Beowulf: The Benevolent Hero
“Let me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall, welcome my death!” That is the battle cry of the archetype of all heroes, Beowulf. Beowulf was a young man, a Geat, who was given the gift of superhuman strength to battle ferocious, evil monsters both on land and in the ocean. He hears of the horrible monster known as Grendel, who terrified the Danes through his trips to Herot, the mead-hall of the Danish king, Hrothgar, to kill more and more of Hrothgar’s men. Beowulf travels to the land of the Danes to kill Grendel, but did he do it out of the motive to help Hrothgar and his people, or did he do it to gain more fame and popularity? In other words, was it out of benevolence or selfishness? Beowulf uses his talents out of benevolence because the battles he fights are on behalf of others, he automatically responds to trouble without being called, and he only thinks of his kingdom. To begin with, Beowulf uses his talents for benevolence because the battles he fights are on behalf of someone else. According to lines
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As illustrated by lines 805-806, “Allowed me to bring to my people while breath still came to my lips.” Beowulf keeps mentioning “people.” Not just here, but all throughout the epic. He mentions them in his speech to King Hrothgar, and according to the blurb above the The Final Battle section of the epic, “and then returns gift-laiden to the land of the Geats, where he succeeds to the throne.” He even was king of the Geats, and a king serves his people. Correspondingly, lines 807-809 state, “Take what I leave Wiglaf, lead my people, help them; my time is gone.” Telling Wiglaf to use what he passes down to him to “lead his people,” proves the statement that Beowulf only thinks about his people and further proves his benevolence. Therefore, Beowulf is benevolent because he only thinks about his