Beowulf Throughout Beowulf, there are many examples of the qualities of Beowulf that make him the epitome of a hero. Beowulf’s first heroic quality that he shows throughout the epic is superhuman strength. In the story, Beowulf fights monsters, a dragon, and he even has the ability to hold his breath underwater for around nine hours. Another heroic quality of Beowulf is his loyalty to his companions and to other people he meets throughout his journey. Beowulf sleeps with his kin in the hall, and upon his arrival to Geatland, he gives his treasures from King Hrothgar to his own king. The last key quality of Beowulf is his courage. Beowulf never backs down from a fight, and he is always ready to battle the most challenging, terrifying foes.
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“Shoulder to shoulder, we struggled on for five nights, until the long flow and pitch of the waves, the perishing cold, night falling and winds from the north drove us apart. The deep boiled up and its wallowing sent the sea-brutes wild” (Beowulf 37). That quote shows Beowulf’s superhuman strength in many ways. No regular person has the strength to swim in the rugged sea for five nights with armor on their back. Beowulf describes his account of his sea race and says,”However it occurred, my sword had killed nine sea-monsters” (Beowulf 39). Beowulf possesses the strength of many men because he is able to swim in a full suit of metal armor and kill nine sea-monsters. Another example of Beowulf’s superhuman strength is his fight against Grendel. Beowulf not only fights Grendel without a weapon, but he completely rips Grendel’s arm from his body. The arm of Grendel is massive, considering that it took four grown men to carry its …show more content…
Throughout the epic, Beowulf’s courage is shown in many ways. Beowulf never backs down from a fight of an unknown opponent. “Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Beowulf 29). Beowulf never has a second thought that fighting a perilous monster could be a bad idea, and if he decided not to fight the monster his chances of dying would greatly decrease. Instead, he challenges the monster without fear, knowing that his death would be the consequence of a loss. Another example of Beowulf’s courage is how he fights Grendel’s mother. Even though Beowulf knows that no one has ever came out of the swamp alive, he dives in and begins his adventure to the bottom. While there, he fights Grendel’s mother without hesitation, and slays her with a giant’s sword from her lair. The last example of Beowulf’s courage is his fight with the dragon. Nobody in the land dared to confront the dragon, despite the fact that he was destroying all of their land. Beowulf stepped up to the challenge as an old man around the age of 75. Beowulf knew he was strong still, but not as strong as what he once was. Knowing the battle could be his last, Beowulf still had the courage to step up against the dragon, and he gave his life to protect all the people that stood and observed without the courage to fight with
“Shoulder to shoulder, we struggled on for five nights, until the long flow and pitch of the waves, the perishing cold, night falling and winds from the north drove us apart. The deep boiled up and its wallowing sent the sea-brutes wild” (Beowulf 37). That quote shows Beowulf’s superhuman strength in many ways. No regular person has the strength to swim in the rugged sea for five nights with armor on their back. Beowulf describes his account of his sea race and says,”However it occurred, my sword had killed nine sea-monsters” (Beowulf 39). Beowulf possesses the strength of many men because he is able to swim in a full suit of metal armor and kill nine sea-monsters. Another example of Beowulf’s superhuman strength is his fight against Grendel. Beowulf not only fights Grendel without a weapon, but he completely rips Grendel’s arm from his body. The arm of Grendel is massive, considering that it took four grown men to carry its …show more content…
Throughout the epic, Beowulf’s courage is shown in many ways. Beowulf never backs down from a fight of an unknown opponent. “Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat” (Beowulf 29). Beowulf never has a second thought that fighting a perilous monster could be a bad idea, and if he decided not to fight the monster his chances of dying would greatly decrease. Instead, he challenges the monster without fear, knowing that his death would be the consequence of a loss. Another example of Beowulf’s courage is how he fights Grendel’s mother. Even though Beowulf knows that no one has ever came out of the swamp alive, he dives in and begins his adventure to the bottom. While there, he fights Grendel’s mother without hesitation, and slays her with a giant’s sword from her lair. The last example of Beowulf’s courage is his fight with the dragon. Nobody in the land dared to confront the dragon, despite the fact that he was destroying all of their land. Beowulf stepped up to the challenge as an old man around the age of 75. Beowulf knew he was strong still, but not as strong as what he once was. Knowing the battle could be his last, Beowulf still had the courage to step up against the dragon, and he gave his life to protect all the people that stood and observed without the courage to fight with