Comparing Beowulf And Lesslie Hall

My personal definition of a hero is not only simply the protagonist of a story, but also someone who inspires, who displays courage and tenacity, Most importantly, a hero is someone who goes above and beyond to conquer obstacles that are not only just physical – like the strong superheroes and Greek warriors who we may think of – but also and maybe more importantly overcomes social, emotional, or psychological barriers. A villain, on the other hands, represents a literary foil to the hero, a distorted reflection. A villain has the chief goal of defeating the hero, and also creating as much chaos as possible in his or her wake. Interestingly, most times the villain in reality or literature truly believes that he or she is in the right, and that his or her perceptions and goals are moral, but the villain displays a corrupted perspective and is therefore seen as the enemy, the “bad guy.”

Beowulf is the obvious Medieval archetype, or paradigm, of a hero, and Lesslie Hall’s translation of Beowulf reflects that throughout the texts in the words and actions of Beowulf. Beowulf references his own “undaunted courage” (line 572) when describing his swimming race with Breca, and then later describes the warriors of Geatland (his home) as “heroes unnumbered.” In fact, Hall refers to Beowulf and his group of Geats as “heroes” nearly every time she mentions them throughout the story. His actions reflect his heroicism too, confronting the monster Grendel who no one else dares fight, conquering the throne of the Thanes, and eventually dying in battle, arguably the most heroic possible action for a warrior. Beowulf is possibly the epitome of a hero, in that he has totally shed his fear of death in favor of victory and eternal