ipl-logo

Is Beowulf A Hero Or Myth?

751 Words4 Pages

Hero or Myth? Is Beowulf really a hero or is this a myth? A hero is a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. Does Beowulf fit those essentials to be a hero? Beowulf is a hero because whether Beowulf is a fighting sea monster, or a terrible fire-breathing dragon he displays his great strength throughout this book shows how a hero should be. In the beginning of this epic, a monster named Grendel is attacking King Hrothgar’s mead hall Herot. When Beowulf hears about this tragedy, Beowulf volunteers himself to go and battle the beast. When Beowulf arrives to battle Hrothgar he is given a feast and decides to stay the night and question and interrogate Hrothgar. When Grendel arrives he kills one of Beowulf's clan members …show more content…

The quote talks about the monster skills and how it’s a hand to hand battle and the fight against evil. Beowulf knows that Grendel is immune to weapons so he chooses not to fight with any.He also doesn’t fight with any armor to make the fight fair. Beowulf tells king Hrothgar “…I hereby renounce/ sword and the shelter of the broad shield./ The heavy war-broad: hand to hand/ is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend”(436-440). That right there says that Beowulf is stronger and braver than the average warrior. Is Beowulf a physical hero? Hand to hand fighting is a physical feature that Beowulf uses to defeat his enemies throughout the book. In the quote from above is an example where his physical hero comes in. “The captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth. Every bone in his body quailed and recoiled, but he could not escape.
He was desperate to flee to his den and hide with the devil's litter, for in all his

Show More
Related

Hrothgar Vs Beowulf

1062 Words | 5 Pages

Hrothgar and Beowulf The epic, Beowulf, written by an unknown author tells a story of heroism, good versus evil, and defeat. The story starts out with a monster Grendel, whom is said to be the decadence of Cain, awaking. This devilish monster goes on a rampage of pure evil killing everything in its sight which leaves the once great leader, Hrothgar, hopeless. Beowulf hears of this terrible monster and comes to the king’s rescue. Beowulf ends up defeating the monsters threatening the land and then the two great leaders form an alliance and become appreciative friends.

Read More

Is Beowulf An Epic Hero Or A Fool Essay

486 Words | 2 Pages

Beowulf: Epic Hero or Proud Fool? So what exactly is a hero? A hero to most is a person idealized for their courage and their outstanding achievements and qualities. Some may even consider Beowulf a hero due his never backing down and risking his own life for the safety of his people.

Read More

Similarities Between Beowulf And Heaney

852 Words | 4 Pages

According to Beowulf in Beowulf by Heaney, “He has no idea of the arts of war, of shield or sword-play, although he does possess a wild strength. No weapons, therefore, for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares.” (Heaney, 47). Beowulf put all his trust in his strength and his equipments such as his sword and helmet because he believes weapons had advantages over Grendel, the fiend that fights bare handed. It is clear that Beowulf is over self-esteem with his strength instead of being a wise man because he does not question whether Grendel is resistant to swords.

Read More

Why Is Beowulf Be Considered A Hero

887 Words | 4 Pages

A hero is a distinguished person of outstanding qualities and abilities, who is admired for not only having these specific characteristics but also admired by his people for his noble acts and bravery. More specifically to this story would be to look at the aspects of an Anglo-Saxon hero. An Anglo-Saxon hero is a person who is a great leader, is open to and able to protect his people and give them a sense of safety, and is also willing to put himself in harms to protect these people. These heroes were usually someone of high standing or someone with great accomplishments because they distinguished themselves by doing things for the greater good. In the epic poem Beowulf, the unknown author portrays Beowulf as a hero in order to show how being a hero requires a specific set of

Read More

Pride In Beowulf And Hamlet

1485 Words | 6 Pages

Beowulf, a skilled warrior and was believed to be the strongest of all the lands, heard about the distress in Heorot and decided to make the voyage to assist King Hrothgar. When Beowulf and his men arrived in Heorot, the natives were intimidated by the appearance of his ship and his men, which showed the first act of pride in Beowulf. Beowulf and his men had successfully proved to the people of Heorot that Beowulf believed that he could kill the monster and save the land of Heorot. Hrothgar assigned the duty of killing Grendel to Beowulf and his men, and told them to party, which attracts and angers Grendel, and wait for Beowulf. Grendel entered the mead hall while Beowulf laid patient and observant, waiting for the perfect time to attack, with his bare hands.

