Beowulf Epic Hero Essay

An epic is a long narrative poem that uses serious and elevated language and is typically about a hero on a quest or matters of life and death. The epic, “Beowulf” is about Beowulf, the epic hero, being on a quest to defeat the monsters and become king. Beowulf is known as a hero for both his extraordinary characteristics and his willingness to risk himself for the greater good. He is expressed as an epic hero for his larger-than-life abilities and his enthusiasm for being a savior, as well as having wisdom. Beowulf is an epic hero because he has all the epic hero characteristics of being extraordinary. These characteristics include being a hero on a quest, being larger than life, being virtuous, and having extraordinary abilities like strength.

He proved he wanted to be a hero by continuing to risk his life for others, no matter the cost. Beowulf’s “…days of … Youth have been filled with glory” (234-235) and he earlier “drove five great giants into chains, [chasing] all of that race from the earth” (246-248) show that he achieved previous accomplishments against the supernatural. Beowulf was an extraordinary hero before defeating Grendel in Herot, and he continues fighting monsters for the betterment of the people, not just his pride. Further, into the story where Beowulf fights the dragon, Beowulf comments he has “never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, But I will fight again…” (622-624). Even as an old king, who no longer fights the way he used to, Beowulf still took the risk of death to save people. Beowulf fought rather than sitting back and letting the younger warriors fight the dragon, this shows how he is noble and

Not only does he have many accomplishments against the supernatural under his belt, but he also doesn’t let himself get boastful. He is very much a skillful hero with incredible natural abilities, and continued to gain and use the wisdom he has earned over the years. The world today needs to become better and realize the little details behind the scenes of people. Some often think that heroes are self-centered people who only save for matters of praise, and this causes people to give up so easily and become egotistical. Beowulf knew his time was coming or knew he was probably going to lose the battles he’s endured, but still chose to save people. He did it without a nudge or words of praise and awards. He evolved and became wiser, as our society should be doing. Everyone wants to be remembered as a good soul with good intentions on how they were wise and welcoming, rather than being praised with riches and being boastful. We should take this epic and apply it to ourselves, so we can light up our own world for the betterment of this society and future