Examples Of Heroism In Beowulf

Beowulf is a poem written in Anglo-Saxon times which tells the tale of a hero fighting dragons and demons.Beowulf is the main character of this poem,because of this, he has many traits which are vital to the poem,however, there are a few that stand out amongst the rest. Beowulf’s courageousness, ambition, and recklessness are important to the poem as they serve to progress its story and emphasize its theme of heroism.
Beowulf displays courageousness throughout the essay, especially when he declares that he will fight Grendel bare handed “ Too,that the monster’s scorn of me Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I”.(167) This shows his courage as he is willing to fight a monster barehanded that has killed countless men. This is trait is important to the poem as it serves to emphasize its theme of heroism as Beowulf is being a hero when he declares that he will fight Grendel and save Herot. This also furthers the poems progress because if he had never fought Grendel, he would have never had a reason to fight Grendel’s mother, and the story wouldn’t not have continued the way it did. …show more content…
I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters Out of the ocean.”(154) The fact that he battled giants and sea monsters, and won, shows how ambitious he really is. This aids in the emphasis of heroism as heroes need to have ambition.They need to have the desire and determination to stop evil, no matter how it manifests itself, in this case, as giants and seamonsters. This trait is also important for the progression of the poem because if Beowulf wasn’t ambitious, he wouldn’t have bothered traveling such a distance to help out Hrothgar and slay