Examples Of Heroism In Beowulf

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In Beowulf, heroism does not happen arbitrarily or spontaneously but is instead born from acts of vengeance. Heroism in Beowulf does not occur without first being a response to vengeance. However, the vengeance being responded to is often created through acts of heroism. It is because of this that it will be argued that heroism in Beowulf does not happen in a vacuum but instead occurs through a cycle of vengeance. Acts of vengeance present opportunities for heroism but success in these endeavors create opportunities for further vengeance. This relationship between vengeance and heroism causes a cyclical pattern of behavior within Beowulf. Grendel, enraged by the noise coming from the mead hall, “Each day, one evil dweller in darkness/spitefully suffered the din from that hall,” takes action: “so over and over the loathsome ogre/mortally menaced mankind with his crimes” (78-79, 142-143). Prior to Grendel taking action against the people of Hrothgar’s kingdom, Grendel had been seething in his own anger due to his lineage: “he had …show more content…
It is through another act of vengeance that the story picks up again and another heroic opportunity presents itself. A robber steals a “plated flagon” from the dragon’s lair (2009). “One treasure taken had tainted the rest” and the dragon, “waking in wrath,” spotted the footprints of the one who had broke into its lair (2012-13). “…Eager and angry,/the hoard-guard hunted the thief who had haunted/his hall while he slept…” and it is this vengeful tirade that offers Beowulf another opportunity for heroism (2019-21). Beowulf comes to the defense of his people, in the end only backed by one person: Wiglaf. The dragon is defeated but Beowulf loses his life. He is given a hero’s funeral accompanied by the treasures of the dragon’s horde- his final