How Is Beowulf An Epic Hero

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.

For instance, he may rip off the limb of Grendel, fight Grendels monstrous mother with no fear, and eventually slay the dragon in his old age. Beowulf's physical prowess

Beowulf exemplifies the characteristics of a hero by being boastful, unbelievably strong, and acting selflessly. First of all, when Beowulf is introduced he boasts of all the heroic actions he completed. In the Anglo-Saxon period boasting is a very

Was Beowulf a hero? A hero is a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage. Not just anyone can be a hero it takes a great amount of bravery and great outstanding achievements. In the Anglo-Saxon a hero was to be a warrior. They had to be strong, intelligent, and courageous and be able to face any odds.

Hrothgar and Beowulf The epic, Beowulf, written by an unknown author tells a story of heroism, good versus evil, and defeat. The story starts out with a monster Grendel, whom is said to be the decadence of Cain, awaking. This devilish monster goes on a rampage of pure evil killing everything in its sight which leaves the once great leader, Hrothgar, hopeless. Beowulf hears of this terrible monster and comes to the king’s rescue. Beowulf ends up defeating the monsters threatening the land and then the two great leaders form an alliance and become appreciative friends.

Beowulf shows the traits of a perfect hero. The one most shown in the poem, Beowulf is bravery. Beowulf shows bravery by fighting each and every monster he goes up against. He also shows bravery by willingly going to challenge Grendel. “I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth.

Not only have we seen brute strength, honorable courage, and admirable loyalty shine through beowulf, Beowulf also possess a great trait not many others have; his will to fight to the death, or self sacrifice. Not once throughout the story did Beowulf ever turn down a battle. Not once did he fear or flee his enemy. Not once did he ever give up even if death had him by the throat causing his mind to flood nothing but fearful thoughts and feelings throughout his body. Every battle Beowulf fought, he fought as if it was his last and that is what truly makes him the great warrior he is.

Beowulf’s characteristics beginning with strength made him great. Beowulf is a strong and well known for being able to possess power greater than the average warrior. This is evidenced by his ability to wrench off the gigantic Grendel’s arm and by his ability to contend with Grendel’s equally monstrous mother and the monstrous dragon. Beowulf was much like Hercules but a more viking like version of Hercules.

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.

What he is most noted for is how important he finds glory to be. When he requests to fight Grendel for Hrothgar he states he will fight without a sword, as Grendel fears none and fights using his claws. Beowulf fears that if he points his sword to a creature that uses none would be disgraceful and will not bring glory. “But Beowulf longed only for fame, leaped back into battle” line 486, this shows that even as Beowulf is faced with a fight that may be his last, his need for glory

This first becomes clear when, in his boasts to his followers, he claims that the “glory of winning” motivates his desire to defeat the dragon (2514). His people would have associated heroism with courage and desire for glory, especially of the posthumous sort, and would have considered this boast an indication of truly heroic character. Given this cultural attitude toward glory, it is no wonder that they would revere him as a hero, but it is the fact that he fights a dragon, and not some other creature, which is most significant in determining his heroism. As Tolkien says in his analysis of the poem, “A dragon is a potent creature of man’s imagination, richer in significance than his barrow is in gold,” and to slay a dragon is “the chief deed of the greatest of heroes” (page 113). The poet reflects this same sentiment by using the slaying of the dragon, rather than some other figure, as that which cements Beowulf’s legendary status.

From all this, we know that the perception of a hero from Beowulf’s time differs from our perception today. As we feel that the intentions define a hero while in Beowulf’s time the reputation and accomplishments are what makes a

This proves that he is strong and brave because no one else could kill Grendel let alone face him. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands and without armor on. Other warriors could not even kill him with a sword and armor. “Beowulf’s intention to fight Grendel with only his strength proves that he carries the characteristics of a true hero”(Hailey).

Beowulf is one of the oldest and most well-known epic stories throughout the world. The main character in this story is Beowulf himself. Beowulf is a true and epic hero, who ultimately loses his life while trying to protect the he cared for. Beowulf was a man of great strength, which allowed him to defeat monster and make him the hero that he was. He did not have this strength on his own accord, but was assisted with some divine intervention.