Beowulf and Sir Gawain: The Epic hero
October 28, 2013
Beowulf and Sir Gawain: The Epic Hero
In the epic poems Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Beowulf and Sir Gawain portray the five epic hero traits through their own individual journeys. Both heroes demonstrate courage and bravery, skilled with a weapon, strength, moral virtue, and wisdom in similar and contrasting ways. From slaying villains and dragons to using prior knowledge and insight for making proper decisions, they are two excellent illustrations of epic heroes.
The first characteristic of an ideal epic hero is courage and bravery and this is because it not only is hard to come by, but these heroes possess just the right amount. Although Beowulf and Sir Gawain are taking on two different tasks, they both have an ultimate goal of earning the honor of their kings and their countries. It is easy to be arrogant and have too much pride when you are trying to gain honor and respect, but Beowulf and Sir Gawain do what they do with dignity and deference. “He leaned/Forward: ‘Hear me,/ My lord. Let this challenge be mine…” (Raffel 340-342) Although at one point, the seemingly inevitable loss of his life becomes too hard to bear, Sir Gawain hides his distress and takes a challenge – ultimately leading him toward defeat. Even with the littlest bit of doubt and the tiny undermining detail that he does not have much experience, he does not let anything get in his way and he willingly pulls through. Beowulf, on the other hand, does however have experience and yet again, he accepts his challenge as he always does. “Beowulf got ready; donned his war-gear, indifferent to death, his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail would soon meet with the menace under water” (Heaney 1442). Beowulf and Sir Gawain bury their fear and accept the challenges bestowed upon them, no matter having had experience or not.
The next most important trait of an ideal epic hero is strength. Strength also ties closely in with another trait of skilled with a
Beowulf and Sir Gawain: The Epic Hero
In the epic poems Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Beowulf and Sir Gawain portray the five epic hero traits through their own individual journeys. Both heroes demonstrate courage and bravery, skilled with a weapon, strength, moral virtue, and wisdom in similar and contrasting ways. From slaying villains and dragons to using prior knowledge and insight for making proper decisions, they are two excellent illustrations of epic heroes.
The first characteristic of an ideal epic hero is courage and bravery and this is because it not only is hard to come by, but these heroes possess just the right amount. Although Beowulf and Sir Gawain are taking on two different tasks, they both have an ultimate goal of earning the honor of their kings and their countries. It is easy to be arrogant and have too much pride when you are trying to gain honor and respect, but Beowulf and Sir Gawain do what they do with dignity and deference. “He leaned/Forward: ‘Hear me,/ My lord. Let this challenge be mine…” (Raffel 340-342) Although at one point, the seemingly inevitable loss of his life becomes too hard to bear, Sir Gawain hides his distress and takes a challenge – ultimately leading him toward defeat. Even with the littlest bit of doubt and the tiny undermining detail that he does not have much experience, he does not let anything get in his way and he willingly pulls through. Beowulf, on the other hand, does however have experience and yet again, he accepts his challenge as he always does. “Beowulf got ready; donned his war-gear, indifferent to death, his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail would soon meet with the menace under water” (Heaney 1442). Beowulf and Sir Gawain bury their fear and accept the challenges bestowed upon them, no matter having had experience or not.
The next most important trait of an ideal epic hero is strength. Strength also ties closely in with another trait of skilled with a