The Epic Of Beowulf: A Tragic Hero
Beowulf is an ancient tale about the heroism and adventures of a young warrior Geat. Far off in the kingdom of the Danes, a terrible monster named Grendel attacks and kills several innocents. Beowulf hears about this and, being the hero he is, decides that he is going to kill the beast. This launches him into an epic quest, presenting several challenges and tests of character. Throughout these challenges, Beowulf displays many heroic qualities.
The first quality Beowulf possesses is an incredible degree of bravery. This is shown when he first arrives in Hrothgar’s kingdom. He states, “... I alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall …” Grendel was an extremely fearsome beast that many men had already attempted to kill but had failed. Suddenly, here comes Beowulf, fearless and ready to kill off Grendel while fully-aware of the fearsome strength of the beast.
Another major moment in which Beowulf …show more content…
In many points in the story, there are moments that he performs acts no other human would be capable of. When Grendel first attacks Beowulf, his talons are caught by the Geat, shown when the text states, “... Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper ― and was instantly seized himself …” Seeing that Grendel has the ability to rip a human body to pieces, it is quite impressive that Beowulf can stop an assault dead from such a monster. Grendel is not the only beast Beowulf has tossed around. The same thing happens with Beowulf and his mother. During the fight, you read, “... Seized her by the shoulder; anger doubled his strength, he threw her to the floor …” It is made clear that Grendel’s mother is of the same demonic and all-powerful breed as her son. If it were anyone but Beowulf, her opponent would have quick work made of them. It is also worth pointing out that the strength Beowulf needed to the strength to toss the such a powerful creature to the ground is absolutely
The first quality Beowulf possesses is an incredible degree of bravery. This is shown when he first arrives in Hrothgar’s kingdom. He states, “... I alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall …” Grendel was an extremely fearsome beast that many men had already attempted to kill but had failed. Suddenly, here comes Beowulf, fearless and ready to kill off Grendel while fully-aware of the fearsome strength of the beast.
Another major moment in which Beowulf …show more content…
In many points in the story, there are moments that he performs acts no other human would be capable of. When Grendel first attacks Beowulf, his talons are caught by the Geat, shown when the text states, “... Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper ― and was instantly seized himself …” Seeing that Grendel has the ability to rip a human body to pieces, it is quite impressive that Beowulf can stop an assault dead from such a monster. Grendel is not the only beast Beowulf has tossed around. The same thing happens with Beowulf and his mother. During the fight, you read, “... Seized her by the shoulder; anger doubled his strength, he threw her to the floor …” It is made clear that Grendel’s mother is of the same demonic and all-powerful breed as her son. If it were anyone but Beowulf, her opponent would have quick work made of them. It is also worth pointing out that the strength Beowulf needed to the strength to toss the such a powerful creature to the ground is absolutely