Examples Of Superhuman Deeds In Beowulf

Beowulf Essay One of the ways Beowulf proves himself as an epic hero is by performing extraordinary or superhuman deeds. One example from the book is when he travels to the land of the Danes to kill a beast that has killed all of Hrothgar’s (king of the Danes) men. The beast name is Grendel and he has been going to the Heriot Hall and killing men every night that he goes there. Beowulf battled Grendel with just his hands and during the fight Beowulf grabbed the beast’s arm and started twisting it, “He (Grendel) twisted in pain, and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped, muscle and bone split and broke. The battle was over, Beowulf had been granted new glory; Grendel escaped… only to die, to wait for the end of his days.” Another way Beowulf performs superhuman deeds is by then going to kill Grendel’s mother. The Danes thought that they had achieved safety and could sleep in the mead hall again, but when they did another beast also known as Grendel’s mother took one of the Danes and went back to where she lived. When Beowulf heard of this attack, he immediately started taking the journey to the lake in which

He dove into the lake and, “for hours he sank through the waves; at last he saw the mud of the bottom… the best of all weapons but so massive that no ordinary man could lift its carved and