ipl-logo

Essay On Bravery In Antigone And Beowulf

724 Words3 Pages

Heroism is the act of bravery, which is signified in both characters: Antigone and Beowulf. These two texts provide proof that both men and female can show bravery. The heroism in Antigone and Beowulf is similar and different in many ways. Both are willing to go against others for what they believe in. Antigone and her sister Ismene have two brothers that go to battle. During the battle one brother turns on the other, indicating that Polynices was on the wrong side. Since Polynices was on the wrong side he would not have a proper burial. In fact, Polynices would have no burial at all according to Creon when he states: “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him. But this body must lie in the fields, a sweet treasure. For carrion birds to find as they search for food.”. The previous quote signifies the reason for Antigone’s heroism to take place. However, in Antigone, they believe in multiple God’s. Antigone would rather break the laws …show more content…

The first battle shows Beowulf’s incredible strength, he wins this battle by cutting off Grendel’s arm. Next is the second battle which is against Grendel’s mother. Grendel’s mother is defeated by a sword that is in the hands of Beowulf. Lastly, the third battle is when Beowulf is the King and also very old. During the last battle, Beowulf takes the victory however he is wounded and dies. The following quote: “This monster himself, our mighty king, fight this battle alone and unaided.” shows how other men portray Beowulf. The result of heroism in both Beowulf and Antigone result in death. Each of these stories shows the reason for a God or multiple God’s. Although the readers primarily focus on the bravery portrayed in each of these texts the readers do not focus on the evil. Creon felt that Polynices had shown treachery, while Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon all were the villains that had to be put to a

Show More
Related

  • Creon Is An Example Of A Tragic Hero In Antigone

    607 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the story Antigone, Antigone’s brother, Polynices, is killed in battle. Polyneices had led an army to attack Thebes, and this act was deemed unforgivable by King Creon. Creon regards Polynices’ body to be unworthy of a proper burial and

    Read More

  • How Does Beowulf Qualify As A Mythic Hero

    335 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf is considered a mythic hero because there are three types of passages in “ The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. The first type is the separation, which is where the hero decides to go on an adventure to do good things and save lives. An example of this is when Beowulf hears about grendel and decides himself to go and make a difference and defeat Grendel. The second type is initiation, which is the hero actually doing the things that

    Read More

  • Comparing Beowulf And John Gardner's Gren

    469 Words  | 2 Pages

    The idea of a hero is explored differently in the ancient Anglo-Saxon text Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel. During the time period of both of the stories being a hero is very important to everyone. Beowulf is not a true hero, even if he tries to make himself out to seem like a true hero, based on modern ideas of the Hero. In the poem Beowulf being a hero is very important to the main character Beowulf.

    Read More

  • Comparing Beowulf And Grendel

    621 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beowulf accepts Hrothgar's favor to fight Grendel, and Beowulf goes off and boasts about his accomplishments. He fights Grendel and wins! Towards the end, Beowulf dies due to a dragon bite. Grendel does not deserve sympathy because he invaded the Mead Hall, killed humans, and was irredeemable. Grendel invades the Mead Hall unwelcome by the humans.

    Read More

  • Creon Speech Essay

    476 Words  | 2 Pages

    He then announces that Eteocles will have a proper burial, since he holds more respect in Creon’s mind. But Polyneices, Eteocles’ brother, will be left out for the animals to eat. Polyneices started the war for the throne, and to Creon, he is much less deserving of his respect, so he will not be

    Read More

  • Antigone Research Paper

    405 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antigone: Gender Difference and Power As we are all aware that for generations, gender difference and power have been an issue for centuries. That being said the play Antigone by Sophocles, displays many examples of these struggles. The main topics that will be discussed, are: Antigone’s background history in Oedipus the King, the conflict between Creon the king of Thebes and Antigone, the gender difference and power. In order to know who Antigone is, you must know some of her and her families background, which is from the play of Oedipus the King.

