Beowulf, a poem based on good and evil, consists of three main parts revolving around three battles that Beowulf encountered throughout his life from a young strong man to an old, dying king. Moreover, the plot starts in medias res, One of the most important elements used by the author, where the funeral of a king takes place, which gives an elegiac tone to the text. There is a Striking contrast in the text where the king is rewarded with gold before he is sent off into the underworld, heroes are rewarded with gold as a compensation for strength, gold never decomposes whereas the hero’s body does. The realization that all these heroes will eventually die also contributes to the elegiac tone. Beowulf was an ideal hero and king who bravely battled an unforgiving beast as a means to expand his existence beyond death and maintain his reputation of being a brave hero so that everyone feared and praised him and his courageousness. …show more content…
This structure of the poem conveys that each battle had a different moral challenge. Firstly, Beowulf killed Grendel to ensure safety and Beowulf wanted to be known and remembered as a hero. He fought Grendel to display his courage, feel prideful with his victory, and ensure that the legend of Beowulf lives on even after his death. Grendel was known as an unforgiving, ferocious, supernatural creature who was impossible to defeat and everyone feared him, Beowulf challenging this feared monster with bare hands ensured that he would be a memorable hero. Moreover, Beowulf courageously and boastfully talks about his battle with Grendel to convey bravery and to create a great reputation for himself, Beowulf says “unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares” which further emphasizes