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Critically analyse the character Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf
Analysis of Beowulf
Critically analyse the character Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf
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During this account, the narrator shows that Hrothgar puts trust in Beowulf based on past experiences with his father, and accepts his offer to defend Heorot. III. Beowulf defends his honor After the king accepts Beowulf’s offer to defend his kingdom, he invites him to a feast in his honor. At the feast, a Dane named Unferth, was jealous of the king’s admiration of Beowulf and begins to insult him.
Beowulf Journal #1 To start off Beowulf, the book talks about this great warrior king that was talked about by the danes. This great king was named Shield Sheafson, he was the one who founded the ruling house. His son, Beow, became very famous because of his father and the power that he will hold. When Shield's time came he was put on a boat with many different weapons and other precious gear. But once this happened Beow became in charge, but his success was mostly lived through his son, Halfdane, and then his grandson, Hrothgar.
Chapter 11: “The Great Geat” In chapter 11, Grendel feels some sort of feeling and sensation of somebody arriving which eventually happens to be Beowulf. Grendel watches as Beowulf and his men arrive and hears their intentions of their arrival while Beowulf is talking to the Danish coastguard. Later on Beowulf arrives to the meadhall, and Grendel listens to Beowulf’s plan on helping Hrothgar kill Grendel. As Grendel continues to eavesdrop, he learns more Beowulf’s characteristics and his stories that express him being a hero and a man of pure courage.
Close Reading #1 Hrothgar tells his men that today should be a day of mourning because their friend, soul mate, and true mentor is dead. He was one of the few men that he trusted; he vows to kill Grendel’s mother in Aescheres’ name. He now acknowledges that this is the consequence of killing Grendel. The king tells Beowulf that he would give him everything that he can imagine (land and treasure), if he were to kill Grendel’s mother. He talks about Grendel’s ancestry in disgust; he states that his family is hidden within ghosts and demons and they dwell within the trenches of the lake.
In Beowulf, Grendel causes the Danes to live in fear for twelve years, all while Hrothgar rules over the nation, but he does nothing to act against the monster. He knows his life lies on the line if he tries to slay the beast, so he lets his people wither in fear, the mead hall closed for the foreseeable future. Most leaders would jump at the chance to prove their worth by saving their subjects from terrible fates, but Hrothgar values his own safety too much to tempt his fate, even when the culture of the time encourages fighting and prompts warriors to seek out altercations. When Beowulf finally comes to finish what Hrothgar could not start, the leader praises, “Now Holy God Has, in His Goodness, guided [Beowulf] here… to defend us from Grendel” (Heaney 10), as if the younger man has come to take the reigns from Hrothgar. But instead, the brawl with Grendel has just begun, thanks to Beowulf and Hrothgar lives on, hoping that the Geat can clinch a victory for the Danes.
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.
Van’t Land 1 Jasper Van’t Land Bloem 3/24/2023 Sci Fi Fantasy Portrayal of Hrothgar The story of Beowulf has been told for thousands of years and has been re-written numerous times, but the story still remains largely the same. Hrothgar, the ruler of the Danes, builder of the great hall Herot, is a king emphasized as generous, honest and caring. Portrayed as the most human-like out of the diverse characters. He shows qualities of great welcoming and acceptance.
When Beowulf first dines at Heorot, she brings the mead-cup to Hrothgar first, to show he holds the highest position in the hall. She then passes the cup to the knights and nobles of the Danes.
The “help” which was needed was by Hrothgar to help defeat Grendel and stop him killing more citizens of his kingdom. Beowulf shows his bravery and his pure reasons
Grendel Grendel was the monster that was killing all of Hrothgar’s men. Grendel was evil, smart, and stealthy making him dangerous. Beowulf stopped Grendel but not before he killed many of people. Grendel was a descendant of Cain who was punished for killing his brother Abel. Since Grendel was born from evil he could never be happy which angered him when he heard all the people in Herot having a good time.
Even though the monster’s hall was flooding with luxurious treasure, “all that Beowulf took was Grendel’s head and the hilt of the giants’ jeweled sword” (lines 266-268). Beowulf “sought Hrothgar to salute him and show Grendel’s head” (lines 299-300). 17) After being given the golden hilt of the sword from Beowulf, Hrothgar notices inscriptions written on it. He realized that written on there was a story of ancient wars between good and evil. The inscriptions state, “The story of ancient wars between good and evil, the opening of the waters, the flood sweeping the giants away, how they suffered and died” (lines 342-347).
Although he knew there was a chance that he would not make it out alive, he chose to leap into the peril moor not worrying about the potential consequences. King and Beowulf both fought Grendel. However, King’s “Grendel” can be seen as equality between all races. Threats, violence, or attacks never caused them to back down from their
Beowulf lives in a time of war, because it is mentioned throughout the myth. During the beginning part of the myth it talks about how king Hrothgar was known as a great warrior with battle skills and had many warrior who would follow him for their respect for him in battle. The warriors in each society are always held with important status, because they are allowed to stand with nobles and king’s advisors during funerals. Which shows that the warrior are need in their world because they need to fight battles with either other territories or occasionally some monstrous creatures. Also during Beowulf and Hrothgar funerals they were buried with armor and weapons, this shows that their people believed they would have to fight even in the afterlife.
So every elder and experienced councilman/ among my people supported my resolve / to come here to you’” (Heaney 409-417). This first example suggests that Beowulf and his men come to Denmark to fight and help the people because he has heard about the terrible things Grendel has done, and thus starts the
In particular, Beowulf’s action of traveling to the land of the Danes to save them from Grendel and his mother is a noble act. However, the motive of this decision is fueled by the hero’s desire for greed, fame, and power. After returning from his quest, Beowulf informs his king, Hygelac, “‘Thus the king acted with due custom. I was paid and recompensed completely, given full measure and the freedom to choose from Hrothgar's treasures by Hrothgar himself’” (Heaney 2144-2149).
