An epic poem is a long writing that tells about a hero’s journeys and battles with gods and mythical creatures. An epic hero is someone with all of the characteristics valued in that time period. In the epic Beowulf, recorded around 1000 AD, a noble named Beowulf fought monster for the glory and admiration of his victories to be known throughout time. Beowulf is an epic hero because of his descent into the underworld, his super human strength, and his vengefulness. Clearly, Beowulf is an epic hero because of his decent into the underworld. Although Beowulf did not descend into the true fiery underworld of hell, he did descend into the deep water of Grendel’s Mother’s lair where no man has been before. The epic, Beowulf, says, “For hours he sank through the waves,” Cantos 22, line 367-368. This shows how far he had to go to get to Grendel’s mother’s lair. Beowulf had no choice but to go to the lair and kill her because she killed Hrothgar’s faithful servant. Beowulf also says, “As all words ended he leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s answer,” Cantos 22, line 364-366. This means that Beowulf was the only one brave enough and capable enough to descend into …show more content…
Beowulf is stronger than any normal man. The epic, Beowulf, says, “That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime, knew at once that nowhere on earth had he met a man whose hands were harder,” Cantos 11 lines 191-193. Even the demon, Grendel, was being overpowered by Beowulf. Beowulf is so strong that he does not even use weapons or armor to fight many types of monsters. When he faced Grendel, Beowulf used his strength to rip Grendel’s arm from his socket. Not only was Beowulf able to rip Grendel’s arm off, but he also used a huge sword that was made by giants to kill Grendel’s mother. No mortal man could even imagine of wielding such a heavy weapon, but Beowulf used his super strength to swing that sword and finish that monster
Although Beowulf had the strength of thirty men put together but he still took the men to battle with him. No armor or weapons could hurt him so he defeated Grendel with his two bare hands by ripping off his shoulder. Grendel hurt and dying then retreated to his lair to die. He then later takes on Grendel’s mother by chopping off her head with a great big sword hanging on the wall. It was made by giants and no man’s strength can carry it except the Great Beowulf. He willingly went against a creature that no man could ever defeat so the Danish people could live fearless from the undefeatable Grendel. He was praised for the great deeds he had accomplished. Beowulf later on became a great King after his uncle Hygelac died. Hygelac had a son but he was too young to rule the kingdom. Beowulf didn’t take the throne at first and said he would monitor the young boy and protect him.
Beowulf faced an overwhelming obstacle when he faced Grendel. Beowulf faces Grendel in the hall Heorot. Grendel is a man eating monster that killed many people in the nights before. Grendel is an overwhelming obstacle because he wasn’t able to be defeated even by groups of elite soldiers and Hrothgar combined. Also, Grendel was capable of committing mass murders in minutes. He fought with Grendel one night without a sword. Grendel ate a guard during that
Another way in which Beowulf represents a characteristic of an epic hero is he travels and fights with a group of people. “So Beowulf chose the mightiest men he could find,/ The bravest and best of the Geats, fourteen/ In all,” (ln. 119-122). Beowulf personally chose the warriors he journeys with himself; although Beowulf is generally the one to conquer the monsters, these soldiers are with him through all of his battles. In The Battle With Grendel, all of the men are sleeping in Herot; yet, when Grendel appears, Beowulf is the one to fight and execute him. The story is similar in The Battle With Grendel’s Mother; his men follow him to the edge of the lake, yet he is the one to explore the lake and fight and kill Grendel’s mother. Likewise, in The Last Battle when Beowulf fights the dragon, he begins fighting with all of his men, yet all but one abandon him. Beowulf obtains a strong group of people that he travels with, yet ultimately he solves problems himself.
An epic hero displays bravery, courage, and strength. An epic hero also wants to achieve immortality through heroic actions. Beowulf can be categorized as a legendary epic hero. There are many things that prove Beowulf is an epic hero in the poem. He proves that he is an epic hero through his heroic actions that occur throughout the poem.
Beowulf’s strength is exemplified many times in the story. Beowulf was said to have “the strength of thirty men in his mighty handgrip.” He fought in numerous battles and returned victorious from all but his last. In his argument with Unferth, Beowulf explains the reason he lost a swimming match with his opponent Brecca. Not only had Beowulf been swimming for seven nights, he had also stopped to kill nine sea creatures in the depths of the ocean. Beowulf is also strong enough to kill the monster Grendel with his bare hands by ripping off his arm. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s mother, he is able to slay her by slashing the monster’s neck with a giant sword that can only be lifted by a person as strong as Beowulf. When he chops off her head, he carries it from the ocean with no difficulty, but it takes four men to lift and carry it back to Heorot. This strength is a key trait of Beowulf’s heroism.
