Beowulf_Essay

Beowulf, You're My Hero! An epic poem tells the victories of the hero. Beowulf, the hero in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, exemplifies the heroic ideal through his acts of heroism. The pursuit of the heroic ideal is made up of three things: enduring fame, having no belief in an afterlife, and dying gloriously. The heroic ideal is also typified by wanting excellence, wanting to be the best, fighting, and showing skill and courage. When facing all three monsters in the epic, Beowulf proves he is the best by never backing down. He shows great strength and shows no fear. In the epic Beowulf, the hero Beowulf exemplifies the heroic ideal through his battles with the monsters Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. Beowulf's heroism surfaces very early in the epic when he arrives in the land of the Danes to fight Grendel. The first time Beowulf is introduced in the epic, it is said of him, "There was no one else like him alive./ In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth,/ high-born and powerful" (15.196-198). Beowulf wants to be the best and therefore takes on new challenges to prove that he is strong and powerful. A significant piece of the heroic ideal is to never be forgotten. Beowulf is trying to create a good name for himself so he can be remembered. Anglo-Saxons did not believe in an afterlife, so they tried to become as well known as possible in their human lives. Beowulf is willing to leave his homeland of the Geats to save the Danes from Grendel, the monster with the strength of thirty men. When Grendel enters Heorot, the Danish mead hall, Beowulf shows no fear and fights Grendel with his bare hands. Beowulf shows off his strength when he fights Grendel and wins, tearing off Grendel's arm. Beowulf's victory over Grendel exemplifies the heroic ideal because he shows Geats, Danes, and anyone else that hears his story that he is the strongest and the most powerful man. Beowulf shows that he has the skills and the bravery of a king. Beowulf's defeat of Grendel is an example of Beowulf's heroics. Beowulf shows heroism when he fights Grendel's mother. Grendel's mother avenges her son's death by killing Hrothgar's right hand man. Beowulf is ready to fight, again. Beowulf becomes bolder this time; he travels to Grendel's mother's lair and goes right after her. He shows everyone just how courageous he is. Beowulf got ready, donned his war-gear, indifferent to death; his mighty, hand-forged, fine-webbed mail would soon meet with the menace underwater. (101.1442-1445) Another part of the heroic ideal is not being afraid of death. Beowulf is indifferent to death and that shows how brave he is. He is willing to die to defeat the monster. Another aspect of Beowulf's bravery when he fights Grendel's mother, is that he enters her domain, which is very dangerous and very risky because she can sense him: Quickly the one who haunted those waters, who had scavenged and gone her gluttonous rounds for a hundred seasons, sensed a human observing her outlandish lair from above. (105.1497-1500) Grendel's mother knows that Beowulf is coming for her, which gives her a huge advantage. She captures Beowulf but he proves to be stronger than Grendel's mom and defeats her. Beowulf shows his strength and proves his heroics once again. Beowulf's name now becomes even more popular than before after killing Grendel and Grendel's mother. Beowulf shows heroism when he fights the dragon. Beowulf has become King of the Geats. He knows that fighting the dragon is going to be the toughest battle of his life. Beowulf wanted to fight monsters until his death. He accepted the fact that he would die that way. He also wanted to be the person who defeated the dragon because slaying the dragon would make him the best warrior king. Everyone in Beowulf's crew leaves him to fight for himself except for Wiglaf. Beowulf takes a fatal strike from the dragon and knows that he is going to die: When a chance came, he caught the hero in a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs into his neck, Beowulf's body ran wet with his life-blood: it came welling out. (181.2690-2693) Beowulf could have easily given up after being fatally wounded by the dragon but he is so courageous that he struck the dragon a final time and killed it. Beowulf has won the battle but he is not going to survive very long. He makes sure that Wiglaf tells his story and builds a barrow in Beowulf's name. The only thing that Beowulf is concerned with as he is dying is upholding heroic behavior. In the epic Beowulf, the hero Beowulf exemplifies the heroic ideal each time he takes on the monsters Grendel, Grendel's mom, and the dragon. Beowulf's heroics evolve throughout the epic Beowulf. Beowulf died in order to ensure that his name was well known. He showed both strength and courage and was never afraid to fight. He wanted to be the best warrior and the best king. He died a glorious death defeating the dragon. Beowulf exceeded the standards of the heroic ideal and proved that he was a true hero.