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How Is Beowulf An Epic Hero

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Beowulf
The epic follows a strong hero. The hero 's name Beowulf son of Ecgtheow. The epic starts with the death of a king that was well loved to the end of his life. The king 's death brought mourning to the land not only mourning, but a monster named Grendel. Grendel terrorize the people of Herot for “12 winter seasons of woe.”(Beowulf pg 11) . The time past and the people got use to Grendel roaming their land killing people with in the kingdom. The 12th years brought along “Beowulf son of Ecgtheow”(Beowulf many pages). Beowulf brought some of his mean from the land of the Geats. Beowulf was known for going up against Breca and losing until his side of the story was told. His side of the story goes is that they were swimming along and
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Even though Hrothgar admires the great Geat, Unferth questions him and brings up an ancient story about Beowulf losing to a man named Breca in a swimming race. Calmly, Beowulf expresses that he

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Which brings the reader to assume the reason he didn’t fight against another man is the fact Beowulf wasn’t entailed with evil doing. Britannica mentions, “ Many critics have seen the poem as a Christian allegory, with Beowulf the champion of goodness and light against the forces of evil and darkness.” To the critics his death wasn’t seen as tragic but seen as the end of a good hero’s life. Biblical allusions occurred in abundance in Anglo-Saxon literature, most things written in the 1800s had morals and a purpose which revolved around

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1002 Words | 5 Pages

The story of Beowulf successfully follows every step of an Archetypal Hero Quest; the hero, Beowulf, answers a call, makes a decision, prepares, faces obstacles, reaches a climax, and returns home. Beowulf is met with three large battles within Beowulf, first with Grendel, then with Grendel’s mother, and his last fatal battle, with a dragon. Each battle carries aspects that add to the Hero Quest but do not fully create one until all are together. The call is the beginning of a Hero Quest.

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449 Words | 2 Pages

Beowulf’s fate causes some of his men to get killed in battle and he leaves his land ungoverned and susceptible to attack demonstrated by the quote, “Grendel snatched at the first Geat, ripped him apart, and cut his body to bits,”(421

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431 Words | 2 Pages

Beowulf had more than one character archetype, the second one being a mentor. His ability to be valued, and showing his men what to accomplish to become somewhat like him is shown throughout the whole poem, as written “ The Geats stayed, sat sadly, watching, imagining they saw their lord but not believing they would ever see him again” ( L. 559-561). His men have been mentored by Beowulf for a long time, typically they’ve grown to think like him. Knowing how their leader is, they don’t give up on him nor put themselves into the situation of believing that Beowulf could have perished. Of course, Beowulf mentored them well into thinking and letting them know that the fight never is over.

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570 Words | 3 Pages

The story of Beowulf isn’t just any ordinary story, but a story that has been told for centuries. A story of a hero who’s legacy has been told for so long. Beowulf’s life shows the characteristics of a true epic hero. He showed bravery, he used his strength against his enemies and in the end gave the ultimate sacrifice for his people.

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486 Words | 2 Pages

He embodies all of the characteristics of an epic hero because of his bravery, honor, self-assurance and his acceptance of knowing that he could be killed at any point. He thrives as a hero by taking down a dragon, a vicious monster named Grendel and also Grendel’s mother. His masculinity and loyalty further develops the theme of Beowulf being an epic hero. He showed his honor and helped the Danes when no one else could by traveling from his homeland to battle the vicious monster Grendel, who terrorized the Danes.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

In the epic Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is depicted as a heroic figure who fights monsters and defends the weak. During its time, Beowulf would be considered a great hero, however in today 's standards Beowulf would only be considered a great warrior. That’s because a hero should value the lives of the people and not seek to be rewarded. Instead, Beowulf committed heroic acts for his own selfish reasons and never shows to values the lives of the people. From fighting Grendel to slaying the dragon, Beowulf only fought because he value the fame and fortune that comes along with those accomplishments.

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To be considered an epic hero, one must not only exhibit acts of courage but also perform acts of being superhuman. Beowulf, known for his great feats of strength, is considered to be one of the greatest epic heros of all time. He posses all the qualifications necessary for him to be categorized as being an epic hero. What does it take to be an Epic hero? It's a name given to few.

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818 Words | 4 Pages

A traditional epic is a long narrative poem with a hero that has a high social status among the people they are with. The plots usually involve supernatural events, a struggle between good and evil and journeys to distant lands. Beowulf is an old epic heroic poem with an unknown author. It is considered to be the first piece of written English literature. The Anglo-Saxon time period was applied to this story as its time period and the character Beowulf proves to be the embodiment of the traits of a good warrior.

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703 Words | 3 Pages

In an earlier battle, Beowulf was able to once again exhibit his enormous strength by single handedly tearing off the arm of an enemy giant, Grendel. Lastly, before all of the battles, Beowulf displays his extreme intelligence. After being unjustly embarrassed by Unferth, Beowulf decided to reply in a civil manner. In his reply, he accurately refuted all of Unferth’s claims and turns the embarrassment on him. By responding cordially, he was able to dissolve any potential tension between the Geats and Danes.

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675 Words | 3 Pages

Beowulf says “The noblest and wisest counselors of my people advised me to come to you, lord Hrothgar because they knew of my great strength. ”(page 13, paragraph 4) Beowulf says he destroyed the race of giants, killed sea monsters and he endured hardships to avenge

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948 Words | 4 Pages

A hero does not fight for fame and glory but for the greater good. A hero is someone who goes through adversity to help others in desperate times. A hero fights evil, and defends people. Beowulf should be considered a hero because he is a strong, brave warrior who defended his people and slayed evil monsters. Beowulf proves himself to be a strong, brave warrior by killing Grendel the monster.

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2075 Words | 9 Pages

Everybody likes rooting for a hero. And throughout the evolution of storytelling, from stories written in stone to those in tablets, heroes have always played a huge role in the stories we tell. As literature evolved, and more legends and tales began to appear in different cultures, the idea of a traditional epic hero was established. Stories like "The Epic of Gilgamesh," and "The Odyssey," set the mold for this type of heroes, an influence that can clearly be seen when analyzing literature. In fact, most of these characters, regardless of the time and place they were created in, shared similar characteristics to the two kings.

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814 Words | 4 Pages

In his final battle, the now king defeated a dragon that every other soldier was too scared to fight; he won a battle no one wanted to assist in except for one other man who was as courageous and heroic as Beowulf. Beowulf is an epic hero because he achieved what no one dared to for the sake of

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