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Examples Of Leadership In Beowulf

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Beowulf, written in the Anglo-Saxon period England between 700 and 1000 A.D, is a poem about a heroic warrior, Beowulf. Beowulf shows his leadership in many different ways throughout the poem. Beowulf’s leadership is that of a hero. He comes into the poem with a purpose, which is very evident to the reader. He is relied on by the people of Geatland for protection throughout the poem. Beowulf’s leadership qualities are courageous, brave, and honorable and we see many times how he is selfless. Beowulf also relies on God as his ultimate protector, exemplifying the Christian values of the society of Beowulf’s author (who is still unknown). One of the times when leadership is exemplified in Beowulf is when Beowulf makes the decision to fights and defeats the dragon, Grendel. For fighting this battle, and for the success of the defeat, Hrothgar gives Beowulf riches which he then brings back to his homeland. He gives these riches to the king of his own land when he returns home. This shows Beowulf’s generosity and how his leadership skills don’t just consist of …show more content…

Machiavelli describes to us that a successful prince needs to have the two compelling qualities: that of a lion a lion and a fox. In chapter 18, Machiavelli says “… One needs to be a fox to recognize snares and a lion to recognize the wolves” (Machiavelli, 69). A prince must be smart like a fox but have the strength of a lion. This shows the value of dealing with situations (realism) as they come. Furthermore, when Machiavelli describes the qualities of a king, he implies that a prince should have the qualities and morals that are honest, but also be able to turn in a situation and protect the state. This also exemplifies the separation of religion and state in the letter as we are told a prince needs to exemplify the qualities required from situation to

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In Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince (1513), he evaluates on how a prince can be a successful leader. Machiavelli’s purpose of this guidebook was to construct his argument to the rising ruler Giuliano de Medici for when he comes to power in Florence. He adopts a casual but authoritative tone in order to convince the prince that Machiavelli’s evaluation on how to be the best prince, is the right thing for the prince to do without coming off as he knows more than the prince or is trying to intimidate him.. Machiavelli’s reference to previous rulers and whether their tactics failed or succeeded helps to benefit his credibility along with his allusion to historic text. He appeals to our logic by simply stating a prince can only do what is within his power to control, and his use of an analogy furthers his argument.

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(Beowulf 126). Another example of his chivalrous tendencies is willingness to give his life for another. Beowulf has

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In the beginning, Beowulf was introduced as a young and powerful warrior whose heroism is defined by his great strength.

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The Prince and the Discourses, by Machiavelli as a gift to the prince. Because it was the best thing that Niccolo Machiavelli could give to him. He was trying to teach the prince ways to stay in power. Machiavelli even stated it himself “I can consider of this subject, discussing what a principality is, the variety of such states, how they are won, how they are held, and how they are lost” (Machiavelli xxiv). The main focus of his work was with monarchies because he did not care for republics.

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Many individuals are more fond of something if it is done in their point of view. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a book called, The Prince, and it was used as a guideline to other princes in the world on how to become a better prince. From the beginning, he already states how to become a good ruler. Machiavelli cites “Such dominions thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince, or to live in freedom; and are acquired either by the arms of the prince himself, or of others, or else by fortune or by ability.” However, a contemporary European leader named Clement Attlee does show that Machiavelli’s advice to leaders is still relevant today.

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I agree a good hero and a good leader do share similar qualities. Heroes and leaders share similar qualities, such as standing up for what an individual believes in and confidence. When thinking about the question, does a good hero make a good leader? Personally, I believe a good leader creates a good hero. An individual who can lead a group of individuals in a positive and safe way can be a good hero.

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Ultimately, though, Machiavelli concludes that while a prince may not have all of these qualities, he must seem to have them. He must seem as virtuous as possible to the people, but, as previously stated, due to the inherently evil nature of man, he must also be prepared to work against virtue. However, if a prince has previously had a reputation of goodness, his actions will always be justified by the people and future wrongdoings will be excused. In conclusion, while a prince must strive to be multifaceted in order to succeed, he must also at the very least appear to be multifaceted and have a virtuous

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In the epic poem “Beowulf” the character Beowulf is the foundation for all of our modern heroes, but was he really a great hero? A hero is classified as a person who is admired for their bravery, achievements, or nobility. Although Beowulf displays all these qualities, there are several reasons he is not a hero, mainly him being egotistical and arrogant. This is why Beowulf is not a heroic person. Beowulf is often caught bragging about himself and his great accomplishments.

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Beowulf is a poem that based in the 10th and 11th century that revolved around the idea of good vs evil. The poem is named after Beowulf who is a supernatural hero that slays any evil that crosses his path but is a real sweetheart when it comes to other people or the king. Beowulf is to be considered an epic poem because the hero in the story creates acts of being courageous and even superhuman in some cases, reflecting timeless values such as courage and honor, and the poem reflects unforgettable values with honor and courage. Typically in an epic poem, one will see a character or “the hero” who has outstanding courage and commit superhuman deeds and show values to other people in that era. “Then he drew himself up beside his shield./The fabled warrior in his warshirt and helmet/trusted in his own strength entirely/

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Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, is a gift to Lorenzo de Medici, the future prince at the time. Machiavelli spent a very long time compiling information about the decisions rulers have made in the past to determine the best way to rule a kingdom. He took many examples from leaders like King Ferdinand, King Charles VIII, and Emperor Maximilian II. He used these examples to determine how a prince should act and what qualities they should have. According to Machiavelli's The Prince, the qualities a prince should possess are deception, military knowledge, and wisdom.

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Machiavelli’s The Prince presents a guide of certain qualities of the ideal political leaders such as, kindness towards the citizens, advocates preservation of one 's custom or policy, and having excellent control over territory they acquired. Firstly, Machiavelli presents a point that citizens will not tolerate the ill-treatment from the Prince after he deceived them the first time. “Because those who had opened the gates to him, finding themselves deceived in their hopes of future benefits, would not endure the ill-treatment of the new Prince.

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These possessions can make the prince as powerful as he can be or as weak he shall be; nor be the definite strife for the downfall of his triumph. Princes are defined by the environment he has brought upon himself as well as the calamities that

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He has true honor and respectfully distributes treasure and gifts to those whom he believes rightfully deserves them. Beowulf’s loyalty to the Danes helps shed light on his true character. He expresses that he believes he may die in battle between Grendel, but that does not dissuade him from fighting the beast. Another example is when Hygelac dies, Beowulf is asked to take the throne. In doing so, that would mean the the son of Hygelac would be stripped of his own inheritance, which is dishonorable in Beowulf’s eyes, and thus he declines the offer.

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I. Machiavelli In his famous work the Prince Niccolo Machiavelli exposes what it takes to be a good prince and how only this good price and keep control over his state. There are many different qualities that make a man a good ruler but there are some that are more essential than others. In this work Machiavelli stresses the importance of being a warrior prince, a wise prince, and knowing how to navigate the duality of virtù and vices. Without these attributes there was no way that a prince could hold together their state and their people.

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Machiavelli states, “A prince, therefore, need not necessarily have all the good qualities I mentioned above, but he should certainly appear to have them… He should appear to be compassionate, faithful to his word, kind, guileless, and devout. And indeed he should be so. But his disposition should be such that, if he needs to be the opposite, he knows how.” (57).

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