Unferth, who “had forgotten all those taunts he flung when tipsy with wine,” he still has a desire to prove himself and secure his status as a hero to the Dane people (49). Unferth loans Beowulf Hrunting, a sword that has never failed in battle, as a gesture to Beowulf being the better warrior. Even though Hrunting breaks and fails Beowulf in battle, he is still successful at killing the hellish monster. Once Beowulf resurfaces, he does not have the profuse amount of treasures that were in Grendel’s mother’s cave, but instead Grendel’s enormous head. Grendel’s head was so hard to move that it “was no easy matter for those courageous men, bold as kings, to carry the head away from the cliff” (pg. 54).

Beowulf takes on full responsibility for the dragon because of his courage, which makes him fearless. Without this courage, the dragon would continue to destroy the town and kill the people and evil would be victorious. However, since Beowulf is around to step up to the fight, the people are saved even at the sacrifice of his own

Emerson has stated the basics for heroism, and Beowulf follows them effortlessly. One of the characteristics Emerson states is having self-trust and confidence. Beowulf shows his confidence when he says, “The foe I must grapple, fight for my life then,/Foeman with Foeman.” Grendel does not use weapons and kills with his bare hands, and Beowulf is stating that he’s confident enough to fight the same way. Another quality trait Emerson talks about would be bravery; Beowulf shows bravery when he tells Hrothgar that he has defeated many beasts before, and will do so again with Grendel.

Beowulf is similar to the Knights of the Round Table because like them Beowulf is loyal to his lord, and brave. He is also like Hercules because they both have inhuman strength and they do not back down from a fight. Although Beowulf is like these heroes he also has some differences. Beowulf is different from the Knights of the Round Table because they do not have all the strength that Beowulf has, and they do not fight such gruesome monsters instead they fight in battles and wars. Hercules is also different from Beowulf because unlike Beowulf Hercules lacks some of the wisdom and knowledge that Beowulf has, and he sometimes used his strength against

The story tells of many characters who faced the same circumstances as Beowulf, yet failed to respond in a similar and valiant effort, like Beowulf. For example, when facing the dragon nearly all of his hand picked soldiers coward in fear. Beowulf then showed humility by turning down his first offer to be king. When Hrothgar died, he offered Beowulf the throne; however, he refused, which allowed the rightful heir, Hrothgar’s son to be placed into power. This decision exemplifies the value he placed on ethics and honor.

¨True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat¨- Napoleon. Clearly, Napoleon is explaining that a hero will conquer any negative things in life that challenge them. For example, modern day superheroes always overcome their problems in life. Modern day superheroes such as Batman, Superman, and Spiderman fight the villains and grow superior to the negative aspects in their lives. Similarly, heroes in poems and books gain their heroic name by defeating the ills of life.

Additionally, Beowulf’s immense courage makes him fit for representing the ideal epic hero. Beowulf is brave and he does not avoid doing anything that might be dangerous or risky. Beowulf is even willing to give up his life, when he performs some of the courageous deeds. For example, when Beowulf plans to fight Grendel, he tells Hrothgar: “’the monster’s scorn of men / Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. / Nor will I’”

“It was cruel and slimy and its eyes shone green. A part of the night it moved through, its wicked heart was darker than the darkest place in that night. Even the moon would not look at it.” (pg. 7)that, was Grendel.

“In Anglo-Saxon culture and literature, to be a hero was to be a warrior. A hero had to be strong, intelligent, and courageous” (Dogra 79). Furthermore, he had to be an honorable warrior who did not cower at the thought of an impossible battle. Rather, he trudged forward, prepared to the rattle cages of the strongest, evilest, and most damnable villains known to men. He personifies strength, loyalty, and bravery.

The success of Risk Risks are the something people will take to achieve a goal, in which, that is what set those people apart from the rest. Those people are then labelled as the greats. Now, those who exceed the label of great, accomplish this by continuing taking risks, even after they do not reach their goals. Taking risks is what pushes people to do the unthinkable, and that is how we accomplish progress. Taking a risk is a necessary part of achieving success.