The Hero's Journey In Beowulf '

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.

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