Hero or Myth? Is Beowulf really a hero or is this a myth? A hero is a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. Does Beowulf fit those essentials to be a hero? Beowulf is a hero because whether Beowulf is a fighting sea monster, or a terrible fire-breathing dragon he displays his great strength throughout this book shows how a hero should be. In the beginning of this epic, a monster named Grendel is attacking King Hrothgar’s mead hall Herot. When Beowulf hears about this tragedy, Beowulf volunteers himself to go and battle the beast. When Beowulf arrives to battle Hrothgar he is given a feast and decides to stay the night and question and interrogate Hrothgar. When Grendel arrives he kills one of Beowulf's clan members …show more content…
The quote talks about the monster skills and how it’s a hand to hand battle and the fight against evil. Beowulf knows that Grendel is immune to weapons so he chooses not to fight with any.He also doesn’t fight with any armor to make the fight fair. Beowulf tells king Hrothgar “…I hereby renounce/ sword and the shelter of the broad shield./ The heavy war-broad: hand to hand/ is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend”(436-440). That right there says that Beowulf is stronger and braver than the average warrior. Is Beowulf a physical hero? Hand to hand fighting is a physical feature that Beowulf uses to defeat his enemies throughout the book. In the quote from above is an example where his physical hero comes in. “The captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth. Every bone in his body quailed and recoiled, but he could not escape.
He was desperate to flee to his den and hide with the devil's litter, for in all his
When most people think of a hero, they picture a typically strong man with courageous actions and noble qualities. As people read Beowulf, they will begin to realize that Beowulf is the exact figure of what a hero should be. From defeating Grendel to helping the kingdom, Beowulf continues to show his heroic acts. If it weren’t for him, Grendel would have destroyed the kingdom. Beowulf’s strength, courage, and nobility proves that he is a hero.
However, in What is a Hero? by P. Apolinario, we learn that heroes are humans, cultural, display strengths and weaknesses, save others, and help society survive and thrive. When Beowulf first enters Danes, he is acknowledged with “You’re Beowulf, are you – the same boastful fool who fought a swimming match” (239-241). Beowulf is the average person that may be considered a hero. He is noticed for his ordinary trials, no extraordinary achievement. When “each warrior tried to escape [Grendel]” (54-54), Beowulf remained willing to do the job.
Though seen as a great warrior, and perhaps even a great king(which he may be) does it actually make Beowulf a hero? First
Hrothgar and Beowulf The epic, Beowulf, written by an unknown author tells a story of heroism, good versus evil, and defeat. The story starts out with a monster Grendel, whom is said to be the decadence of Cain, awaking. This devilish monster goes on a rampage of pure evil killing everything in its sight which leaves the once great leader, Hrothgar, hopeless. Beowulf hears of this terrible monster and comes to the king’s rescue. Beowulf ends up defeating the monsters threatening the land and then the two great leaders form an alliance and become appreciative friends.
A hero is a distinguished person of outstanding qualities and abilities, who is admired for not only having these specific characteristics but also admired by his people for his noble acts and bravery. More specifically to this story would be to look at the aspects of an Anglo-Saxon hero. An Anglo-Saxon hero is a person who is a great leader, is open to and able to protect his people and give them a sense of safety, and is also willing to put himself in harms to protect these people. These heroes were usually someone of high standing or someone with great accomplishments because they distinguished themselves by doing things for the greater good. In the epic poem Beowulf, the unknown author portrays Beowulf as a hero in order to show how being a hero requires a specific set of
Beowulf is characterized as an epic hero because of his glorious legacy. This epic hero was in constant danger from evil but always defeated it. He also had a moral code that separated him from mere mortals. The epic hero portrayed many traits that made him great. Although he died in battle, Beowulf’s leadership, bravery, and sense of morality made him an epic hero among men.
