How Does Beowulf's Personality Change

This shows bravery because he is fighting a creature who has sharp claws that have snatched up and killed 30 men with ease. One final trait that Beowulf shows would be strength. Beowulf demonstrates strength when in the epic poem it says '' That shepherd of evil,

We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.” (1-3) These lines show that courage is seen as a type of greatness. If Beowulf would have not been blessed with the courage that he has, the kingdom would not have viewed him the same way as a hero. It takes a lot of courage to be brave enough to stand up to a demon that has been terrorizing a kingdom for twelve years. Luckily, Beowulf had this courage and defeated Grendel which made him a

These quotes show something that has grown within Beowulf over the many years he has lived.. His ego has grown exponentially. We see that even before he fights the dragon, he tells his men to stay back. Basically saying “I can handle this”, even at his woefully old age. We see even more of his confidence as well as ego when the author writes, “I’d use no sword, no weapons, if this beast could be killed” (613-614).

Beowulf’s pride and respect both drastically increase after his fight with Grendel. Hrothgar is the first to inform Beowulf of his terrible flaw that could potentially leave him in danger. When Beowulf is warned of his prideful nature by Hrothgar, he mentions Beowulf’s strength and how it is “in bloom” but reminds him “it fades quickly” Hrothgar pleads to Beowulf, “Do not take pride.” (1760-62). Beowulf must take into account how fleeting his pride

Beowulf values confidence, bravery, and fame all in which sculpt his overall image. These principles help him overcome monsters and myths most men fear. Beowulf seems to never lose these traits, thus causing him to be a courageous soldier for battle. Beowulf’s close minded ideals about himself makes him an example of a static figure.     Beowulf in the story never seems to forget

First, Beowulf instructs us on the Old English views on bravery. Beowulf demonstrates bravery all throughout the poem by never backing down, and by always willing to take on whatever complication presents itself. When Beowulf first crosses the sea, he only had one purpose in doing so, for he wanted “to win the goodwill Of your people or die in battle,” (366-367) This signifies Beowulf fearlessness of death and shows his true heroic characteristics. He does not care about his own life as long as he can conquer his enemy and win over the heart of the people.

After Beowulf is defeated, the narrator includes the major theme that greed can kill even the noblest of men; a lesson exemplified by the hero’s life and death. Beowulf’s avarice motivated him to the point of recklessness and his own

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 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 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.

His combat prowess and warring behavior also contrasts with the euphonious and connotative diction that enshrouds Beowulf. Although Beowulf is an honorable warrior, even removing his armor to give Grendel the fairest chance of battle, he proved very sadistic during the gruesome brawl. Once grappling Grendel’s arm and locking it down, Beowulf proceeded to crush and dislocate Grendel’s whole arm, “Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at his hands. The monster’s hatred rose higher but his power had gone. He twisted in pain.

He sees himself as invincible, capable of achieving anything he desires through his own strength and courage. This mindset is particularly evident in his decision to fight the dragon, despite being warned of the danger by his advisors. In the section titled Beowulf’s last boast, Beowulf states “...I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open”(Heaney,112). This quote perfectly demonstrates Beowulf’s blatant arrogance. He is not fighting for the safety of his people, he is fighting for glory and to boost his ego.

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.

In one illustration in the text it shows Beowulf boasting about his strength and it shows bravery as to why he is mighty and brave enough to fight Grendel Page 4 - “Beowulf was bragging about the deeds he has done and why he is worthy of fighting Grendel.” Beowulf can be seen as a brave hero because of many occurrences in the text. Another example of why he can be considered or looked upon as brave is when he fought the dragon with his men. During this fight Beowulf's men ran away in fear when the dragon came out but Beowulf stayed and fought the battle till the end with one of the only men that remained named Wiglaf. The fact that Beowulf would remain fighting the dragon even though his men fled shows courage and bravery because he was “the mildest yet mightiest of men” page 28.