Beowulf Is A Hero Essay

Beowulf is an old story that originated from the Anglo-Saxon time period. It was often told by a Scop, a man that memorized stories and told them to the entire tribe, and each story often had a message that was supposed to be given to the warriors or the king. These stories were often told to younger generations for it to be remembered, and every time it was passed down, it had some changes made to it. It was finally recorded by two monks. Since then, there have been many movies of Beowulf, with the most recent being made in 2007 as an animated movie with somewhat related plot, but it had many revisions to make the movie mostly different from the poem itself, and with those changes it shows how our society is different from the Anglo-Saxons.

Beowulf: Epic hero or not? There are an ample amount of qualities that one could stigmatize with an epic hero. Four of which are the most predominate; strong, ethical, and quest and glorified. The main protagonist within the story Beowulf is faced with three relentless foes of which no other human dares to go against.

The old English poem Beowolf, derives from the Anglo-Saxon period. During this time individuals did not write down stories. Instead they passed it down orally to generation after generation. They did this in order to teach the lessons of their past ancestors and to reflect on the pasts heroic codes, the same way we do with folktales. Beowulf displays a hero with respectable values, which was a huge part of the Anglo-Saxon culture.

Beowulf is an epic hero who gives long, noble speeches. Beowulf is an epic hero and he is often described as “superhuman” for performing great feats beyond human capability. He is looked at as a perfect hero. Beowulf defeated a dragon, but was fatally wounded.

He then goes on to defeat and kill to more monsters while staying with the Danes. Despite that Beowulf is different from others perception of a traditional hero, he still shows many of the characteristics of a Traditional hero. He is still strong, brave, and has helped people just a traditional hero would. The way Beowulf shows his strength throughout the whole story is amazing. He starts out with going to what is now called Denmark to defeat and kill the monster called Grendel.

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

In the epic poem “Beowulf” the character Beowulf is the foundation for all of our modern heroes, but was he really a great hero? A hero is classified as a person who is admired for their bravery, achievements, or nobility. Although Beowulf displays all these qualities, there are several reasons he is not a hero, mainly him being egotistical and arrogant. This is why Beowulf is not a heroic person. Beowulf is often caught bragging about himself and his great accomplishments.

Christopher Reeve (AKA the 1978 superman) said that, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles”. Both Beowulf and Modern day heroes are similar in that way in that they fight for the common good of people. That quote from Christopher Reeves on what a modern day hero is, also applies to the epic hero qualities that Beowulf has. Similarly Beowulf and a modern day hero defeat an evil so that good can prevail. Some examples are, Beowulf Slaying Grendel and Grendel's mother to save the land of the Danes, and soldiers fighting enemies that threaten the lives of a country, and police officers putting criminals behind bars.

Beowulf the character is a timeless example of heroism due to his physical strength, bravery, and determination. For example, Beowulf boasts about his physical strength to the “Danes’ / Great king,” who have “watched [him] rise from the darkness of war, / Dripping with [his] enemies’ blood” (416-419). Clearly from reading these lines, the readers can infer that Beowulf is trying to boast his physical strength. This quote is also significant because Beowulf first refers to his physical strength.

Beowulf is an epic poem written many centuries ago about a legendary Anglo-Saxon figure named Beowulf. The epic tells of his struggles and battles as well as his life story. Beowulf is an example of a stereotypical Anglo-Saxon hero; this is shown through the qualities of his character, such as his physical strength and his moral fiber. Beowulf demonstrates the qualities that are deemed as important by the Anglo-Saxon people, such as compassion, strength, honor, glory, and courage. These qualities in Beowulf can be used as lessons that can be transferred to modern life; these lessons, such as the importance of integrity, loyalty, and courage, are still applicable to everyday life in the modern world.

“Beowulf” is an epic poem written in the Anglo-Saxon period by The Beowulf Poet. It is the story of a warrior whose battles and sailings are filled of epic hero traits, the same traits that can be seen in others different stories where the main character use to be a hero with supernatural abilities who faces with many struggles, is tested & have to fight against the antagonist. Beowulf’s heroic qualities affect the story creating a feeling of danger, adrenaline and excitement, for example, in the poem you can read “I have never known the fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, but I will fight again.”(pg.62)

Beowulf is an epic hero because of his strength. His strength isn’t the same as an ordinary man, “He twisted in pain and the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder snapped muscle and on split and broke” (lines 337-340). No ordinary man would be

“And so it turned out. Each of us swam holding a sword, A naked, hard-proofed blade for protection Against the whale-beasts”(Heaney 540). In this excerpt Beowulf describes his one on one competition with a good friend to see who was the better swimmer. In this competition, even though Beowulf technically lost the competition, he swam for five days with a sword and armor, and in these five days fought off sea monsters. This shows that Beowulf has the epic hero’s trait of supernatural strength, and along with his virtuous, humble personality.

Beowulf is an epic hero in the article “Beowulf”, and his story is told in the epic poem of the same name. In the poem, Beowulf is described as a brave and noble warrior who fights against supernatural monsters to protect his people. He is admired for his courage, strength, and loyalty, and is seen as an example of what an Epic hero should be. In modern society, we often admire similar qualities in heroes. Courage, strength, and loyalty are still highly valued traits, and many people look up to role models who carry these qualities.

Beowulf not only says he is stronger than everyone else but that he can kill Grendel with or without a sword. Therefore Beowulf then shows his true colors of how he is not a hero by depriving people of their lives. Beowulf is an immensely heroic person he has definitely set the foundation for all heroes today. If not for Beowulf then Grendel and his mother would have terrorized everyone and killed multiple people. Beowulf loyal and courageous enough to go up against two beasts that no one has ever beaten in the past.