Beowulf puts his wisdom and knowledge as an epic hero to the test when he battles Grendel. When he and his men are fighting Grendel, they realize that no sword can penetrate him. When Heaney writes, “The monster’s whole body was in pain, a tremendous wound appeared on his shoulder. Sinews split and the bone lappings burst. Beowulf was granted the glory of winning; Grendel was driven
In the epic poem “Beowulf” the character Beowulf is the foundation for all of our modern heroes, but was he really a great hero? A hero is classified as a person who is admired for their bravery, achievements, or nobility. Although Beowulf displays all these qualities, there are several reasons he is not a hero, mainly him being egotistical and arrogant. This is why Beowulf is not a heroic person. Beowulf is often caught bragging about himself and his great accomplishments.
The Webster's definition of a hero is “A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities”, this also happens to be one of the qualifications of being an epic hero. There are many things that can be used to compare and contrast Beowulf as an epic hero and a modern day hero, but you’ll find that the human idea of a hero was primarily the same in 700 CE as it is now although the job descriptions of hero’s have changed. In today’s time a person is usually considered a hero if they help the public good, like a police officer, soldier, firefighter and so on. In Beowulf’s time a person was considered a hero if they were a great warrior. When looking at the characteristics of what makes Beowulf an epic hero and the characteristics
According to Beowulf in Beowulf by Heaney, “He has no idea of the arts of war, of shield or sword-play, although he does possess a wild strength. No weapons, therefore, for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares.” (Heaney, 47). Beowulf put all his trust in his strength and his equipments such as his sword and helmet because he believes weapons had advantages over Grendel, the fiend that fights bare handed. It is clear that Beowulf is over self-esteem with his strength instead of being a wise man because he does not question whether Grendel is resistant to swords.
Beowulf had so many characteristics that showed heroism by standing up and showing that he wasn’t scared of anything. He didn’t let nothing stop him. He was the one who saved the warriors and the cities men and women. He was a hero in the story.
In the story Beowulf they make Beowulf out to be the hero. I believe that he is the hero because of his way that he presents himself when he gets to as his crewmen walked off the boat and they looked bad in clothes Beowulf looked very nice and very manly other than his crewmen looked bad and also he was a hero because he was the only one to come to and help the town. Defeating the monsters which was mother dragon and the last reason that he was considered a hero because after all the monsters he killed he decided to give all of the gold and supplies that he won from the battle with the monsters to all the people in herot and also he was reconized as a hero because he let God decide his Faith during the battle with the monsters.
A hero does not fight for fame and glory but for the greater good. A hero is someone who goes through adversity to help others in desperate times. A hero fights evil, and defends people. Beowulf should be considered a hero because he is a strong, brave warrior who defended his people and slayed evil monsters. Beowulf proves himself to be a strong, brave warrior by killing Grendel the monster.
Beowulf, a skilled warrior and was believed to be the strongest of all the lands, heard about the distress in Heorot and decided to make the voyage to assist King Hrothgar. When Beowulf and his men arrived in Heorot, the natives were intimidated by the appearance of his ship and his men, which showed the first act of pride in Beowulf. Beowulf and his men had successfully proved to the people of Heorot that Beowulf believed that he could kill the monster and save the land of Heorot. Hrothgar assigned the duty of killing Grendel to Beowulf and his men, and told them to party, which attracts and angers Grendel, and wait for Beowulf. Grendel entered the mead hall while Beowulf laid patient and observant, waiting for the perfect time to attack, with his bare hands.
Beowulf mainly fights with his own strength when his weapons fail him. “I have heard moreover that the monster scorns in his reckless way to use weapons; therefore, to heighten Hygelac’s fame and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce sword Harris 5 and shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and- death fight with a fiend.” (Heaney line 433-440). Beowulf states this when he decides to fight Grendel without the help of any weapons or shields and leave it up to God to judge who will win the fight (Shmoop). Beowulf is so strong that his might can bring down beasts and even swords are weak to him, making Beowulf s heroism greater than weapons.