The Role Of Heroes In The Epic Of Beowulf

characteristics of Icelandic heroes in general. To go unflinchingly to their doom with full foreknowledge of it was the only way of proving themselves superior to it. They defied their fate by accepting it” (qtd. In Tolkien’s Cauldron). In much the same way, the characters of Tolkien’s book accept the fate that has been bequeathed to them despite the apparent doom which they would deem unavoidable. Tolkien seemed to be drawn into writing about the same romanticized notions as that of Beowulf; Tolkien believed that myths should be resolved upon coming to a eucatastrophe wherein despite insurmountable odds a protagonist would come out the victor at the end. Until this point it would seem that only positive attributes of the myth Beowulf have been utilized by Tolkien in his book, however, myths …show more content…
The heroes of Beowulf are not known for their modesty, boasting would be seen as common among the characters of the poem and so too may it be found that characters within The Lord of the Rings are predisposed to have fallen into the same peccadillo. In The Lord of the Rings, Boromir boasts of his prowess among men and his faithfulness to the fellowship. When he is first introduced at the council of Elrond, he says “believe not that in the land of Gondor the blood of numenor is spent, nor all its pride and dignity forgotten. By our valor the wild folk of the East are still restrained, and the terror of Morgul kept at bay: and thus alone are peace and freedom maintained in the lands behind us, bulwark of the west” (Tolkien “lord” 246). The men of Gondor, and Rohan boast as Beowulf does; the Ents boast of their ability to