Beowulf is an epic poem set in the either the fifth or sixth-century Scandinavia. Scholars have thought the poem to be set in Scandinavia because it is in the same part of Europe as Denmark and Sweden. There are three main climaxes throughout the entirety of the poem; the first is the fight with Grendel the monster, the second is Grendel’s mother, and the third is a dragon. With each fight the victims grow more into the monsters they are as they stray further and further from humanity. Beowulf is characterized by physical, boastful, and battle-loving personality traits. Beowulf retains many physical attributes and they range anywhere from his mighty strength to his unmatched ability to swim. Beowulf is analyzed as “’The hero of all heroes,’
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I have heard moreover that the monster scorns in his reckless way to use weapons; therefore, to heighten Hygelac’s fame and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend” (“Beowulf” 50). Just from quotes like these the reader can tell that Beowulf is a very war savvy person along with being a very boastful about his achievements. Beowulf’s warring personality really shows in his first two battles with the dreadful creatures. In his first fight with Grendel, the monster goes to grab Beowulf from his “sleep” but Beowulf in turn grabs Grendel with a grip mightier than any other he had felt before. “He was bearing in with open claw when the alert hero’s comeback and armlock forestalled him utterly. The captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth” (“Beowulf” 57). Beowulf’s grip is so strong that it scares Grendel because he now knows that he is not going to escape this battle alive. “Every bone in his body quailed and recoiled, but he could
I have heard moreover that the monster scorns in his reckless way to use weapons; therefore, to heighten Hygelac’s fame and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend” (“Beowulf” 50). Just from quotes like these the reader can tell that Beowulf is a very war savvy person along with being a very boastful about his achievements. Beowulf’s warring personality really shows in his first two battles with the dreadful creatures. In his first fight with Grendel, the monster goes to grab Beowulf from his “sleep” but Beowulf in turn grabs Grendel with a grip mightier than any other he had felt before. “He was bearing in with open claw when the alert hero’s comeback and armlock forestalled him utterly. The captain of evil discovered himself in a handgrip harder than anything he had ever encountered in any man on the face of the earth” (“Beowulf” 57). Beowulf’s grip is so strong that it scares Grendel because he now knows that he is not going to escape this battle alive. “Every bone in his body quailed and recoiled, but he could