As we know, a hero is an individual that meets a monomyth. This involves the hero going on an adventure, in a decisive crisis that leads to a victory, and then comes home transformed. Even though Beowulf seems to meet the criteria of being a heroic figure, he willingly went to Heorot without being called by Hrothgar, the king of Heorot. The attitude towards the challenges he faces does not match the ideal persona of a hero. After defeating a problematic monster named Grendel, he only made the situation worse. Beowulf doesn’t fit the archetype of a hero because of his inclinations, egotistical ways and glorification. Beowulf’s inclinations show that he is not a person that fits the hero archetype. When Beowulf fought the monster that was terrorizing …show more content…
Beowulf was acknowledged when he has elevated himself in order to bring glory to his name. Therefore, Beowulf does not meet the heroic personality. In addition, this becomes evident as we examine Beowulf's main three battles and the events surrounding them. In the first battle, Grendel vs Beowulf, Beowulf's desire for pride is able to be seen over the desire to help others. For instance, Beowulf fought Grendel with his bare hands and fought Grendel one on one while his thanes watched. “Then an extraordinary wail arose, and bewildering fear came over the Danes. Everyone felt it who heard that cry as it echoed off the wall, a God-cursed scream, and strain of catastrophe, the howl of the loser, the lament of the hell-serf, keening his wound. He was overwhelmed, manacled tight by the man who of all men was foremost and strongest in the days of this life.” (781-789). The next battle, Beowulf vs Grendel's mother, is driven this time by revenge and more glory seeking. Beowulf is then victorious again and before he leaves, he takes Grendel's mother's head and Grendel’s head as a souvenir. “Grendel’s head was hauled by the hair, dragged across the floor where people were drinking, a horror for both queen and company to behold. They stared in awe. It was an astonishing sight.”(1647-1650). Lastly, Beowulf's final battle with the dragon is where his actions come to an end. Beowulf doesn't even need to go after the dragon but he does anyway, ignoring Hrothgar's warning. “Your undertaking cast my spirits down, I dreaded the outcome of your expedition and pleaded with you long and hard to leave the killer be, let the South-Danes settle their own blood-feud with Grendel. So God is thanked I am granted this sight of you, safe and sound.”(1992-1998). The outcome of this battle was the dragon and Beowulf being killed. As a result of Beowulf’s glorification, it helps explain the reason why he isn’t
As a king, Beowulf must learn not only to think in the now but to plan for the extensive future for not just himself but for his entire race. In the eyes of several of the Geats, Beowulf’s dauntless encounter with the dragon is morally questionable because it dooms them to a kingless state in which they remain vulnerable to attack by their enemies. He throws consequence out the door and reverts to being the hero. But since all of these kings were great warriors in their youth, the tension between these two important roles seems inevitable and ultimately irreconcilable. Fame was worth the
In the epic poem “Beowulf,” the protagonist displays many characteristics that makes him a hero although some may believe otherwise. Because Beowulf holds traits of greed, many may say he is not a hero, In Beowulf’s last fight, his motive for battle was obtaining ”the dragon’s treasure,” to keep for himself(630-631). This shows that sometimes material objects can overpower a person’s moral beliefs.
Beowulf qualifies as a hero in his own way he has his own strengths and does not exactly follow campell’s way of the hero. Beowulf is a warrior that has defeated many beasts and men alike with his bare hands alone. He has never been defeated by any beast , Beowulf is the ultimate hero , although he does not exactly follow cambell’s way of the hero, he still manages to maintain some of the same characteristics. Beowulf crossed the first threshold by hearing about grendal and then sets off on his journey to go defeat the beast.
In the story Beowulf, there are numerous moments of heroic actions. Although there are manycharacters that are looked upon as evil, Beowulf is not one of those. Beowulf demonstrates many heroic traits throughout the story such as strong-willingness and self-determination, strength and admiration, and honest, and for these reasons, I believe he should be classified as a hero. The majority of the time, heroes are very strong-willed and can push their selves to do what is best. Oftentimes they do not need someone to tell them they need to do something and they do notusually need someone to follow behind them to make sure they are making the good decision.
In order to examine the roles of archetypal hero and outcast in Beowulf, one must think actively while reading. Throughout Beowulf, multiple characters are introduced to the readers, and the archetypal character traits begin to blend. When a reader is introduced to Beowulf, the individual will believe Beowulf is the hero. The reader interprets Beowulf as the hero due to his rescue of the Danes from the horror the town has experienced for twelve years prior to Grendel’s attacks. Nevertheless, Beowulf personally takes on multiple character traits that are usually unnoticed by a variety of readers.
Although the battles Beowulf fights differ in terms of theme, they all demonstrate archetypes, an important element of Anglo-Saxon culture and writing. In Beowulf’s battle against Grendel, multiple archetypes are illustrated. There are the more obvious ones of heroes and villains, but if you dig a little deeper and take a look at the book as a whole, you could find the archetypes of heralds, or possibly allies. When looking at the archetypes of heroes and villains, you could easily label Grendel as the villain and Beowulf as the hero.
In his battles, Beowulf exemplifies the heroic characteristics of selflessness, hope, and bravery to protect people First of all Beowulf exemplifies his characteristics like being a modern day hero by his selflessness. Selflessness
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.
In today’s society, anybody can be considered a hero. A hero is a selfless person who is admired for their courageous achievements. A mother, celebrity, or even a mailman can be a hero to someone. In Beowulf, the epic poem translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf is recognized as a hero who craves too much glory. In today’s world, Beowulf is viewed as an irrelevant hero since he displays poor qualities of arrogance and selfishness.
In the story Beowulf they make Beowulf out to be the hero. I believe that he is the hero because of his way that he presents himself when he gets to as his crewmen walked off the boat and they looked bad in clothes Beowulf looked very nice and very manly other than his crewmen looked bad and also he was a hero because he was the only one to come to and help the town. Defeating the monsters which was mother dragon and the last reason that he was considered a hero because after all the monsters he killed he decided to give all of the gold and supplies that he won from the battle with the monsters to all the people in herot and also he was reconized as a hero because he let God decide his Faith during the battle with the monsters.
Beowulf and Wiglaf kill the dragon, but Beowulf dies. He dies being greedy, telling Wiglaf he wants to see the treasure and how he wants people to remember
In the YouTube video, “What makes a hero? - Matthew Winkler”, It explains that all heroes are the same, as well as the journey they take. The cycle of the hero stated in the video is: Status quo, call to adventure, assistance, departure, trials, approach, crisis, treasure, result, return to ordinary world, new life, resolution (Ted-ed). Beowulf uses the archetype of the hero’s journey, which includes a call to adventure, assistance, trials, treasure, and new life. Beowulf’s call to adventure as described by the narrator, is: “When he heard about Grendel, Hygelac’s thane / Was on home ground, over in Geatland.
Beowulf risked his life multiple times by battling Grendel and Grendel’s mother to save the people of Denmark. He also embarks on a battle with a dragon as an old man ascending on the Geats Throne. Each battle Beowulf fought has all been for the safety of his people. Although the Knight did not battle as a deed for his people, he also is viewed as a humble person his battles were for a purpose greater than himself. The knight never talks about his brave and valorous deeds.
Is Beowulf a Hero? The poem Beowulf, tells of great the great undertakings of Beowulf, a man who has defeated many ruthless monsters and seeks fame and glory. If we take Beowulf and compare him to the Anglo-Saxon ideal hero, Beowulf fills all the necessary requirements but, when compared to modern day standards, Beowulf doesn’t quite make the cut. In the modern day, selflessness is the ideal.
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.