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Critically analyse the character Beowulf from the poem Beowulf
Introduction for beowulf
Characterization and character threat in Beowulf
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Beowulf is an archetypal story known by generations around the world. Beowulf took place during Anglo-Saxon English time period. In this work, Beowulf, a young Geat man, journeys to Denmark to save the Danes from the wrath of the demonic Grendel. During Anglo-Saxon time, Beowulf was a folk song only passed around by word of mouth. Monks eventually transferred it to paper since they were the only ones capable of writing.
The poets within Beowulf sing about tales of heroes and their heroic deeds. The sing about these deeds, even if some of them have failed. They sing their songs to King Hrothgar, his subjects, Beowulf, and his men. The poets sang to share these stories, back then stories were always passed down orally through
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.
Beowulf’s quest is something he takes on his own. He travels to Denmark to fight the monster, Grendel. His main priority was to protect Heorot. Beowulf used no weapons, risking his life, to protect a country not of his own. Because Beowulf is a hero, he did this with ease and no complaints.
In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf, faces three “monsters” at different times in his life. The poem begins with Grendel, a monster who attacks only in the dark of night, tormenting the kingdom of Hrothgar. The last two sections of the epic detail the conquering by Beowulf of Grendel’s mother and the dragon. The battle between the monsters and Beowulf represent the theme of good versus evil in the poem, as well as the fusion of pagan and Christian ideals in the changing Germanic society. Grendel’s mother’s actions directly juxtapose the role of a woman in this time period, and the greediness of the dragon with his treasure contrasts with the virtues of what would be considered a good king.
Beowulf went through so much to prove he was worthy enough to protect their kingdom and defeat Grendel. The story Beowulf was a great story to read and a great movie to watch; however, the battles were very eye catching and had a lot of extravagant and heroic doings of Beowulf. The first scenario that I’m going to discuss in the movie and story of Beowulf is The Battle with Grendel. In the movie Grendel attacked Beowulf in the Heriot while everyone was dancing and singing.
After the call to action and crossing the threshold, Beowulf greets new people at the palace and prepares for his ordeal. He is taunted by Unferth and makes friends with Hrothgar. (Beowulf 13-24). These are his tests, allies and enemies that he must encounter. This follows the Hero’s Journey because meeting these people and getting accustomed to the new world is the next important plot point of the Hero’s Journey, occurring after arriving in the new world.
As Beowulf has a bond to Hrothgar because of his relationship to his father Ecgtheow, he chooses to journey to her realm which is under gloomy monster-infested waters and face her. Beowulf is a warrior who is bold, brave, and unafraid of challenges. In this grueling battle Beowulf comes close to perishing, as his sword Hrunting fails him. However he finds an ancient sword in the cave and uses it to kill her. He was setback by the loss of the sword but he prevailed and defeated the troll-dam.
Beowulf Summary Beowulf the hero, holds his prize up high. Although it isn't a pretty prize it definitely means a lot. In the book Beowulf: A new telling, it tells a lot of stories about Beowulf, the main character, fighting monsters and protecting the lands he loves. This book is also very good with dialogue and narrating. This book is good for people who like monsters.
In the great epic, Beowulf, an unknown poet describes Beowulf as an invincible hero with the amazing strength stronger than any human ever, but does having the traits of an incredible warrior, make him a great king? A great king is loyal, generous, reliable and should be able to realize what he needs to do to make sure his people are safe. Beowulf is brave, strong, and extremely confident in his combat abilities, but Beowulf does not think about the possible effects of his actions. Beowulf cares about his fame, fortune, and legacy, but he often makes rushed decisions that risk his life and could potentially leave his people powerless and unprotected. During Beowulf’s transformation from thane to king, he has always had more of a warrior’s mindset,
We start off in a land ‘far far way’ to this young hero who’s name is Beowulf now we follow him to one of his battles. Beowulf might have his down falls but come on the guy is insane when he go in to battles. We will skip to the most epic battle Beowulf has ever face and his opponent was Grendel. Now Grendel wasn’t the most nicest monster I say that because he would come up out of his cave and came up and ate everything human in the meat hall.
" Beowulf then defeats Grendel. Just as the audience begins to think the problem is resolved we see a reoccurring theme, of a stronger monster that Beowulf must take on. The reader also watches Beowulf take on the stronger demon Grendel's Mom, destroying her almost at the cost of his life. Finally, after Beowulf had sailed to his homeland, the persona meets the beast who will finally bring the downfall of Beowulf and his people. On page 181, line 2690-2693 we see the utter downfall of Beowulf because of the final outside evil source, "in a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs into his neck.
He finds a solution to slay the monster in every battle for example, "The fight is difficult but; Hrunthing fails its user, but Beowulf sees a great sword, too big for anyone but himself, and uses it to kill the mother" (Hanning 7). Although the purpose of the monster may be to add action throughout the plot, Beowulf battling the monsters not only adds action but also portrays him as a hero for fighting the
Beowulf makes known that “no man but [himself] could hope to defeat this monster, [and] no one could try.” Beowulf wants to have this fight all to himself, so he can take all of the glory. He is too selfish to conclude that only he could defeat the monster alone. Beowulf cannot be thought of as a hero because “Beowulf only longed for fame.” Beowulf does not perform heroic deeds just to save the citizens, but to receive more admiration from the citizens.
Once upon a time, there was a marvelous warrior that was a hero to so many and king to some. In the story of Beowulf, the hero, Beowulf, must follow and go through the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey has twelve stages, or three acts. The stages go in the order: 1) The Call to Adventure, 2) Assistance, 3) Departure, 4) Trials, 5) Approach to the Inmost Cave, 6) Crisis, 7) Treasure, 8) Result, 9) Return, 10) New Life, 11) Resolution, and 12) Status Quo (Winkler). Since Beowulf is facing three different monsters, there is not only the story’s significant journey, but also multiple inside it.
