Beowulf Character Analysis Essay

During the battle of Grendel, we see a confident and proud Beowulf, who boasts about his power and might before the battle. For example, Beowulf’s confidence is clarified when he says "I have heard moreover that the monster scorns in his reckless way to use weapons; therefore... I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield... hand-to-hand is how it will be..." (Beowulf 433-440). Beowulf choosing not to use a sword is completely unnecessary and is a result of pure confidence. Though he wasn’t allowed the opportunity to challenge Grendel one on one due to the beast’s surprise attack, Beowulf still managed to eliminate Grendel and show his immense strength.

Every character has dramatic battles with their antagonist that they win, until they don’t. Beowulf is a Northern European myth that sings the praises of our hardy hero, Beowulf. Beowulf starts as the young, brash prince of the the Geats who battles the grotesque monster Grendel with his bare hands. Fifty years later, he is the adept King of the Geats and battles a hideous dragon with a sword and iron shield. Throughout these battles, Beowulf makes mistakes and learns from them.

Not only is Beowulf honorable and well respected, he is brave as well. His courage is shown by not hesitating to risk his own life to pursue the Dane’s enemies. By being self-assured, Beowulf is able to successfully defeat the fiends, Grendel and his infamous mother. At the time Beowulf is planning to pursue the vindictive dragon, the epic poem states, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.”(ll. 2511-2515). He feels no fear, is confident in fighting the dragon alone, and has no qualms in risking his life to save others. He declares his bravery by saying, “When he comes to me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins... No one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster.”(ll. 2525-2534). In his actions, Beowulf’s bravery is clearly shown throughout the poem.

Beowulf’s virtues of courage and strength appear throughout the poem during his life as a warrior and as a king. He begins the story with courage and “the strength of thirty / in the grip of each hand” (380-381), which are vital to his accomplishments as a warrior. His courage and strength are apparent when he fights Grendel without the use of weapons. Both virtues are crucial to his success in that battle and lead him to become a leader of wisdom and stature. As king of Heorot he uses his courage and strength in the battle against the dragon. Before the fight he has a feeling of uncertainty and it is stated “He was sad at heart / unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. / His fate hovered near, unknowing but certain: / It would soon claim his coffered soul.” (2419-2424). His sense of forthcoming death may illustrates a lack of confidence in his ability to slay the dragon; however, it also shows tremendous courage by involving himself in an unevenly matched fight. Although his physical strength may have abandoned him in his last fight against the dragon, his courage and wisdom intensified his glory beyond his death.

The first major battle that Beowulf fights in is against Grendel. Beowulf’s motive for this particular fight is to get revenge for what Grendel did to the Danes. Grendel raided the Danes for a total of twelve years. As we learned throughout the book Beowulf was very selfless and was always willing to help out other people. When Grendel comes to Heorot, he devours and kills a Geatish warrior all while Beowulf watches very closely. After this, Grendel tries to reach out and get Beowulf, but is surprised to find his arm gripped with the great strength of Beowulf. Grendel tries to run back to his home in the swamplands because he knows that he will not be able to compete with the mighty Beowulf. At the end of the battle Beowulf summons great strength and rips Grendel’s arm off his body. Grendel, now fatally wounded, goes back to his home and eventually dies. Beowulf holds up the bloody arm of Grendel like a trophy and hangs it on the wall in Heorot as proof that he defeated Grendel. Around the

Beowulf was a man of admirable exploits. He had the strength of thirty men in his arms, and would use this strength to aid anyone in need. Upon hearing of the plight of Grendel and the ill happenings in Hrothgar’s kingdom, Beowulf

In his three major battles, Beowulf fights for many different reasons. His motivation varies, and as he grows older and wiser his attitude toward these battles also changes. Throughout the epic, Beowulf bradoshously beats Grendel, then more methodically murders Grendel’s mother, and with his last breathes humbly hollers for help to slay the dragon. This shows that Beowulf’s early focuses of glory and riches changes as he becomes a weathered warrior acknowledges that he cannot defeat his enemies alone and must utilize the resources provided to him such as armor, magical items, and companions.

