Beowulf's Motivation

Beowulf is an Old English epic poem. It describes the adventures and quests that the protagonist, Beowulf goes through to conquer villains. Beowulf resembles an ancient Germanic hero, which is a warrior who cares about his reputation and fame but also possesses good qualities. Beowulf exemplifies an ancient Germanic hero because he is motivated, courageous and values his reputation. One of Beowulf’s qualities that makes him an ancient germanic hero is his motivation. Motivation is the desire that someone has to do something. Beowulf demonstrates motivation because when he heard from all the way across the sea that there was a monster killing people and bringing terror to everyone, he came to the rescue. Without thinking about his life being put in danger, he came unarmed to fight Grendel. “ For some way to drive this devil out/ If anything will ever end the evils- Afflicting your wise and famous lord. / Here he can cool his burning sorrow" (Beowulf lines 192 - 195). He shows motivation by saying the he will be the one to defeat this monster. He is confident that he can do it. Another time that Beowulf showed his motivation was when he was around seventy years old but he still wanted …show more content…
If one cares about his reputation, it is not necessarily a bad or selfish characteristic. A reputation can be positive or negative. Beowulf is trying to build up a positive reputation by slaying monsters and saving the citizens. An example of how Beowulf gained a reputation is by the titles he is called. He is referred to as “the old king” (Beowulf line 775). He was no king when he came from Geatland. A reason why he cares about his reputation may be because his father was a famous soldier and was known widely as the leader of men. Beowulf tells the watcher “Wise men all over the earth surely/ remember him” (Beowulf lines 178 – 179). Beowulf wants to be remembered because his father was an influence on