Examples Of Cowardice And Bravery In Beowulf

Beowulf was not the only one who showed bravery. Wiglaf did as well and he ultimately saved and helped Beowulf slay the dragons while all the other danes left him and ran away like cowards. . All the outcast sought vengeance and ended up being destroyed by the infamous

Courage is one of many characteristics of Beowulf’s complex personality. Throughout the epic poem, Beowulf demonstrates courage by not fearing his enemies even if he knew pain or death awaited him. In his last battle,

The hero in the epic poem Beowulf is the main character, Beowulf. He demonstrates heroic qualities as soon as the readers are introduced to his character. Beowulf proves himself to be courageous and brave by voluntarily fighting the “undefeatable” monster, Grendel. He is greatly admired by both the Danes and Geats for his courageous acts. Although his motivation is altered to only benefit himself with the title of the greatest warrior, his plan to save the Danes is greatly appreciated by all in the land.

It 's easy to flee a battle, but it 's hard to stay knowing death is a definitive factor. Beowulf shows that he is willing to die for his glory and to protect the Danes in every battle he faces. Against Grendel, Grendels mother, and the dragon. During his battle with

Questions of Honor: Beowulf Beowulf’s honor and integrity can be questioned throughout the entirety of the epic poem, Beowulf. Whether or not his actions are inspired by his own pompous arrogance or confidence, one can argue that he is a hero nonetheless. Evidence and experience prove that Beowulf is more of a fearless hero than an excessively prideful man, and his hubris is more than justified due to the formidable duties he is able to execute. Throughout the poem, Beowulf expresses his intense strength and courage to the fearful people in the poem. His daring sense of self-assurance is backed by his victories against all three monsters, (even though he suffers a tragic death after facing the dragon, it is a defeat nonetheless).

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 definitely displays multiple examples of courage, such as fighting Grendel barehanded and going to fight a dragon alone, but the most pronounced example is when Beowulf goes to fight Grendel’s mother, his second trial. Her home is a disgusting, murky lake that’s “infested with… sea-dragons / and monsters” (1425) and so deep that “the mere bottom has never been sounded by the sons of men” (1367-1368). Even the creatures that live around it would rather die than dive under the water’s surface. Beowulf makes a big deal out of how terrifying her home is, expressing how the warriors who arrived at her home were “not man enough / to face the turmoil of a fight under water / and the risk to [their] life” (1468-1470). But Beowulf is willing to.

Beowulf reveals an act of arrogance throughout the epic poem Beowulf; therefore, it makes him an irrelevant hero. Beowulf claimed “that he needs no weapons and fears none” when fighting the monster. Stating that he can defeat a monster with his bare hands makes Beowulf very boastful. This quality of boastfulness expresses Beowulf’s thoughts on heroism. He only did heroic deeds for his desire.

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.

1. How does Beowulf character compare with other heroes you know about? When compared against modern heroes, Beowulf comes off as a more of a rugged dirty character. When looking at heroes such as Captain America or Luke Skywalker, both of these characters are never pictured as dirty. Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, is always pictured as clean and his suit never dirty, same thing with Luke Skywalker.

The authors use of the hero tradition is contradicted when we get a glimpse of Beowulf’s arrogance. During the final battle as Beowulf said his goodbyes to his followers, he humbly reassured them, “fate decides which of [them] wins,” showing now sound of arrogance (666-667). Beowulf is living up to the “hero” expectation in the citizens’ eyes; he is being selfless for this kingdom. However this role is not applicable for him just yet. His humility, that the other characterized for him, is overlooked as he states, “this dragon’s treasure, his gold and everything hidden in that tower will be mine,” showing his true intentions.

Every past and modern culture over the course of history, has its hero’s. A hero is a person or figure that others look up to and use as forms of protection. Many cherish the hero’s, they make up who we are today. The Anglo-Saxon hero, Beowulf, and the postmodern hero/hero’s, the soldiers, both show the traits of bravery, selflessness, and loyalty. To have the trait of bravery you have to have lots of confidence in yourself and have courage.

Beowulf’s Unstoppable Courage In the novel Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf possesses unstoppable courage which allows him to help move the plot along and maintain the balance between good and evil. Beowulf first exhibits courage when he first hears the news of Grendel. He immediately assembles a team together and goes over to Heorot upon receiving word of Grendel’s actions. Beowulf shows courage even when no one else volunteers to complete the task: “Then news of Grendel,/ had to ignore, reached me at home...

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 definition of heroism is great bravery. Bravery is what Beowulf displays when he makes the decision to battle the monsters. Beowulf's courage is exposed multiple times during the battles for example, "The dragon burns Beowulf's hall with fiery breath, and the old king sets out to fight him unaided" (Hanning 9). This detail displays that although the dragon is evil and might, Beowulf shows no fear whatsoever when battling them. Beowulf ignores the possibility of there being an adverse outcome during every battle he continues to fight.