The Epic Cycle Of Beowulf And The Hero Myth Cycle

A hero who faces a call to action; a king calls for the hero who can protect Herot from Grendel. A hero who is tested to prove himself; this hero proves himself worthy by fighting Grendel and his mother, fighting in wars, acquiring the throne, and the embark of defeating the dragon. A hero who is guided and in the presence of his companions; Hrothgar, Wiglaf, and his men by his side. A hero who faces low points; by not using his sword, but only using his hands and brains. A hero who follows the Hero Myth Cycle by Joseph Campbell is indeed an epic hero, following the traits of their guidance through the story; Beowulf is an epic hero by following the myth cycle through his tale, as well as following his flaw, restitution, and resurrection. The hero faces his flaw of not needing his sword and shield, but only to battle with his fist and using his intelligence. When he defeats Grendel 's mother, the resurrection of Beowulf as men quarrel with his death and only his most loyal men stay and hope for his return. Of his loyal men, he picks Wiglaf as the heir to the throne before he passes away, the restitution of the hero. To Beowulf, loyal is royal, as many see him as helping the people, …show more content…
From this we can pull away the three main building blocks behind what makes an epic hero; flaw being beowulf relies on his sword and shield, so he must sacrifice his men to have his pride and being a glorious warrior. His resurrection; being almost ‘reborn’ from coming back from the lair where many patrons thought he was deceased. Although he came back in a literal sense, he also was resurrected from his knowledge of his loyal men to his loyalness to them. Finally he was restituted; by him passing away, it came to the end of the hero and his journey, but figuratively he passed the torch onto Wiglow of being his successor. Beowulf definitely was invested in himself, but that did not hold him back from being an epic