“When it Comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel” (p. 47). claimed Beowulf. In the old English epic poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, an audacious man named Beowulf, ruler of the Geats, was valued as a hero by many. Beowulf was viewed as a gallant hero when he chose to stay with the Danes to help them, rather than returning home to Geatland. In addition, Beowulf was perspicacious. He knew what needed to be done in order to succeed. Beowulf was distinguished as a hero by the fact that he was a selfless, and did not return to Geatland when given the opportunity. After he had ripped off Grendel’s arm leaving him crippled to bleed to death, he had the opportunity to leave the Danes and return back to his homeland. However, he chose to stay and slay Grendel's mother. He did this brave, heroic act to keep the Danes safe from the wrath of her vengeance on the town for the death of her only beloved son, Grendel. By him doing this, it shows that he valued the Danes’ safety more than his, and he would do critical tasks in order to keep them safe. Beowulf then went to the cave where Grendel and his mother housed, and once Grendel's mother sensed him, she yanked him down to the cold, dark depths of the bottom of the water. With all of his …show more content…
Nobody had even asked Beowulf to stay and battle with her, he did it out of cordiality. This shows that he was selfless, and put others needs before his. He was also viewed per spacious, considering he had made the bold move of stepping up to the plate to reign over his country, and to be fearless going into fighting a perilous dragon. This is proof to Beowulf showing the strong traits of being knowledgeable and courteous. This is important to society for the sake of it showing us, the readers, what a hero was considered back in the 6th century, compared to what a hero is today in the 21st