    Read More

  • Controversy In Sophocles Antigone

    576 Words  | 3 Pages

    He states, “Exactly when did you last see the gods / celebrating traitors? Inconceivable!” (Sophocles 326-327). This delivers the argument in reference to Antigone’s beliefs of glory that it is merely impossible to imagine the gods giving glory to those who honor traitors, regardless of their relation to one another. He is stating the unimportance of following the laws set by the gods in regards to dealing with citizens who have the incentive to become traitors of their own city.

    Read More

  • Arrogance In Beowulf

    427 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf makes known that “no man but [himself] could hope to defeat this monster, [and] no one could try.” Beowulf wants to have this fight all to himself, so he can take all of the glory. He is too selfish to conclude that only he could defeat the monster alone. Beowulf cannot be thought of as a hero because “Beowulf only longed for fame.” Beowulf does not perform heroic deeds just to save the citizens, but to receive more admiration from the citizens.

    Read More

  • Essay On Archetypes In Beowulf

    1250 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the poem, Beowulf fights three different monsters and in each of these situations he chooses to begin the fight without their help. He enters into combat with his men by his side, but when the actual fighting begins he defeats the monsters with very little help from them. Beowulf’s strength and physical prowess was unlike any other man in comparison to his height and incredible grip. Furthermore, Beowulf can be categorized as an outcast based on his personality traits. The main character is set apart from the other warriors because of his courage and humility.

    Read More

  • Essay On Bravery In Beowulf

    808 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bravery, defined as, courageous acts of one’s character. The main person in this epic poem to demonstrate the act of bravery would be, Beowulf himself. Beowulf’s battle with Grendel shows true courage. Beowulf then “took off the helmet and handed the patterned sword”. (672-673)He was completely unarmed as described in the lines previous.

    Read More

  • Antigone Vs Creon Essay

    782 Words  | 4 Pages

    Polyneices was known as a traitor to Thebes and that is why Creon made the law that Polyneices could not be buried. Even though Antigone was aware of this she was not ready to just leave her brother’s carcass unburied and completely open to animals like birds and dogs. The law was not thought through by creon at all, Creon’s son Haimon even tells his dad that him killing Antigone is guaranteed to bring upon more deaths. Creon started to believe that Haimon had turned over to a criminal, his fiance Antigone, but Haimon re assures Creon that he listens to his father and has the most respect for him. Even though Haimon tells this to Creon, Haimon still tells the King Creon that he is wrong and that the people are talking in town, Haimon says “But I, at any rate, can listen; and i have heard them muttering and whispering in the dark about this

    Read More

  • The Monsters In Beowulf

    975 Words  | 4 Pages

    The definition of heroism is great bravery. Bravery is what Beowulf displays when he makes the decision to battle the monsters. Beowulf's courage is exposed multiple times during the battles for example, "The dragon burns Beowulf's hall with fiery breath, and the old king sets out to fight him unaided" (Hanning 9). This detail displays that although the dragon is evil and might, Beowulf shows no fear whatsoever when battling them. Beowulf ignores the possibility of there being an adverse outcome during every battle he continues to fight.

    Read More

  • Creon's Motives In Antigone

    622 Words  | 3 Pages

    Creon says, “but his brother Polyneices, who broke his exile to come back with fire and sword against his native city and the shrines of his father’s gods, whose one idea was to sill the blood and sell his own people into slavery – Polyneices, I say, is to have no burial: no man is to touch him or say the least prayer for him;

    Read More

  • The Values Of Citizens And Values In Antigone

    1403 Words  | 6 Pages

    The burial ritual was very important to those who believed in mythology, as it was what allowed them to cross over into the afterlife. According to tradition, an entire body must be preserved or it cannot cross over. Creon wanted to leave Polyneices’ body to be eaten by wild animals so he would be unable to cross over. Antigone buried her brother anyway and when Creon found out, he threw her in prison. As the story goes on, the general opinion begins to change and more characters begin to side with Antigone.

    Read More

  • The Three Battles In Beowulf

    868 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Beowulf, a wide variety of aspects are portrayed but only one of them captivates the reader the most: Beowulf’s battles between Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. They all share similarities and differences and each of the opponents symbolize different things. Firstly, all three of Beowulf’s battles are similar in some way.

    Read More

More about Essay On Bravery In Antigone And Beowulf

Open Document