English Literature Essay Aitor Martínez de la Pera

What is it that makes Beowulf a true hero? How do

Beowulf's deeds,

words, and beliefs come together to create the "perfect"

medieval warrior?

Beowulf is the main character of the epic Poem Beowulf. This poem is well known for being

considered the longest surviving poem in Old English, consisting of 3.182 lines of alliterative verse

divided into forty-four sections. It verses about a young Scandinavian hero who fights in fabulous

battles against monstrous beasts in ascending order of difficulty and, in the end, wins glory and

fame.

To introduce Beowulf we can describe him as the most heroic man of the Anglo-saxon world. His

heroism does not only reside on the fact that he was given a super natural strength and courage,

what makes Beowulf a true everlasting hero is his ability to put his people before himself.Although

the traits required for a hero have changed through the centuries, Beowulf will always be considered

a true example of leadership and heroism due to his firm and courageous achievements.

Beowulf fought in many battles and returned victorious from all but his last. This last defeat

provides the character with a realistic nature that proves that, apart from being a leader, he was

human. This idea is also supported by the passing of the time. Beowulf was much older at his last

fight than when he fought Grendel. But no matter how old Beowulf was, he still was a hero full of

strength. Actually, strength is also a basic skill every hero needs to show his superiority against his
 English Literature Essay Aitor Martínez de la Pera

enemies. This superb strength of the character is often boast throughout the poem:

“I have heard moreover that the monster scorns

in his reckless way to use weapons;

therefore, to heighten Hygelac's fame

and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce

sword and the shelter of the broad shield,

the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand

is how it will be, a life-and-death

fight with the fiend." (433-440)

Beowulf, in this lines, adds heroism to the battle with Grendel by underlining the point that

it was going to be a hand-to hand fight.

He wins extra prestige for himself and for Hygelac, turning the battle into a fight against the evil.

Of course, strength is the basic skill needed to be a hero, and also a very representative trait of

power. But, Beowulf does not just claim about his supernatural strength after defeating Grendel. He

leaves traces of his physical prowess many times in the poem. That boasting responds to a need of

showing his people who brave his king was. Although Beowulf's most important heroic trait is not

his strength, it is his most evident skill as a warrior and therefore it is continuously enhanced

through the epic. In the Old times strength was undoubtedly a very important skill for a king as we

can assume by reading the numerous references to it in the poem.

This quote is great example of the enhancing of Beowulf's strength, that is shown as

supernatural and almost unimaginable:

 English Literature Essay Aitor Martínez de la Pera

“The story goes

that as the pair struggled, mead-benches were smashed

and sprung off the floor, gold fittings and all.

Before then, no Shielding elder would believe

there was any power or person on earth

capable of wrecking their horn-rigged hall

unless the burning embrace of a fire

engulf it in flame.” (774-781)

In the lines 749 to 756 we can read a passage where Grendel, described as the captain of evil,

is shocked and terrified about Beowulf's strength:

“The captain of evil discovered himself

in a handgrip harder than anything

he had ever encountered in any man

on the face of the earth. Every bone in his body

quailed and recoiled, but he could not escape.

He was desperate to flee to his den and hide

with the devil's litter, for in all his days

he had never been clamped or cornered like this.” (749-756)

During Beowulf's final battle with the dragon, the narrator explains that our hero is just too
 English Literature Essay Aitor Martínez de la Pera

strong for the blades of the swords forged by men:

“Inspired again

by the thought of glory, the war-king threw

his whole strength behind a sword-stroke

and connected with the skull. And Naegling snapped.

Beowulf's ancient iron-grey sword

let him down in the fight. It was never his fortune

to be helped in combat by the cutting edge

of weapons made in iron. When he wielded a sword,

no matter how blooded and hard-edged the blade

his hand was too strong, the stroke he dealt

(I have heard) would ruin it.” (2677-2687)

In this quote we can see how Beowulf shows up again by telling how strongly he could

swim. It is important for him to show physical power even when there is not an important task to be

done:

"Well, friend Unferth, you have had your say

about Breca and me. But it was mostly beer

that was doing the talking. The truth is this:

when the going was heavy in those high waves,

I was the strongest swimmer of all." (529-534)

 English Literature Essay Aitor Martínez de la Pera

We must not forget that Beowulf is an epic poem that has its origin in the oral tradition, so

taking this into account we can easily see that the insisting focus on Beowulf's strength was also a

clear mean of getting the audience's attention.

Although his strength was supernatural and very obvious, that is not what makes Beowulf a

true hero. A true hero does not fear the death, instead he risks his life for defending his moral duties.

This description fits perfectly with the character of Beowulf. His loyalty towards his people, the

Geats, is total too. As opposed to what happens with Beowulf's strength, virtues like loyalty or

courage are not boasted so explicitly in the poem. Actually these inner virtues of the hero are hiding

in the lines of the poem. The facts and achievements Beowulf did, build up a reputation of honor

and courage that gets to its maximum with the hero's death. At the very beginning of the poem,

these verses let us know about Beowulf's greatness and courage:

“ The Spear-Danes in days gone by

and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.

We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns”. (1-3)

So as we can notice, death gives even more Glory to Beowulf. This glorifying death is very

common among classic heros but this also happens with modern cultural icons that gain fame and

glory just after passing away. But Beowulf's death is a very heroic and classic end. Some scholars

have even thought of it as a Christian sign in the epic. The similarities with Jesus Christ at the end

of the poem are obvious. Both Jesus and Beowulf died for their people and stayed firm towards the

enemy without losing the honor and achieving their goal. This willingness to die in their attempt to

accomplish their heroic act, is considered as the most pure evidence of heroism, and so it is that

even nowadays we still mythicize people for their courage towards death.
 English Literature Essay Aitor Martínez de la Pera

To conclude with, we must claim out that Beowulf is not just a mere leader or a legend that

represents the old scandinavian values. It is a true everlasting hero due to his loyalty, honor, courage

and bravery. In addition, with his death, he proved he loved his people.

Bibliography:

• Joseph Black, et al. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature / The

Medieval Period. Toronto: Broadview, 2006.

• Baker, Peter S. The Beowulf Reader. New York: Garland, 2000

• Bravo García, Antonio. Beowulf: interpretaciones y crítica. Oviedo:

Universidad de Oviedo, 1975.

Online Sources :

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf

• http://homepage.mac.com/mseffie/assignments/beowulf/beowulf.html

• http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/eliot/722/Monsters.htm

• http://www.barleby.com/182/301.html