BEOWULF ESSAY

Heroes. They are as different as the individual that defines them. Dictionary.com states a hero is “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities: a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.” The protagonist in the epic poem “Beowulf” fits all the “criteria” precisely. He has the leadership qualities, with the actions to back up and he’s a man. Throughout the poem the audience is able to connect with Beowulf on personal levels through the syntax and diction the unknown author uses.

            Before introducing Beowulf, the audience is first introduced to Grendel, a monster terrorizing the Danes. By first introducing an antagonist, readers are able to construct their own mental image of a “hero” that can be capable to combat conflict without being persuaded by the author’s own opinion. Readers may imagine someone who needs, physical and mental strength, and the courage to do what others are unable to accomplish.

Beowulf states about himself, “‘My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ great king. They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood.’” Here we see Beowulf praising himself with words of greatness to invoke ethos in regards to his knowledge and understanding of battle and what it takes to defeat the creature at hand. Through his allusions to his past accomplishments, readers are able to infer his bravery and courage that lead him to be this great hero that the English language as a whole can know and praise.

            Beowulf not only has the “talk” but he also has the ability to back up his words. He fights as hard as he says he will and although he knows that he may be killed he understands that it is for a good cause. His defeat of Grendel and Grendel’s mother show how obstacles that are thought to be impossible can be possible. This alludes to the confident and determination engrained in the society. Beowulf showed was a symbol for this culture of all the good qualities that these people expected and wanted in their heroes. His many accomplishments both noted and alluded to show how persistence and the good of many need to be met when considering how a leader show be towards his people. “‘I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth. I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one.’” Here in this quote we see Beowulf use his past events as a use of persuasion to boost his resume to Hrothgar to allow him to battle Grendel. Having a strong background was important to this society because through Beowulf the author shows how where he’d been determined how far he was going to able to go in the future. His reputation he built for himself was extremely important in Hrothgar’s decision and it alludes to the society’s idea of self- image.

            Most heroes, including Beowulf, have been men and even in the definition of a hero the term “male” is used. As most societies of the time, and for many years before and after, males have been seen as the dominant gender of the world. It comes as no surprise that Beowulf was also a male in a male dominant society. Not often in the poem was their mention of women except for Grendel’s mother. Even then the women was seen as an evil creature that was getting revenge for something that was hers that is now gone. Males in this society were seen as the ones to protect and take care of their women who looked after children. Another mention of women in the society was the friend that was killed by Grendel’s mother and she came off as helpless and weak. I believe that even if Beowulf was told in the time period of today or a similar story was released today it would still contain a male hero because that’s just the way society is and how they portray the “best of the culture.”

            Throughout literature no hero has come into the same league as Beowulf and no hero will be the same. The unknown author used many good literary techniques to portray what the culture accepted as the top of the top. Beowulf embodies the ideals of a hero in his leadership qualities, his actions and, yes that, he is man. Beowulf leads a team of the greatest men against all odds and defeats one of the greatest monsters of all time and saving a society from the evils of hell itself.