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Examples Of Archetypes In Beowulf

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The epic Beowulf, reflects the values and importance of the Anglo-Saxon period. Beowulf, who is a brave leader, encounters three major challenges; the battle with Grendel, the battle with Grendel’s mother, and the battle with the dragon. He is triumphant in all three battles. The three major ideas, fate, Anglo-Saxon hero, and fame are all displayed in Beowulf. A recurring pattern or model of an action, a character, or an image in life or literature is called an archetype. Three archetypes shown in Beowulf are the battle between good and evil, the hero, and the devil figure. One of the archetypes stressed in Beowulf is the hero. Beowulf portrays heroic traits such as loyalty, honor, bravery, faith and superhuman strength. These traits make him the Anglo-Saxon hero. Beowulf fights in three battles and wins them all. That shows his bravery and strength. After Beowulf defeats Grendel, people of all ages were “retelling Beowulf’s bravery”(Beers II. …show more content…

The definition of good is to be morally right or righteous. Beowulf shows that throughout the entire epic. He battles three evil creatures and defeats them all. Beowulf always prevails even though his enemies continue to gain power. Someone who represents evil will be Grendel. Grendel commits heinous acts against people who have done nothing wrong. Grendel shows how evil he is when he “snatched at the first Geat he came to, ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws” and he even “drank the blood from his veins” (Beers II. 262-265). Beowulf also fights two other evil creatures. He goes into battle against Grendel’s mother. She is also very evil, seeing as she raised Grendel. Evil qualities shown yet again when she picked Beowulf up, “clutched him savagely but could not harm him” (Beers II. 459). Lastly, Beowulf fights the dragon, raids the countryside and ends up battling Beowulf and his

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The use of archetypes in literature has a rich history, and the epic poem "Beowulf" is a testament to this tradition. One of the most notable archetypes found in the poem is the Quest archetype, which is a journey taken by the hero in search of something valuable. In "Beowulf," the Quest archetype is used to develop the theme of heroism and the struggle between good and evil. Showed throughout the quest with the decendent’s of cain.

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Mythological or Archetypal philosophy has been around for centuries and is used across numerous cultures. Carl Jung, a close colleague of Sigmund Freud, defined the word archetype as “a figure...that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is fully manifested.” Archetypes can come in various forms: characters, images, and situations. Though many different forms of archetypes appear in the tale of Beowulf, specifically, the archetypal character roles of the hero and the outcast are major aspects of the story. The role of the hero is a popularly recognizable element of many stories.

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Although the battles Beowulf fights differ in terms of theme, they all demonstrate archetypes, an important element of Anglo-Saxon culture and writing. In Beowulf’s battle against Grendel, multiple archetypes are illustrated. There are the more obvious ones of heroes and villains, but if you dig a little deeper and take a look at the book as a whole, you could find the archetypes of heralds, or possibly allies. When looking at the archetypes of heroes and villains, you could easily label Grendel as the villain and Beowulf as the hero.

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In Burton Raffel’s epic poem, Beowulf, Beowulf shows many characteristics that exemplify the epic hero archetype. In this poem, Beowulf shows honor by fighting Grendel without weapons, because he knows grendel does not use weapons himself.. Beowulf also exemplifies bravery by willing to fight the dragon without any of his men, even though he knows he will die if he goes alone. These are just some of the many characteristics that Beowulf shows exemplifying an epic hero. The first characteristic that Beowulf shows exemplifying an epic hero is honor.

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One can see how although Beowulf is the hero character, he can also be represented as the outcast character. Likewise, one can also see this blending in the outcast character, Grendel. A good myth, such as Beowulf, must have both archetypes present in the work itself. While these archetypes seem cut and dry, as aforementioned, one can see how characters in each of these archetypes have blending characteristics which draw the reader in.

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The epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney used character archetypes to explore the values embodied in Anglo-Saxon culture. The first battle in the poem occurs between Beowulf and Grendel who best embody the Anglo-Saxon value of courage. Beowulf is the perfect representation of this value due to his insistence on fighting Grendel without weapons; “No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me” (Heaney 683-84). Thus when Beowulf proclaims that he is not using weapons he displays both honor and courage since it takes guts to fight a monster without an advantage. The Anglo-Saxons respected this quality and made their epic hero a perfect fit for this trait.

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Flaws by Contrast Comparisons and contrasts play a huge role in literary works, especially between characters. Not only do they show similarities and differences between various characters, but they also bring out specific qualities that make a character unique and help guide the readers towards a common conclusion. In the popular Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist and hero, Beowulf, is emphasized for his extraordinary greatness. Throughout his story, he, as an advocate of good, encounters many opposing forces in the form of other characters. In a society where heroism and bravery are honored as essential aspects of culture, the contrasting values of these characters, or foils, help define Beowulf as the model hero.

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Due to simplistic duality, Beowulf is unable to see that not everyone is entirely good or evil. He views Hrothgar as the perfect king, but is he? Although his intentions of keeping his people out of harm's way are virtuous, he still wants to kill Grendel without ever giving him a reason, sure he attacks Herot hall but the narrator doesn’t mention anything that could have invoked him to do so. Although his intentions of keeping his people out of harm's way are virtuous. Since simplistic duality means there is no in between for any subject matter, in Beowulf’s eyes, Grendel can only be evil and not a mixture of both.

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Beowulf possessed the poised demeanor necessary to defeat all evils by the arrogant swing of his sword. The commitment shown by lending his life to the welfare of his people was imperative in order to be called a flawless warrior. Beowulf embodied the determination that Anglo-Saxons saw as unmeasurably valuable. If nothing more than just fiction, Beowulf is the ideal hero of the people from who he originated. “They said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.”

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evil. Beowulf is the archetype warrior hero whose one purpose is to defend the innocent and vulnerable of his people. Whether it is the devil incarnated, the mother of the monster, or a fire-breathing dragon, he is capable of defending the Danes and Geats. Without his heroism and bravery, these people would’ve faced certain death under a weakened, but good, King Hrothgar. Beowulf uses the same selflessness as the military that defends our country, and is as great of a warrior as each and every one of the soldiers in the United States armed services.

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Beowulf uses the sword to fulfill his second task of the story, which essentially saves his life but would have been useless if not for his persistence and strength. Additionally, character archetypes are also very present in Beowulf. The archetypes present help depict what kind of character Beowulf is, and establish his leadership skills over his men. In the story, Beowulf is a Hero, and he is accompanied by his Loyal Retainers, who will do anything to protect Beowulf and stay by his side in

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