Anglo-Saxons have many values and codes of conduct. Some of those include how they honored courage over a long life, valued loyalty to the lord or king above all, etc. The story Beowulf talks about an Epic hero named Beowulf, the journey’s that he went on, and the monsters he killed to help out the people. This will be talked about and it will also be proven that Beowulf is a good example of a hero. In the poem Beowulf, there are a couple of reasons why Beowulf possesses the characteristics of an epic hero and they are how Beowulf acts in a supremely ethical way by modeling the values of his society, he is a courageous leader who performs tasks and accepts challenges, and he possesses superior physical strength. First of all, Beowulf has many characteristics that make him a great model for an …show more content…
The poem states “And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder. Snapped, muscle and bone split. And broke” (Beowulf 497-499). Beowulf completely rips off Grendels arm, which the original human could never do. This shows that Beowulf has superior physical strength if he can do something that no other man can do. Also, another great example of this poem showing how Beowulf has superhuman strength is when he kills Grendels mom. The poem states “But so massive that no ordinary man could lift. Its carved and decorated length. He drew it. From its scabbard” (Beowulf 636-638). Beowulf is fighting Grendels mom and Unferth’s sword that he is using ends up breaking so he grabs the giant's sword that was on the wall in the cave, this sword was the only thing that can kill Grendels mom. The giant's sword also can’t be held by an ordinary person, but Beowulf has super physical strength and he successfully picks up the giant’s weapon and chops off Grendel moms head off. This shows how Beowulf has superior strength, and also how he is an epic