Ideal Hero In Beowulf

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British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Astronaut Neil Armstrong. Physicist Albert Einstein. Civil rights activist Mahatma Gandhi. Musician John Lennon. Many people are called hero today. However, there has never been a clear standard of who a hero is. The idea of a hero was first shown in English literature through Beowulf. Written in the Anglo-Saxon period, the saga of Beowulf, a young Geat warrior, is depicted through the 3,182 lines of the epic poem. Through the heroic values that Beowulf shows from the epic – strength, courage, and loyalty – the concept of an ideal hero is defined. Strength, as one of the essential elements of a hero, is well shown by Beowulf’s battles. During the first two battles, each with Grendel and its mother, …show more content…

As time passes by, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and faces his final opponent, the dragon, as an old, veteran king. “I would rather not use a weapon if I knew another way to grapple with the dragon and make good my boast as I did against Grendel in days gone by” speaks Beowulf, clearly showing a difference from his battle with Grendel (2518). During his battle, the dragon first lands its fangs on Beowulf, leaving a lethal wound. Gathering his strength, Beowulf strikes his knife into the dragon’s flank, putting the dragon to an end as he dies. During combat, Beowulf accepts the fact that the dragon overpowers him by far, but he does not fear the possibility of his death. Rather than showing fear for death, Beowulf claims to his men before battle: “This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth” (2532). Through the battle, Beowulf seeks to prove his worthiness and power as a king by saving the Geats one last time before he faces death. Beowulf’s attitude to death is like no other men; he accepts death as an inevitable event, and respects the honor of dying as a warrior in

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