Read More

Why Beowulf Is An Epic Hero

764 Words | 4 Pages

Beowulf is characterized as an epic hero because of his glorious legacy. This epic hero was in constant danger from evil but always defeated it. He also had a moral code that separated him from mere mortals. The epic hero portrayed many traits that made him great. Although he died in battle, Beowulf’s leadership, bravery, and sense of morality made him an epic hero among men.

Read More

Beowulf: Characteristics Of A Traditional Hero

730 Words | 3 Pages

When Grendel does show up, Beowulf is not in armor, like Grendel, and allows the monster to devour one of his men. This was taken to believe that he was trying to see how Grendel fought to get an idea on how he could over power the monster before anyone else got hurt

Read More

Beowulf: An Example Of An Epic Hero

547 Words | 3 Pages

Foremost of Beowulf’s epic traits is his determination. Even when faced with indomitable odds, he is still adamant that he will prevail. When Unferth expresses his doubt in Beowulf’s ability to defeat Grendel, stating the monster’s strength, Beowulf counters with, “He knows he can trample you Danes to his heart’s content, humiliate and murder without fear of reprisal. But he will find me different. I will show him how Geats shape to kill in the heat of battle.”

Read More

Beowulf's Heroism

241 Words | 1 Pages

Beowulf had so many characteristics that showed heroism by standing up and showing that he wasn’t scared of anything. He didn’t let nothing stop him. He was the one who saved the warriors and the cities men and women. He was a hero in the story.

Read More

Beowulf Is Not A Hero Analysis

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

Read More

The Qualities Of Beowulf As An Epic Hero

990 Words | 4 Pages

Foremost, the epic hero Beowulf had formidable strength and used high-powered weapons in his battles which led him to be victorious time after time. The epic hero characteristic that this exemplifies is, the hero is often a demi-god, possesses distinctive weapons of great size and power, often presents from the gods. Throughout the poem Beowulf, it is exhibited that Beowulf is a veracious hero. For starters, when Beowulf was first introduced into the story it was conveyed that he had substantial strength. In the poem, it states, “Follower and the strongest of the Geats-greater/ And stronger than anyone anywhere in this world-”(lines 110-111)

Read More

Beowulf A Real Hero Analysis

730 Words | 3 Pages

Beowulf is a perfect example of what a real hero is because he does not hesitate to save a person's life even if it risk his life. He knows the reason for why they are in the situation and does not turn back from it whatsoever. An example of how Beowulf shows this is by the way he stood by Breca’s side for seven long nights at sea during the race. The reason why he did not leave his side was because Beowulf did not want Breca to be eaten by the sea monsters. It was

Read More

Why Is Beowulf A Hero

948 Words | 4 Pages

This proves that he is strong and brave because no one else could kill Grendel let alone face him. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands and without armor on. Other warriors could not even kill him with a sword and armor. “Beowulf’s intention to fight Grendel with only his strength proves that he carries the characteristics of a true hero”(Hailey).

Read More

Why Is Beowulf Considered A Hero

300 Words | 2 Pages

In the story Beowulf they make Beowulf out to be the hero. I believe that he is the hero because of his way that he presents himself when he gets to as his crewmen walked off the boat and they looked bad in clothes Beowulf looked very nice and very manly other than his crewmen looked bad and also he was a hero because he was the only one to come to and help the town. Defeating the monsters which was mother dragon and the last reason that he was considered a hero because after all the monsters he killed he decided to give all of the gold and supplies that he won from the battle with the monsters to all the people in herot and also he was reconized as a hero because he let God decide his Faith during the battle with the monsters.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Beowulf And Modern Day Heroes

665 Words | 3 Pages

The Webster's definition of a hero is “A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities”, this also happens to be one of the qualifications of being an epic hero. There are many things that can be used to compare and contrast Beowulf as an epic hero and a modern day hero, but you’ll find that the human idea of a hero was primarily the same in 700 CE as it is now although the job descriptions of hero’s have changed. In today’s time a person is usually considered a hero if they help the public good, like a police officer, soldier, firefighter and so on. In Beowulf’s time a person was considered a hero if they were a great warrior. When looking at the characteristics of what makes Beowulf an epic hero and the characteristics

Read More

More about Is Beowulf A Hero Or Myth?

Related Topics

Open Document