Bravery, defined as, courageous acts of one’s character. The main person in this epic poem to demonstrate the act of bravery would be, Beowulf himself. Beowulf’s battle with Grendel shows true courage. Beowulf then “took off the helmet and handed the patterned sword”. (672-673)He was completely unarmed as described in the lines previous. The reason for that being, he thought it wouldn’t be fair so he used his strength and overcome the evil creature, descendant of Cain, also known as Grendel. Beowulf shows himself aging as the battles keep coming along. The time arrives to fight the dragon and he was weak and old and somewhat knew he couldn’t do this fight alone. The dragon poisons Beowulf with a bite into the neck, and just before Beowulf is dying Wiglaf steps in scavenges through the dragon’s treasures and then returns to show Beowulf and then speaks, “Now that I’ve bought this bright treasure mound with my old lifeblood look to my kingdom the need of my Geats— I must leave you now”. (2799-2801) Only an epic hero could have an ending to life, like Beowulf did. Another very evident quality shown in the epic poem, Beowulf, would be the vulnerability. Beowulf shows some signs of vulnerability in the battle with the dragon. He shows that an Epic, …show more content…
King Hrothgar shows bravery and courage in several ways, one of those ways being, that he was prepares to take on Grendel before Beowulf arrives and accepts the challenge. Hrothgar may have been very mighty and courageous in his days, but he also became very weak and old in age close to when Beowulf set foot into the kingdom. The moment where Hrothgar shows much weakness is when he couldn’t defend his people against Grendel so he put the task on Beowulf, someone who could defeat Grendel. Hrothgar lacks the physicality to be a warrior but has the wisdom and mental strength that can overpower anyone else’s physical
This could have also swayed Beowulf to leave and give up, but he kept going. His great courage and selflessness really shine in these moments. With no support except for Wiglaf, Beowulf continued to the dragon’s lair. After a crucial battle with the dragon, it is vanquished, but Beowulf is injured. He dies an honorable death, having spared his kingdom of the dragon.
Beowulf exhibits bravery when he travels to a distant land after hearing tales of how the monster Grendel has been terrorizing and killing a group of people called the Danes. When Grendel attempts to attack the Danes in the middle of the night, Beowulf fearlessly engages in a ferocious, weaponless battle with Grendel, emerging victorious. “The son of Ecgtheow became more silent, no longer boasting of his deeds in battle, while nobles looked on the sign of his strength: Grendel's hand high up by the roof, the foe's fingers—and each one tipped with a thick, sharp nail, as strong as steel, the heathen's claws suited for slashing in horrible slaughter” (Beowulf lines
Typically, if a person has absolutely no courage, they are not very heroic. Beowulf was full of courage. If he had no courage, he would not have been brave enough to use his strength to defeat Grendel. The first three lines of Beowulf states, “So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
Similar to honor, courage was also very important. Beowulf being a very courageous man, is motivated by the desire to prove his valor, through accomplishing brave feats. By accomplishing these feats of bravery, Beowulf would boast about them in detail at Hrothgar’s hall. Even Beowulf’s mission to kill Grendel was motivated by a desire to prove himself and improve his reputation. When boasting about his about his feats, Beowulf would often give credit to god for his bravery and
The greater part of Beowulf's activities are unmistakably inspired by dependability, beginning with his choice to help the Danes. Beowulf's dad once begun a fight, which Hrothgar finished. Hrothgar reviews, "Ecgtheow recognized me with pledges of fidelity" (472). Beowulf ventured out with his men to battle a fearsome beast not for the wonderfulness of it but rather so he could help his dad to reimburse his obligation. Numerous years after the fact, Wiglaf demonstrates his faithfulness and commitment to his ruler Beowulf by tailing him into the brawl when nobody else did, promising, "I should stand by you" (2668).
A hero’s journey consists of many mythological/archetypal characteristics--such as the characters, settings, situations, and outcomes. As unique as both stories are, The Lion King and Beowulf are great works of the hero’s journey following the mythological/archetypal path. The Lion King and Beowulf both revolve around the hero and outcast of the story. The quest and outcome are also other important components of the mythological/archetypal path.
Heroism is bravery, honor, courage, and daring. People who are believed to be a heroe usually serve as someone who defeated or made an impact on someone or something. Throughout the epic, Beowulf shows heroism by going to willingly defeat Grendel. This was Beowulf's choice to go, "there was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on eart, highborn and powerful" (196-198).
In addition, an epic hero is someone who performs heroic deeds which means Beowulf is the obvious hero of the story. Beowulf killed Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon, which are all heroic deeds that no one was willing to commit but himself. Although Hrothgar was not the hero of the story he was a hero to his people before the reign of Grendel, therefore, both Hrothgar and Beowulf are
Yes, Beowulf is brave, but not because he wants to do the right thing, he wants gold and glory. Beowulf is known as a great hero and on the surface he is. He seems to be brave and just but underneath that, Beowulf is extremely arrogant and egotistical. Beowulf does not just do things for they are the right thing to do, he does them seeing that great deeds will bring him honor and boost his reputation. He fights Grendel for bragging rights like the swimming contest Unferth brought up and he refuses to use a sword when fighting Grendel because it will just add to his bravery.
This trait shows courage because it shows that beowulf is very powerful just by his strength alone without no weapons. To sum it up beowulf won over his fame by showing that he will never fear anyone and believing only on
Beowulf embodies many universal societal heroic values that are signified in the modern world like courage, bravery, and strength. In the poem, Beowulf displays courage. “Now, I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Heaney 425-426). This quote shows courage because he’s telling them that he can fight Grendel and wants to weather he wins or loses.
Both the characters of Beowulf and the Seafarer have demonstrated courage in their tales. As depicted in the story, Beowulf is willing to face every situation fearlessly and without hesitation. He knows one day he will be defeated but until then he fights until he does. Beowulf know 's when he dies, he will be remembered for what a great warrior he was. Another character who displayed courage this unit would be the character from the Seafarer.
Beowulf’s bravery became an example for all of the warriors who would follow after him in Herot and even in other lands as his story spread all
Strength, honor, and resilience are all words that captures the essence of Beowulf. During the Anglo-Saxon era, Beowulf is a hero who strikes fear in his enemies and relief in his allies. Beowulf is widely-regarded as the most honorable and ruthless hero in all of the world; he defends villages of people from blood-hungry predators, defeats sea monsters, and defeats Grendel and Grendel’s mother in the epic poem Beowulf. However, Beowulf can be an egomaniac at times. For instance, before Beowulf’s epic fight and defeat of the monster Grendel, Beowulf strips nude and fights the monster nude to boast and show off.
Still when Beowulf was getting old in the age he was still a hero. He was able to fight the dragon even though he need help from his warriors. When he was old he couldn 't do the same things he would have done when he was younger. He was more physical fit. Its pretty amazing to see that even when he was old he went out to fight a dragon.