Heroic Code In Beowulf

Although loyalty and liberality elevate a warrior’s quality throughout Beowulf, there are many absences of the two values in the poem. In the beginning, the narrator mentions the evil beast, Grendel who was kin to Cain (man who kills his own kin Abel in biblical terms) that only wreaks havoc on people and shows no signs of peace: “Suddenly then / the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: / greedy and grim, he grabbed [grabs] thirty men / from their resting places and rushed [rushes] to his lair…” (Beowulf 120-23). Here, the description of Grendel’s actions show a great example of the lack of both loyalty and liberality. At night time, the “God-cursed” monster silently sneaks up on these defenseless warriors while they sleep and takes their lives for no apparent reason.

Joseph Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself.” In the epic poem, Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney and the novel Harry Potter and the Source’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling, both follow The 17 Stages of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth. Beowulf and Harry Potter prove they are heroes and fit into Campbell’s pattern because of their bravery, perseverance and courage throughout each story. In Beowulf, the main character Beowulf, demonstrates courage throughout the poem and Campbell’s Monomyth helps prove his heroic journey. Beowulf says, ‘“And so, my request, O king of Bright-Danes, dear prince of the Shieldings, friend of the people and their ring of defense, my one request is that you won’t refuse

That is what a true hero is, and that's what they will remain throughout time no matter how the challenges change. Heros have courage. The courage of heroes is seen many times throughout Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales. Courage is a hard trait to describe, but it is even harder to actually have true courage. Beowulf certainly shows courage throughout the book, and he is the hero of the book.

"The Medieval Romance Tales of King Arthur and his Brave Knights" The tales of King Arthur are undoubtedly some of the best-known romances of the Middle Ages. A romance is a long, medieval narrative in prose or verse telling of the adventures of chivalric heroes. By definition, the 2004 King Arthur film classifies as a romance. King Arthur demonstrates all the key elements essential to a romance by telling of a hero 's adventures along with all the trials and self-knowledge that comes with them. According to the definition of a romance, each medieval narrative must have a hero.

An example of them fighting differently is when Beowulf kills Grendel with no armor or weapon. When Gilgamesh battles Humbaba he uses an axe to end his life. While Beowulf uses brute strength, Gilgamesh takes a more cautious approach. I do think that both men are brave for fighting such horrible monsters. When killing the monsters Beowulf and Gilgamesh have two very different reasons.

Comparison can be made between Ahab and the monster in Frankenstein on the basis of revenge that the monster wanted to take from Victor. Victor lost all the power over his creation when the monster killed William. Frankenstein immediately felt responsible for the crime because he never made his creation to go around and kill people. After destroying the work of second creature, the monster threaten Victor saying that, “Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master;—obey!” (Shelly, 192).

For Beowulf, the news of Grendel is hard to ignore, so he comes to Heorot to kill Grendel. Foster, an expert on all things literature says, “... Someone tells our protagonist, our hero, who need not look very heroic, to go somewhere and do something” (Foster 3). As soon as Beowulf hears about the thirty men that Grendel killed and the abandoned mead hall, he makes it his mission to kill the evil monster. This fight between Beowulf and Grendel is a hand to hand battle, showing the pure,brute strength of Beowulf.

In M.A Roberts’ Beowulf the story of a great hero, Beowulf, is told. The story follows Beowulf as he goes from being a warrior, simply trying to pay off a man-debt, to becoming a king who is later forced to return to battle for a final time. He was truly qualified as a hero being that he was characterized as both abnormally strong and courageous. However, the main reason he is characterized as a hero is due to his story, similar to other epic heroes Beowulf is no different and had to endure the hero cycle containing flaw, restitution, and resurrection.

Beowulf’s Courage Makes an Epic Hero A good example of an epic hero is from the epic poem Beowulf, written by Seamus Heaney, focusing on the titular character Beowulf because he is known for his courage which is used to create more characteristics that an epic hero should have. The best place to start is with an example of Beowulf valuing his courage, where Jones reminds the reader “Beowulf himself speaks to this importance of courage when arguing with Unferth” (Jones 3). Another good example is in the packet The Middle Ages: The Epic Hero, where Jones states that an epic hero “has 12 main characteristics, including being strong, courageous, and self-sacrificing” (Jones 2). First of all, Beowulf’s courage helps him have the strength to be in a battle against his enemies. For instance, before fighting with Grendel, Beowulf says “Unarmed he shall face me / if face me he dares.

The basic traits of being a hero are simple. You must have courage, selflessness, humility, loyalty, patience and care deeply about others. “A hero is a person or main character of a literary work who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength, often sacrificing their own personal concerns for a greater good. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero)”. One of the most important works in Old English literature is Beowulf, it is a great example of an epic hero.