The Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, describes a man with formidable strength and exceptional quality as a leader. As we see Beowulf become the epitome of an idealistic leader, he provided values and morals that most yearned to have in civilization. However, when constructing the idealistic leader in the story of Beowulf, the contrasting relationship between humans and nature plays a pivotal role in the development of Beowulf. Throughout the entirety of this story, we’re presented this binary labeled as good and evil. In order to become an epic hero of Beowulf’s caliber, humans must be the conqueror, not the conquered as it relates to nature. Going further into the binary, as it relates to evil portion, it would include: women, the uncivilized
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This is what the premise of the story is consisted of, Beowulf’s battles with creatures and the unknown that are not of the world created by men. The natural world makes up these two ideas that women and the uncivilized need to be conquered, putting them into the general idea that if not conquered – they become of the natural world. The natural world in Beowulf consists of those that are alienated from society, Grendel and his mother, and the unknown/unseen. The confrontations set forth by the epic poem with Beowulf and his opposition all take place in the natural world, for example – the darkness, the lake, and inside Grendel’s mother’s lair. What makes this so relevant to the actual idea of making the idealistic leader is that these things in the natural world are direct opposites of what civilization and man tend to do. So when Beowulf goes to conquer these things, they’re considered to be uncharted territory. The reasoning as to why this would make the idealistic leader is because of the binary that was presented in the introduction. In order for civilization and ultimately “good” to win out, if they can’t conquer a specific thing, they need to ultimately destroy it. Things in the natural world are unavoidable and of course natural and due to this, Beowulf was bound to act. Using Hrothgar’s establishment, the Mead Hall, as an example “The hall towered,/its gables wide and high and awaiting/a barbarous burning./That doom abided, but in time it would come: the killer instinct/unleashed among in-laws, the blood-lust rampant” (Beowulf 81-85). Hrothgar conquered the natural world and nature by creating man-made structures. He was adding to men’s creation, yet there was this understanding that no matter how great this palace and Mead Hall was, its destruction was inevitable. When something is destroyed,
This is what the premise of the story is consisted of, Beowulf’s battles with creatures and the unknown that are not of the world created by men. The natural world makes up these two ideas that women and the uncivilized need to be conquered, putting them into the general idea that if not conquered – they become of the natural world. The natural world in Beowulf consists of those that are alienated from society, Grendel and his mother, and the unknown/unseen. The confrontations set forth by the epic poem with Beowulf and his opposition all take place in the natural world, for example – the darkness, the lake, and inside Grendel’s mother’s lair. What makes this so relevant to the actual idea of making the idealistic leader is that these things in the natural world are direct opposites of what civilization and man tend to do. So when Beowulf goes to conquer these things, they’re considered to be uncharted territory. The reasoning as to why this would make the idealistic leader is because of the binary that was presented in the introduction. In order for civilization and ultimately “good” to win out, if they can’t conquer a specific thing, they need to ultimately destroy it. Things in the natural world are unavoidable and of course natural and due to this, Beowulf was bound to act. Using Hrothgar’s establishment, the Mead Hall, as an example “The hall towered,/its gables wide and high and awaiting/a barbarous burning./That doom abided, but in time it would come: the killer instinct/unleashed among in-laws, the blood-lust rampant” (Beowulf 81-85). Hrothgar conquered the natural world and nature by creating man-made structures. He was adding to men’s creation, yet there was this understanding that no matter how great this palace and Mead Hall was, its destruction was inevitable. When something is destroyed,