The Importance Of Humility In Beowulf

Like a lonely hunter; Beowulf thrives for the feeling of capturing his prey; honor. Beowulf, before his last hunt for glory and fame says: “’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…’” (lines 623-626). At an old age Beowulf still dreams of gaining honor and fame even at the cost of his own life. Even after becoming a king, Beowulf felt the urge to prove that he was truly worthy of the title and worthiness to his people, while unknowingly generating respect and honor in the process. Beowulf’s seek for fame and glory brought him a great honor, the honor of being king to people who adored him for his willingness to prove himself to anyone who may question his

Throughout the story, Beowulf’s boasts resemble nothing less than a symbol of his arrogance. “…sailors have brought us stories of Herot, the best of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the moon hangs in skies the sun had lit, light and life fleeing together. My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king. 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. Now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come…I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I. My lord

Beowulf proclaims “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. Now Grendel and I are called together” (liens 156-160). Beowulf claims that he must go to defeat Grendel, as it was his errand, or his duty, and his fate. This speech he makes to King Hrothgar reinforces his true reason to come to the King, not for any pride. Another vow Beowulf makes is when he says “That this is one favor you should not refuse me—That I, alone and with the help of my men, many purge all evil form this hall” (lines 163-166). In this line, Beowulf is pleading for the King to do one thing, which is to give him the permission for him and his men to go and fight Grendel, what Beowulf had arrived for. The fact that Beowulf asks the king for only one thing, which is to fight Grendel, shows Beowulf’s selflessness and concern for the safety of others. At no part does he ask for a reward, but even says that if fate is in favor of Grendel to give his armor back to his family. These words help paint the image of Beowulf being concerned for others, not for his

Beowulf carries himself as very prideful. But, it is not a bad kind of pride. He has a strong positive self-esteem that drives his quest towards fame. Beowulf very

Telling his men that he does not need them to fight Grendel is a way he shows off his pride and keeping his honor. He does not seem to be full of himself because he does defeat the monster with his bare hands, he even rips the arm off of Grendel. This shows me that Beowulf is slowly taking Grendel's pride and honor of being a fierce creature that everyone fears and does not want to mess with, to just a play toy to Beowulf that he can just rip his arm off. This major battle with this horrible monster took place in his home which is a cave, being destroyed on your own land just strips the pride and honor from you. Going to todays world with the example of the Firefighter, when a firefighter is in full official uniform people around the room gain a great respect for that person which the firefighter will feel great honor and pride inside of him and does express it like how Beowulf did destroy a monster with his bare hands. Having pride and honor just feels good and being respectable adds more to the job than anything. Firefighters create great honor in their workforce and in this world, heading into burning buildings that can fall down at any moment to save a life.

Beowulf is an old Anglo-Saxon story of a terrifying monster Grendel, Grendel travels to the Danes mead hall Heorot and while the danes expect it least he attacks killing countless men purely for the joys of doing so. Hrothgar king of the Danes calls for a warrior to fight this unruly beast. After 12 long years of grendel attacking Hrothgar's calls are answered and the great warrior Beowulf comes to kill Grendel. Beowulf travels to the land of the Danes from across the seas and in the first night he kills Grendel. Sadly for Beowulf Grendel has a mother that now seeks revenge for her son's death and Beowulf is asked to kill Grendel’s mother as well. Beowulf goes to where Grendel’s mother is staying and battled her to the death , Beowulf wins

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf touches on the vice of pride, and is instilled in the main character, Beowulf, the great and mighty warrior. His boasting and arrogance when first dropping anchor at Heorot transitions throughout the poem, and, in contrast with his ideal kingsmanship, motivates him to accomplish and overcome the many challenges he faces as an epic hero. The contrast of his absent humility in the rise and fall of the story help promote the progression of the story, through its different purposes. Beowulf, when first landing upon Hrothgar’s kingdom, boasts, which does not go unchallenged, so that he might gain the trust of the Danes, but when knowingly facing his last battle, uses bragging to comfort and brace himself for his ultimate demise.

