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Examples Of Archetypes In Beowulf

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The story of Beowulf is an extraordinary tale however, is this story considered a fairy tale? Beowulf has many elements in common with a fairy tale. These elements include the presence of a hero and villain archetype, monsters and unrealistic, exaggerated characteristics (strength), and the typical “happy ending” that conclude all fairytales.The archetypes of a hero and villain are expressed very clear in this story of tremendous bravery with the hero, Beowulf and the villain, Grendel. Grendel shows many villain qualities like lack of remorse, “The evil creature, grim and hungry, grabbed thirty warriors and went home laughing.” Beowulf shows his heroic qualities when he heard of Grendel’s wrong doings and went off to save the people and help the king, “That man called for a ship, said he would cross the ocean and help the king who needed help.” Beowulf successfully rid the King of the evil Grendel and was a hero due to his bravery and willingness to help and save the people from further devastation from Grendel.Grendel himself shows the reader that Beowulf is a fairy tale. …show more content…

Grendel is a man-eating demon who causes death and destruction in Herot mead hall. Beowulf exudes great strength that is not humanly possible. Often characters in fairy tales will have qualities or characteristics that are extreme for the fairy tale. In Beowulf this is expressed through his immense strength, “Beowulf grasped his arm and sat up. The criminal knew he had not met in this middle-earth another with such a grip. Grendel's spirit was afraid and his heart eager to get away, to flee to his hiding place, flee to the devils he kept for company. Never had he met a man such as this.”Lastly the epic Beowulf ends with the typical “happy ending” that is expected in every fairy tale. The story ends with the hero, Beowulf, defeating the evil villain, Grendel and saving the people from Grendel’s destructive

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