Beowulf began this story as a young warrior. He is fearless and brave when he starts out. Hrothgar was a mentor to him and taught him how to act as the ruler he will eventually be. However, he doesn't become king for many years because the rightful heir came into power. When he died, Beowulf came to power. Being a reputable warrior, it prepared him to be a king and showed him how to protect his people. Beowulf always looked out for the interest of his people rather than himself. He will go to great lengths to protect his people and will tackle any challenge that comes his way. In this, he is selfless. Beowulf realizes that he may die, but he persists.Throughout the story as a whole, he simply transforms from a boy into a man.

When Beowulf fights, he always has a reason. Beowulf is a strong, brave and heroic figure to the Danes. He is always looking to protect them. Beowulf encounters three fights and uses different methods, techniques, and weapons for each one. He uses these to show that sometimes doing the same thing over again doesn't always work.

Beowulf succeeds at not failing his people, evenly when as an elderly man, he goes ahead without a second thought to fight mythical dragon. He does what he knows he should do. This is similar to Hamlet in the last demonstration of Shakespeare's play, who is at last prepared to vindicate the demise of his dad. Like Hamlet, Beowulf is dedicated for his part of his role designated for him. He stands up to his fate, his destiny, without recoiling. Doing this, he makes himself a ideal for the Geats in a vanished brave society as well for the present day peruser as well.Beowulf succeeds at not failing his people, evenly when as an elderly man, he goes ahead without a second thought to fight mythical dragon. He does what he knows he should do. This

In conclusion, Beowulf faces many battles during his lifetime. He voluntarily goes to Hrothgar’s hall to slay the bloodthirsty Grendel as he chews up Hrothgar’s men. After celebrating Grendel’s death, his mother tries to avenge his death and kills Hrothgar’s best friend. Thus, Beowulf goes to kill Grendel’s mother. With his final boast, a dragon terrorizes his kingdom and Beowulf bravely goes to kill the dragon but dies due to the injuries he gets. Not to mention that he sort of gets kills himself with too much pride and honor that he has for

Strength is without a doubt one of the most important traits which a hero should possess and the Anglo-Saxon’s felt the same way. Beowulf’s strength can be compared to that of the American comic book heroes, Superman and Batman, for he is deemed the “strongest and greatest of the Geats”. The first time that his strength is witnessed, not just spoken of, is when he kills Grendel by ripping the monstrous villain’s arm off. But his most notable display of strength occurs when he enters into combat with Grendel’s mother. When everything seems to be going all wrong for Beowulf, he spies a “heavy” sword hanging on the wall of her lair. With all his power and might, Beowulf drew the sword, “hammered by giants...and….so massive that no ordinary man could life it”, from its scabbard. He “lifts it high over his head”, the sword clasped

By facing the dragon alone, he is willing to sacrifice his life to prove that he will not let an obstacle stop him from becoming a legend. However, when further explored in context, Beowulf is also trying to persuade his comrades into believing that a person should create their own fate when people tell them otherwise. As previously mentioned, his comrades knew that he was going to lose this fight not only because he was doing it alone, but also because time always wins in the end. At this point in Beowulf’s life, he is an old man who has slain many beasts including the demonic Grendel and Grendel’s mother. He has become the leader of his people, which in return, would take a lot out of him because he has to rule an entire nation; he is becoming less and less the person he was before, even though his personality is still the same.

The story explains his heroism in two parts of his life, which are youth and age. It also goes through three separate and difficult conflicts with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. In Beowulf’s youthful stage, he’s a warrior without fears or limits. His heroism shows how he can be as reliable and noble as a king. These two phases of his life correspond to two different representations of righteousness, and

Beowulf hears about Grendel terrorizing the Danes and decides to travel to where Grendel is at to try and defeat him. Beowulf and Grendel get into a hand on hand fight. Beowulf wants to prove Grendel that he’s stronger than the demon by using his own self power. Beowulf ends up ripping Grendel’s arm off using his own hands.