“[Grendel’s] mother had sallied forth on a savage journey,/ grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge” (Beowulf, 1276-1278). Her desire to avenge her son is carried out, but it ultimately leads to her death. Beowulf’s desire to garner fame and respect overpowers all of the raw emotion and anger felt by Grendel’s mother. She serves the purpose of showing the purest form of revenge, and how its blindness can lead to one’s demise.

The battle between Beowulf and Grendel's mother has its similarities and differences as well. Throughout the movie, clues are given about Grendel’s mother when encountering mysterious hands breaching the water while

When Beowulf is helping Hrothgar get his vengeance, he attacks Grendel, “saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws, Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at his hands.” (Beowulf, page 36). Beowulf fights Grendel with his hands because he promised Hrothgar that he would help him obtain his vengeance. Beowulf gets his fame, wealth and glory for his victory over Grendel which was achievable through Hrothgar’s desire for vengeance against the monster. After the battle with Grendel, Hrothgar spoke to Beowulf, “Glory is now yours, Forever and ever; your courage has earned it, And your strength.” (Beowulf, page 42). Hrothgar praises Beowulf for granting his desire of vengeance on Grendel and awards him. He tells Beowulf that he has earned glory and wealth by helping him in destroying Grendel.

For example, after the defeat of Grendel’s mother Beowulf is reminded by Hrothgar that his pride will lead only to his undoing but it can also be said that his pride and search for glory has undoubtedly left the land in better shape than without his heroic feats. It can also be said that Beowulf is a representation of a change in times from traditional Scandinavian values such as doing great feats to achieve more glory or to die in battle for a glorious death to a more Christian set of values such as being a humble servant to the people or to God. Beowulf’s character starts off the story as being boastful and prideful but as the story progresses it can be seen that Beowulf evolves into a humbler

Beowulf’s most seen quality in this epic is his confidence. The scene that most directly shows his confidence is his famous boast. “So, every elder and experienced councilman/ among my people supported my resolve/ to come here to you, King Hrothgar, / because all knew of my awesome strength. / They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies/ when I battled and bound five beasts, / raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea/ slaughtered sea-brutes…” (Heaney lines 415-422). Beowulf’s boast is said publically, which shows an inspirational sense of confidence to defeat Grendel. The boast also demonstrates Beowulf’s courage and brave characteristics that makes him appear very heroic. Furthermore, Beowulf’s promise to kill Grendel to the Danes is a confident and risky thing to do, but Beowulf is able to pull it off. In Forbes article, it states that good leaders need to “deliver on [their] promises. Which our hero does that very night, killing the beast by ripping him apart ‘The monster’s whole/ body was in pain, a tremendous wound/ appeared on his shoulder’” (Forbes).

Beowulf showed his honor as he traveled from his homeland to battle the vicious monster Grendel, who was terrorizing the Danes. Grendel “Raided and ravaged” the mead hall, showing no honor by killing intoxicated men in their sleep. Beowulf knows that there is a chance that he may die in his great battle against Grendel when he says, “If death does take me, send the hammered mail of my armor to Higlac…”, yet he is still willing to attempt to defeat Grendel. A hero in the Anglo-Saxon time is always very confident, as well he should be. It would serve no purpose to face battle with doubt of ones ability to do so, and with fear of all that awaits him. Beowulf’s morality came also in the form of loyalty to people and his word. Promises by Beowulf were kept . Acceptance of death, and care for the welfare of his people were Beowulf’s greatest virtues. His

In the epic poem "Beowulf", the main character, Beowulf, is very prideful and arrogant. He believes he is the only one who can defeat the monster known as Grendel. Even after knowing people have been sent to kill Grendel for, "the space of twelve winters," ("Beowulf"147), Beowulf still believes he can kill Grendel. Him still willing to take on the challenge after an extensive amount of people were killed, shows how confident he is in his abilities. Beowulf is so prideful he says to the Queen, "'If we fail to rid you of the monster, we shall not live to carry home our shields,'"("Beowulf and Grendel"2). Beowulf promises to the Queen they will not come home until Grendel is dead. The use of figurative language makes the poem "Beowulf" more interesting

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.