Beowulf demonstrates a supernatural amount of strength throughout the epic. Beowulf defeats many monsters with his strength. “The tears torn out of Grendel’s / taunt throat, hell’s captive caught in the arms / of him who all of the men on earth / was the strongest” (Beowulf 469-472). This quote demonstrates that Beowulf is able to out power any monster
To begin with, One of Beowulf’s characteristics for being an epic hero would be his strength. Beowulf first killed Grendel, which no one else could defeat because Grendel was too powerful. Then, Beowulf killed Grendel’s Mother who was defeated by Beowulf’s bare hands because his sword wasn’t powerful enough to kill her. Last, Beowulf defeated the Dragon by taking his heart from his body which is something no one else could have done. Beowulf’s dedication and strength set forth to him being able to defeat the dragon. "I’d use no sword, no weapon, if this beast could be killed without it, crushed to death, like Grendel, Gripped in my hands and torn limb from limb." (42). This quote means that when Grendel couldn’t be defeated by any weapons, Beowulf made it simple and said that he was going
Beowulf, like other epic heroes, possesses the following heroic qualities: epic heroes are superhuman types of beings. They show great bravery, intelligence, strength and resourcefulness. They have a strong admiration for the values of their society. They are dominant male figures and suffer severe pain, but in
An epic hero is someone who is of great importance, they have supernatural abilities, have some form of connection with the Gods, and accomplish great deeds. In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is the epic hero in his tale and he is considered great by those who know of his life. There are two versions of his story which portrays him in a certain way. The video version does not do its best to portray him as an epic hero but instead show that he is a liar, a womanizer, and a coward. The written version does not portray him as such, it portrays him as someone who is strong, brave, and fearless. The written version best portrays Beowulf as an epic hero by showing his actions involving superhuman deeds in battle.
Part of the reason Beowulf is very well-known is that he has larger-than-life strength, more than that of any man. When he talks to King Hrothgar, he boasts: “They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth. I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned.” (Unknown, 246-254) This shows that Beowulf has overcome many trials with his strength, and that unlike any other man, he has proven to be able to overcome the impossible. While Beowulf is fighting with Grendel the story says that Grendel “Twisted in
Beowulf was very, very strong as heroes are. The evil monster was shocked at the strength of Beowulf, not expecting to encounter one with such strength. Beowulf ripped the monster’s arm off. (Line #__) . Fearful for his life, Grendel struggled to free himself from the grip of Beowulf. “Grendel’s one thought was to run from Beowulf and flee…” (314-315). Great strength, as exhibited by Beowulf and recognized by Grendel, is yet another characteristic of an ultimate hero.
In the epic poem, Beowulf holds a trait of being strong. There are many ways Beowulf shows he is strong on this poem. Grendel is harming people, so Beowulf is out to kill him. It states on line 468-472 “In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain and defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel’s taut throat, he’ll captive caught in the arms of him who of all the men on earth was the strongest.” Grendel is fighting the strongest man on earth, there will be no way to defeat him. Grendel had not been able to be defeated in 12 years, and Beowulf is able to defeat him with his bare hands in a night, showing how strong he actually is in comparison to other people. In lines 151-155 it tells you “They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth.” We can assume that Beowulf was in battle with the five great giants, and he defeated them. Beowulf was able to drive five giants into chains, that is not something
Beowulf shows he is an epic hero in three ways. These characteristics of Beowulf are superior strength and courage, performing brave deeds, and that he went on a quest. To start off, Beowulf is an epic hero he if has superior strength. In this text, “Beowulf had pulled off Grendel’s arm out of its socket”(Nye PDF 76).
Throughout the story, one of the main topics is Beowulf’s strength. Even in the beginning descriptions of Beowulf, he is first described as stronger than anyone in this world (111) and the strongest of the Geats (110). Beowulf used his incredible strength to defeat Grendel and during their battle, even Grendel acknowledged his amazing power: “He (Grendel) knew at once that nowhere on Earth had he met a man whose hands
In many occasions through the epic of “Beowulf,”, Beowulf has exhibited superhuman qualities. During the battle of Grendel’s mother, Beowulf picked up a sword “so massive that no ordinary man could lift”(Raffel lines 533). In this line, Beowulf proves his superhuman strength, which is one of many of his superhuman qualities that he exhibits throughout the story. Beowulf has also proven to be larger that life. Beowulf’s “followers and the strongest of the Geats-greater/ and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”(lines 110-111).