George Washington is an example of a “good king” because he had the “good king” characteristics of strength and generosity. Washington is also an example of a “good king” because he did not exhibit the characteristics of cruelty or ambition that are associated with being a “bad king”. George Washington was a “good king” just like the literary figure of Shield Sheafson from Beowulf because he exercised strength in his rule. Strength is considered to be a characteristic of a “good king” because in the epic, Beowulf, the king, Shield Sheafson is, “A wrecker of mead-benches. . . /[Whose] powers waxed and. . .worth was proved. . ./ [And] was one good king” ( 5, 8, 11). The epic suggests that because Shield Sheafson has great strength and is able …show more content…
In Beowulf, Hrothgar did “hall-building. . . /[The hall] would be his throne-room and there he would dispense/ His God-given goods to young and old. . .” (68, 71-72). Hrothgar was generous because he devoted his time and resources to the creation of a building that would help to serve his society as a whole. Washington, like the “good king” Hrothgar, was also generous. He devoted time at the end of his presidency to making sure that America was still guided without him. He created the Farewell Address, and “its implications for an isolationist foreign policy and a bipartisan brand of American statecraft” (Ellis 122). Out of concern for his nation, Washington created the Farewell Address to establish basic principles that the country could follow after his presidency was over. Despite the fact that the creation of this address was not one of his presidential responsibilities, Washington created it to ensure that the country would not fall into disarray after he was out of power. Therefore, because Washington created an address that was for the benefit of America rather than himself or his presidency, Washington demonstrated the “good king” characteristic of