What Is Beowulf A Hero

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Pages: 2

A hero is someone who exhibits courage in even the most frightening situations. Beowulf is an example of a person who does just that. Even in the face of life threatening danger, Beowulf stood his ground and decided to fight anyway. In the hall, Beowulf battled Grendel without any weapons and not fearing the horrific monster before him. Beowulf said, “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.” (Beowulf 166-169). Beowulf’s bravery allows him to overcome Grendel without the use of a sword or shield. Even in his old age, Beowulf decides to fight the dragon by himself and take the treasure back to his people or die trying. Looking death in the face multiple times, Beowulf was courageous and prevailed over evil.
Another important aspect of a hero is loyalty. Any hero can perform great feats and make miracles happen, but if they aren’t loyal, you won’t be able to rely on them all the time. The level of Beowulf’s loyalty is unlike any other hero. He was king of the Dane’s after he defeated Grendel and Grendel’s mother, taking Hrothgar’s responsibility. In his
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Doing things when you don’t have to is the essence of being a hero. Many times through this poem, we see Beowulf display selflessness. He traveled a far distance to battle a monster he had no business intervening with. Knowing he could lose his life in the brawl with Grendel, he came anyway telling the Danes not to mourn over him if he dies. Beowulf said,” And I think, if my time will have come, there’ll be nothing to mourn over, no corpse to prepare for its grave: Grendel will carry our bloody flesh to the moors, crunch on our bones and smear torn scraps of our skin on the walls of his den.” (Beowulf 179-184). Beowulf wants to help and doesn’t want anyone to feel remorse if he fails. Helping people with no thought of anything in return is a trait Beowulf possesses that makes him an epic