Beowulf's Loyalty

Improved Essays
Beowulf starts fighting for the fame. He wants his name known all over the world. Hrothgar, King of Danes, asks Beowulf I the kindness of his heart to defeat all monsters that try to heart the Danes, "That I, alone and with the help of my men,/ May purge all evil from this hall" (line 244-245). Beowulf does. "And yet his time had come, his days/ Were over, his death near; down/ To hell he would go, swept groaning and helpless/ To the waiting hands of still worse fiends" (Line 364-367). Beowulf shows his loyalty to Hrothgar because he fights for the fame and glory, but not for the throne. Also Beowulf takes any challenge that faces him even if it could take his life. He later when fighting the dragon he starts fighting for his home. A dragon

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    What means necessary would one take for their own family, to honor and to defend their loved one’s self and memory? In the poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney, Grendel's mother was put in a situation where her only son, Grendel was grotesquely killed by the protagonist Beowulf, who is a strong, humble warrior who protected the Danes and Geats. Not only was he killed but they took his dead body and displayed it for all to see as a representation of their victory. As soon as the mother comprehended what had occurred she went to Denmark not out of pleasure but to try to get vengeance for her son and killed Aeschere, an advisor of the Danes and stole her son’s arm that was on display.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Loyalty is a hard personality trait to find in people but in the story Beowulf loyalty is shown throughout the book as being the most important lesson, being loyal in this book has its ups and down in the story. loyalty in this story can come with perks like treasure and fame are big ones and just respect from people Beowulf is a very loyal man and that is why he is a really respected man one of the first people he is loyal to is his family which says it all because if you can't be loyal to your own blood family then it's already shows you're not a loyal person beowulf proves loyalty to his family when he Takes on the fierce Grendel “Now I mean to be a match for Grendel settle the outcome in single combat”(lines 425-430) he takes on the…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf's Loyalty

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the story Beowulf He fights three battles, the first against grendel, the second against grendel's mother, the third against the dragon. each of these battles is fought for different reasons but the biggest is glory and fame. His first battle Beowulf comes to the land of Hrothgar to fight the monster Grendel who has been attacking the great hall of Heorot and killing many men. Beowulf comes there for glory because people said that no man can defeat grindle he is too strong, this is like a challenge that beowulf must take as the hero. For this battle Beowulf chooses to use no weapons because he says that grendel has no idea of the art of war and to defeat him beowulf must use pure strength against grendel's strength.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Evolution Of Beowulf Essay

    • 1084 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Evolution of Beowulf Throughout the story of Beowulf the great hero accomplishes three great feats against three terrible monsters. On the surface of each battle readers can see that Beowulf portrays wlenco, however, if we look a little deeper into each conflict we can see positive character development within Beowulf himself. In this poem Beowulf clashes with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon that ravages his community; within each battle Beowulf has a subtle change in character that eventually leads him to become a great king. Before the author reaches Beowulf’s first conflict he writes Beowulf off as arrogant and bold.…

    • 1084 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pagan Criticism Of Beowulf

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited

    His enemy is a dragon which attacks Beowulf’s kingdom because a thief has stolen its treasure (2217-20). Thus the dragon represents greed and pride. By this time, Beowulf is old and weaker than he was before. Nevertheless, he decided to face the dragon on his own, which shows his great pride. Beowulf’s pride is a deadly character flaw, as it makes him reckless and arrogant.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Motivation In Beowulf

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What Beowulf was Thinking (Discuss Beowulf’s motivations) Have you ever done something in your life because you wanted to show people who you truly are and how you act for real and not what people think you are. What are some things that you do to show people what you truly are? In the story Beowulf he goes and fights monsters to show people about his duty, glory and his sacrifices that he makes to show people what he truly is. The story of Beowulf doesn’t have an other so we don’t know who writes it. But Beowulf lives in Heorot and goes to Jutes Danes to visit the king to ask if he could fight the monster that has been terrorizing the town.…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Anglo-Saxon people relied heavily on numerous values and ideals. Strangely, women in the community had more powers than they would in later time periods. They thought boasting was essential and were known to seek revenge. They believed in the concept of fate and everyone immensely valued loyalty and codes of honor. Oral poets, also known as scops, were an imperative part of loyalty, codes of honor, and revenge.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf Reputation Essay

