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The Hero's Journey In Beowulf '

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Beowulf is the main hero in the poem, and he travels to the land of the Danes to help King Hrothgar get rid of the monster Grendel. After having slain Grendel, there is still a huge crisis present. Grendel’s mother comes to the Hall of Heorot to avenge the death of her kinsmen by killing Aeschere. Aeschere is one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisors, and his loss bear’s heavy on Hrothgar’s heart. In the culture displayed in Beowulf, the bonds of friendship and kinsmanship are very important to the characters. 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. This fits with the Ordeal stage in the hero’s journey. Beowulf is faced with a life or death situation and overcomes it. …show more content…

Beowulf assumes the throne and reigns peacefully for 50 years, though there is still a trial to be completed. His final test is the hardest in terms of the monster he has to face and how high stakes the battle is. A dragon is razing all the villages and burning them down. Although Beowulf knows that this fight could be his last, he chooses to face the Dragon anyway, because if he doesn’t it could ensure the destruction of all of his kinsmen. This conforms to the Resurrection stage of the hero’s journey as the dragon is nothing like anything he faced in the

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He says that their lives are guided by the heroic code. Then Beowulf proclaims that he will go fight Grendel's mother and Grendel in an underwater battle and then he sets off. On his way, he is captured by Grendel’s mom and taken. But, when he tries to fight back with his sword the sword does nothing to her causing him to start fighting with his bare hands. Then he discovers a weapon that could help him defeat his enemy and it is a great sword.

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When it seems as though Beowulf’s life is coming to an end, he is able to pull through and decapitate Grendel’s mother. Although this seems as just another fight or obstacle that Beowulf faces, the climax actually takes place when he returns to the surface of the water. The men waiting for Beowulf were extremely worried about how he was doing underwater due to the blood surfacing the water. When Beowulf breaks the surface of the water, the men were extremely ecstatic. It seems as though Beowulf was a different man when he returned from this brawl.

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In the last stage of Beowulf’s epic hero journey, fatalism determines his grand finale against the dragon. The warrior king’s long journey is now coming to a close and before going into battle against the dragon, Beowulf realizes that, “After many trials,/ he was destined to face the end of his days/ in this mortal world; as was the dragon,/ for all his long leasehold on the treasure” (Beowulf 2341-2344). After facing Grendel and his mother, fate has lead Beowulf to the crisis of his journey. The dragon is the final monster he must defeat in order to complete his monomyth cycle. He is a symbol of the deadly sin, greed.

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The epic poem “Beowulf” exemplifies the claim made by Joseph Campbell regarding the hero's call to adventure. The hero Beowulf and the hero from call to adventure both go through tremendous trials. In both stories the hero's struggle with life or death decisions. If they make one wrong move they are dead.

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Years, later after fighting Grendel and his mother, Beowulf is brought to his lowest point. This is when he fights a dragon that had terrorised the Geats. During the battle “None of his comrades Came

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Beowulf’s closest companion was not planning to join the fight but stepped in, as he could not bear the sight of Beowulf suffering; however, Beowulf only somewhat applies to the Return, specifically, when he battles the dragon, since he does not continue his reign or return to Geatland (Sweden). Due to the untimely death of a hero, the Return is unfinished and, in general, the Hero’s Journey. Excluding the fact that he does not transgress through all stages, Beowulf is relevant to the Hero’s Journey due to his persistence and heroic deeds. Frequently used in plays and movies, this template serves as a guide for storylines; additionally, the values of the people who passed on these meaningful stories are implicated in the hero’s personality and the decisions he makes. Beowulf’s heroism defines the archetypal hero and represents the cultural ideals of the Anglo-Saxons.

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King Hrothgar’s response was excitement as he hear stories of Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow as he would reward and bring him treasures. As he sees him as one of the most powerful man, he welcomes his coming and the Geats as they talk about the Grendel and how he would attack the monster. However, they begin to celebrate his coming with a feast that showed that King Hrothgar shows respect for Beowulf and his willingness to defeat Grendel.

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Finally, When word reaches Beowulf 's village, he travels across the ocean to slay the beast. Upon meeting Hrothgar, the king, he asks if

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Beowulf is injured in the fight, and he dies along side his defeated

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But he knew the greatest threat came knocking at his door for a fight that will live on being told for eternity. Beowulf sacrificed his own life for those around him, “Quickly, the dragon cam at him, encouraged as Beowulf as Beowulf fell back; its breath fared, and he suffered, wrapped around in swirling flames- a king, before, but now a Beaton warrior” (lines 687-691). In the end Beowulf fought till the end fighting not only for himself but for his people. He fought like a king until his death. Beowulf gave the ultimate sacrifice to save his people.

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As a payment to the king of the Danes, he decides to fight the dragon, just as he fought Grendel. Then he was a warrior and now he is a king responsible for his people. Beowulf’s decision is courageous but inappropriate for a king. His foolish but courageous decision causes him to die in the end. Before he fought the mighty dragon, he said “I’ve never known fear; as a youth I fought in endless battles.

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Beowulf was the nephew of Hygelac, who was king of the Geats. He was on the smaller size for his age, and had weak vision because of a bee sting incident, but was still strong and loyal to his uncle and his people. Beowulf was the rare kind of person who makes strength of his own weakness (Nye 19-20). One day, King Hygelac had received a message from the king of the Danes, Hrothgar, for help. Hall Heorot had been invaded by the monster Grendel, son of

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Most accurately paralleled, one could say, are the princes and kings of classic Disney films, such as the prince from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” or the prince from the film “Sleeping Beauty”. Both of these heros daringly go into the heat of battlet; for valor and for the girl. They’re both saviors in their own right, just as Beowulf is in his poem. They come, and they fight, and the do it for the sake of rescue; and for the sake of courage itself. Beowulf was the ancient “hero” prince, and his damsel in distress was his country.

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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.

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Beowulf had done the unthinkable—he had killed a demon that no warrior of Denmark could have done. This opened several new doors for Beowulf, including one that promised of honor, glory, and riches. Beowulf had achieved his goal of fame, a goal which had created a poem of a hero that birthed and shaped a story to be told even years later. Furthermore, Beowulf’s fame was set in stone by Hrothgar, the king who owed Beowulf his everything, including his thanks. After giving Beowulf the speech to further glorify his prominence, Hrothgar declares, “Glory is now yours/

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