Characteristics Of An Epic Hero

Elle Graves

Mr. Richards

English IV, Period 1

1/31/23

A True Epic Hero Ponder a true hero; which main characteristics come to mind. The hero's characteristics may differ with each text and the hero themself. Typically a hero’s attributes include courage, bravery, selflessness, and strength. Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf signifies an epic hero in many diverse ways. Beowulf holds many characteristics of an epic hero. For example, the hero is a demi-god and had a magical weapon, went through a long journey, went go on journeys by himself, had most of the highly applauded qualities of his people, and would battle in fair fights. From these characteristics and different excerpts from the poem it is easy to see Beowulf was a great and true epic hero.

Foremost, the epic hero Beowulf had formidable strength and used high-powered weapons in his battles which led him to be victorious time after time. The epic hero characteristic that this exemplifies is, the hero

As an epic hero, a hero must undertake a long, perilous journey, often involving a descent into the Underworld, which tests his/her endurance, courage, and cunning. In Beowulf, Beowulf fulfills this characteristic at the center of the poem when he sets off to battle Grendel’s mother. Grendel’s mother causes Beowulf to be called upon once again when she treks to Herot and takes King Hrothgar’s closest friend and the arm of her evil son. Like Grendel, Grendel’s mother lives at the bottom of the lake in an underwater lair. To retrieve Hrothgar's best friend and Grendel’s arm, Beowulf sets on his demanding journey. In the poem, it says, “For hours he sank through the waves;/ At last he saw the mud of the bottom”. (572- 573) This displays that Beowulf swam for hours before he made it to the underwater lair to take on Grendel’s mother. Besides taking a long journey, Beowulf would go through trying tasks that no one else would venture to