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout the epic of Beowulf, it is clear to the reader that reputation is extremely important: it is especially important to Beowulf himself. When Beowulf first introduces himself to the Scyldings, he states his accomplishments to impress other around him. Doing this gains not only him honor but honor for his king as well. Then, when his reputation is attempted to be tarnished by Unferth, it is seemed as the worst insult possible that Beowulf can get. Beowulf is obviously concerned about how the world would view him and his accomplishments.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One may argue that this is a noble act, but that is not entirely the case. Beowulf knows he will die in combat with the dragon, but still goes head to head with it. At this point, Beowulf is without an heir to inherit his kingdom; there are no plans for what is to happen to his kingdom upon his demise. When Grendel attacked Heorot, Hrothgar did not fight him for glory, but instead, sent Beowulf and his men to do it. This was to insure Hrothgar’s people would not be without a king-which is what is more important in the grand scheme of things.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf displayed his heroic and sacrificial attitude throughout his life. Beowulf leaves everything behind to assist and support a neighboring king Hrothgar, whose kingdom was under attack from a demon named Grendel. As soon as Beowulf meets Hrothgar, he pledges to give his own life in the fight to help the people, if need be: If Grendel wins, it will be a gruesome day; he will glut himself on the Geats in the war-hall.…

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Beowulf, a Geat, has heard of these terrible actions and wants to pursue personal fame and immorality (to never be forgotten). These are two elements of the Germanic heroic code in regards to warriors. When speaking to Hrothgar, Beowulf states that he is there to “purge all evil from this hall…God must decide who will be given to death’s cold grip (“Beowulf” 148-150).” He is not only there to simply stop Grendel, but he is also there to exact revenge by killing the fiend. Beowulf’s heroism is not a spontaneous act of kindness.…

    • 1513 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Beowulf’s courage at this moment shows that although he has “mortal wounds”, he is able to exemplify characteristics of being a loyal king. By leaving their king, the thanes do not realize that without a king, no one will protect them and their land. This will lead to Geatland becoming a bigger target. Instead, they should have stayed to help fight the dragon, ensuring their king would live to secure their safety.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As the poem says when introducing Beowulf, “he was of mankind the strongest of might in those days of this life, noble and mighty” (Luizza, pg. 48). Beowulf has no need to come over win fame, he already has it made in his homeland, so what possesses him to make a journey by sea to fight this monster? It was the love for Hrothgar. Beowulf is the son of Ecgtheow, a man for whom Hrothgar paid a fine in order to settle a blood-feud that Ecgtheow started.…

    • 2083 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Beowulf’s distinguished bravery sets him apart from most leading characters because of his acceptance of death and fate. He would lay his life down on the line to save his people from a threatening creature and he would not have to think twice about it. For example, when asked by Hrothgar to save his citizens from Grendel’s mother, Beowulf replies with “And if your enemy should end my life Then be, O generous prince, forever The father and protector of all whom I leave Behind me, here in your hands, my beloved Comrades left with no leader, their leader Dead” (Beowulf 452-457). In this quotation, Beowulf is advising Hrothgar that if he is to pass away while attempting to defeat Grendel’s mother and save the day, that Hrothgar must watch over Beowulf’s men and protect them since their leader will be gone. Beowulf is stating that he does not mind if he dies however, he only cares about the well-being of his men and wants them to be accounted for if he were to perish.…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Heroic Code In Beowulf

    • 2007 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Seen as “the mightiest man on earth/ high-born and powerful”(ll. 197-198), Beowulf engaged in three major battles leading up to his death. Within each of the three battles, courage was always brought along as a source of strength. Before even engaging himself into the battle with Grendel, Beowulf sailed over to the Danish shore to help Hrothgar protect his people and to defeat this ruthless demon. When the battle approached he courageously stepped up to fight and this showed his devotion to the heroic code and to the Danish people.…

    • 2007 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays