Beowulf Papers

Beowulf is an epic poem you can relate to life today. He was like any other hero very brave, loyal and a really great leader. His followers looked up to him and obeyed him. Beowulf also had a few enemies, but that wouldn’t stop him from doing anything to keep his people save from the monsters. In this poem you would see several ways that shows Beowulf being a great hero.

Most of us have heard of modern day heroes such as Spiderman, Superman, and the Hulk. Each is a hero to many children. Heroes are introduced to people early on in life usually as fictional characters, but as children grow older their perceptions of heroes alter. The characteristics of a hero are usually based around the ideas of a society or culture. In the epic Beowulf, the main character is thought of as a hero. Beowulf, a pagan warrior and the main character of the epic, shows certain characteristics such as bravery, loyalty, and generosity, which portray him as a hero. It is interesting how modern day heroes show the much of the same qualities as Beowulf.

This hero battles for the good to accomplish his goals. In the Old English poem, which is named after him, he shows how he wants to show others how he is a hero. Beowulf, the Hero

Being a hero can mean many different things. A modern day hero might be someone who has a strong moral code or someone that has extraordinary powers and abilities but, looking back in time the meaning of a hero has changed slightly. During Anglo-Saxon times, being a hero meant being loyal to their lord and god, having a sense of duty, being selfless, having honor, being intelligent, and boasting. It also meant being brave and having courage, having a sense of justice, and having larger than life strength. A great example of an Anglo-Saxon hero is Beowulf from “Beowulf,” written by an unknown author. In this poem, Beowulf exemplifies the characteristics of an Anglo-Saxon hero because he was brave and courageous, he had superhuman strength, and he had a unique sense of justice.

Beowulf is the hero of all. He has courage, strength, and is considered the prince of the Geats. He always stand by his word no matter what happened, no matter if he must risk his physical integrity for it. He likes to be there for the people that need his help to be saved from the evil. He is willing to risk his own life in order to save the life of his ideals, and that selfless help identifies his heroic identity and character. He defeats three monsters, two of them were the descendants of Cain, demonstrating his capabilities of performing great feats of strength and courage. This heroic icon demonstrates how brave he is, not only with himself but with other people that need his useful help and he is always there to help others, using his ability of strength and courage.

Beowulf is a hero, and we all know a hero when we see one. There are many traits and characteristics that make someone a hero. These traits and characteristics are more expressed in ancient epics and poems. Beowulf is one of the most famous ancient Anglo-Saxon poems still taught to this day in schools and colleges all over the world. The story starts off of how a man by the name of Beowulf receives news that a neighboring land is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. Beowulf shows several characteristics of here such as, bravery, loyalty, generosity, friendship, and showing a high level of intellect. Beowulf first shows his heroic character through his bravery while journeying on his epic quest. There are several cases where he is not afraid, and instead of being frightened, he shows great bravery. An example of from the poem is, “Instead, they inspected omens and spurred his ambitions to go, whilst he moved about like the leader he was, enlisting men, the best he could find; with fourteen others the warrior boarded the boast as captain” (Beowulf 205-210). This quote gives proof of his bravery because he was the head of the group leading his men. Beowulf proves that even he himself must be brave in order to lead the bravest of men into battle.

A hero is one who is not only strong, but one who uses his strength to uphold others. A hero is humble, philanthropic, magnanimous and selfless, a humanitarian at best. In the unprecedented epic Beowulf, the tale’s namesake exemplifies every characteristic befitting an Anglo-Saxon hero. He is honest, loyal, and courageous. He portrays these characteristics in the battle against Grendel, the affray with Grendel’s mother, and the fight against the dragon that inevitably ended his life.

In the poem Beowulf (Norton, 36), translated by Seamus Heaney, cultural elements of how religion in the Middle Ages is shifting away from Paganism and into Christianity. When Beowulf was written, approximately 700 – 1000 AD, religion was changing from a nature based polytheistic belief to a monotheistic religion with a central authority. Because of this change in belief, the audience can see the troubled thought or doubt in Christianity. Heaney uses the characters to display both pagan and Christian ideals together with the chaotic monsters and the heroic savior through allusions.

As the Martian Manhunter once said, “The future is worth it. All the pain. All the tears. The future is worth the fight”. This modern day superhero mentality, that fighting the good fight is worth it because it is the right thing to do is seen everywhere today. Movies, comic books, and videos games come out yearly featuring superheroes who fight for justice using their superhuman abilities. They possess characteristics such as bravery, strength, a stong moral compass, and loyalty. Interestingly, these modern day superhero traits can be traced all the way back to the Anglo-Saxons were the first hero ever, Beowulf lived. It is Beowulf who not only exemplifies modern day hero traits, but he more importantly shows the ideals of an Anglo-Saxon hero. Without a doubt, Beowulf demonstrates the traits of an Anglo-Saxon hero.

Throughout history the world has had many heroes. Some heroes have done incredible measures to save the world. Other heroes fly on tv screens. While other heroes simply smile to make someones day. In the epic poem Beowulf the hero shows braveness, selflessness, and his strength to be a hero for the Anglo Saxon Society.

Beowulf exhibits many obvious heroic qualities, such as his strength and confidence in battle. These along with more subtle diplomatic actions serve to define him as both a great warrior and leader.

It’s a very simple question, but one that could spark quite a debate. Is Beowulf truly a hero? While he was indeed a savior, he also did several things for his own greed for glory. In this regard, he is and isn’t a hero. There’s only one problem. What allows someone to simultaneously be and not be a hero? Sometimes, we must focus not on someone’s actions to see who they are, but their thoughts, intentions, and motivation.

Heroes, from Beowulf to Superman our cultures have always created heroes. We may always have political, social, economic and religious differences, but at the end of the day we all have one thing in common, heroes. They help define who we are and what we want to be. They give us hope and inspire us to head in the right direction. They show us that good will always triumph over evil and that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Heroes give us the inspiration we need to overcome problems in our own lives and that is why we create them. Beowulf perfectly embodies the idea of a hero. He defeats the evil Grendel and his mother, slays the dragon and saves his people. He is

Beowulf has been known as the classic literary hero for years. He contains all the qualities that one thinks of when the word hero is mentioned. He is strong, brave, just and of course fights the bad guy. When you look at the people that we admire and consider heroes today, you can see a lot of similarities with Beowulf but you can also see some differences. Beowulf and the modern day hero both were fighting for what was just and right.

Each sword that Beowulf used represents Beowulf’s heroicness because of how a sword is supposed to help you and not make you almost die if you know how to use it properly. The creatures are weaponless and have all this strength that Beowulf doesn’t have, but Beowulf defeats them “hand-to-hand” [439-440] because of his strength and capabilities to defeat them without a weapon. When Beowulf is bare handed it proves how his virtue and a society conquer the interference of random people to a good community and evil. Another symbol in the poem is of the dragon that had gold but had no use for it as it doesn’t need gold to survive. “And they buried torques in the barrow, and jewels and a trove of such things...” (3163-3164). This quote represents the death of most of the treasure from the dragon being put in with Beowulf’s funeral. The treasure represents wealth and greed, with wealth it is important and it signifies character and how the lord can reward loyalty but also can take your life away at any given moment. With greed it can be contradicted by many because some aren’t as fortunate as others. The Beowulf poet uses motifs throughout the poem to represent how heroism is tied with virtue and how in this time where the poem was written is being formed in a major pagan community within the medieval period and christianity.