Heroic Traits Of Beowulf

Beowulf remains one of the classics that many people read at some point in their high school or college years. This epic poem is one of the only insights to the lives that the Anglo-Saxons lived many, many years ago. Beowulf, the epic hero of the poem, gives the main insight into their culture, demonstrating many of the Anglo-Saxon’s ideal and important traits, such as pride, bravery, and strength. He has three main fights during his life, where he faces a monster called Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and finally a dragon. Beowulf’s three fights trace the development of his heroic traits as he grew older and gained more experience and wisdom.
In the first fight in the epic Beowulf, Beowulf fights the monster Grendel, who has been terrorizing the Danes under King Hrothgar. Beowulf has always been proud, and so when he hears about the Danes’ fate, he immediately journeys to Denmark to help the people there. Once he gets permission to try to help them. Beowulf then refuses to use a weapon to fight Grendel, saying “My lord Higlac/ Might think less of me if I let my sword/ Go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid/ Behind some broad linden shield” (Raffel 47). Beowulf thinks that it is cowardly to “hide” behind a shield and …show more content…
Throughout the duration of Beowulf, he grows from a great and strong warrior to the best leader the Danes have ever seen. His three main fights demonstrate the differences in his personality and give a timeline to easily track his development as a hero. Beowulf demonstrates many supernatural acts, which are a big part of an epic hero, and he also demonstrates many ideal traits of the Anglo-Saxon culture that was the background for the epic poem. All in all, Beowulf becomes more wise and becomes a stronger example of an epic hero throughout the poem Beowulf, and he will always be the first person people think of when someone talks about the idealistic hero of the