The topic for today is Beowulf as a hero. Beowulf, an epic poem composed in approximately 750 AD (Greenblatt 26), is a story of a Dane named Beowulf and his astonishing feats.Beowulf is a quintessential hero. He shows a copious amount of the overt traits such as bravery, strength, sacrifice, honor, faultlessness, courage, compassion, and being all-around impeccable. To further drive home Beowulf’s innate heroism, other characters almost always refer to how heroic he is. Characters in the poem refer to him as “hero” (Beowulf 298), “noble” (314), “stout of heart” (338), and “formidable” (370). This is just a miniscule portion of Beowulf’s character described; many other countless descriptors are used throughout the entire poem. The origins
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He gives himself to protecting a neighboring kingdom and then his own kingdom later on. When he first lands in Hrothgar’s kingdom, he is met by a guard and is asked to explain himself. He responds “I come to proffer my wholehearted help and counsel. I can show the wise Hrothgar a way to defeat his enemy and find respite — if any respite is to reach him, ever. I can calm the turmoil and terror in his mind.” (Beowulf 277) Beowulf is not the only character who shows heroism. Hrothgar, the king whose kingdom was being terrorized, accepts Beowulf’s help. Hrothgar was upset that he could not protect his own people; but when Beowulf stepped up to help, he took the help for the good of his people. “It bothers me to have to burden anyone with all the grief that Grendel has caused and the havoc he has wreaked upon us in Heorot, our humiliations.” (Beowulf 473) Here Hrothgar tells Beowulf that he’s embarrassed that he couldn’t protect his own people. However, Hrothgar is known as a noble king, so he ends up accepting Beowulf’s help in order to protect his kingdom. Many characters in the story describe Beowulf with adoration, esteem, and reverence. Because Beowulf is known as the hero, there must be a monster or villain. A monster is terrifying, disturbing, and has no redeeming qualities. A monster is not meant to be likable or to be sympathized with. It commits terrible acts and has no humanity. A monster is disturbing, terrifying, and sinister. The monster in the story happens to be a mythic demon named Grendel. Even the name “Grendel” has a sinister sound to it. Thus Grendel, “a fiend out of hell” (100), is the one Beowulf defeats in order to truly earn his title of
He gives himself to protecting a neighboring kingdom and then his own kingdom later on. When he first lands in Hrothgar’s kingdom, he is met by a guard and is asked to explain himself. He responds “I come to proffer my wholehearted help and counsel. I can show the wise Hrothgar a way to defeat his enemy and find respite — if any respite is to reach him, ever. I can calm the turmoil and terror in his mind.” (Beowulf 277) Beowulf is not the only character who shows heroism. Hrothgar, the king whose kingdom was being terrorized, accepts Beowulf’s help. Hrothgar was upset that he could not protect his own people; but when Beowulf stepped up to help, he took the help for the good of his people. “It bothers me to have to burden anyone with all the grief that Grendel has caused and the havoc he has wreaked upon us in Heorot, our humiliations.” (Beowulf 473) Here Hrothgar tells Beowulf that he’s embarrassed that he couldn’t protect his own people. However, Hrothgar is known as a noble king, so he ends up accepting Beowulf’s help in order to protect his kingdom. Many characters in the story describe Beowulf with adoration, esteem, and reverence. Because Beowulf is known as the hero, there must be a monster or villain. A monster is terrifying, disturbing, and has no redeeming qualities. A monster is not meant to be likable or to be sympathized with. It commits terrible acts and has no humanity. A monster is disturbing, terrifying, and sinister. The monster in the story happens to be a mythic demon named Grendel. Even the name “Grendel” has a sinister sound to it. Thus Grendel, “a fiend out of hell” (100), is the one Beowulf defeats in order to truly earn his title of