Morales 1 Austin Morales Ms.

Anderson English 11A Friday, October 4th, 2013 The Hero Beowulf Heroes live or die based on their own actions. Beowulf was an epic poem written by an anonymous scop. Beowulf was told to be a legendary hero who conquered his enemies with his strength, different weapons and battle strategies. He deserves every right to the title of hero because of all of his feats and accomplishments. Beowulf fought and lived against Grendel and Grendels mother. He earned fame and fortune and a place on the throne. The hero died in the very end, but it was his choice to go out in a blazing glory against a mighty dragon. This action and all that he did is seemingly reflective on typical, traditional Anglo-Saxon culture. When Beowulf fought Grendel, he used surprising techniques. He, his men and the warriors, lords and thanes of the king, Hrothgar, lured the beast into Herot with merry song and dance. When the monster arrived at Herot, he found the mead hall quiet and dark, everyone was asleep. Then he stopped, seeing the hall crowded with sleeping warriors, stuffed with rows of young soldiers resting together. (Beowulf. 122)Everyone was sleeping except Beowulf. When Grendel creeped towards him, he suddenly stood up and prepared to kill him with his bare hands. While he had men protecting the king and standing back, he alone fought Grendel by himself, and this is why he is a hero. Beowulf went into that battle fearless and wanting only fame for himself and to help the people of the land of the Danes. The hero went even so far as to forsake

Morales 2 his weapons for the sake of an honorable match and to show his strength. For his heroic efforts, Beowulf obtained Grendels arm which earned him fame in Denmark and in the mead hall, Herot. He had also obtained Wergild, revenge on the monster who killed his fellow man. The people of Herot were plagued by another monster, one who wanted revenge on Beowulf for killing her son, Grendel. Beowulf again proves his legend by defeating this beast completely alone. He is smart by taking armor, his helmet, a shield, and a woven mail shirt. He also Borrows from one of Hrothgars men the sword named Hrunting. (Beowulf. 128) As if Grendels mother was not a challenge enough, Beowulf had to swim to reach her. Due to this, he is probably already worn out. Beowulf soon discovers that none of the things he brought with him are of any use, save his mail armor. His helmet breaks and his shield gets tossed aside. Beowulf also realizes during his fight with Grendels mother that no ordinary weapon would be able to cut her or damage her, leaving the sword Hrunting, broken and useless. That too, gets tossed aside and Beowulf uses his bare hands to throw the witch onto the ground. Grendels mother somehow traps Beowulf on his back and uses her dagger to cut him, but his mail shirt saves him. Beowulf is determined and finally takes a giant ancient sword off of the wall and slays Grendels mother with it. By defeating Grendels mother he earns more fame and fortune, and obtains his newfound ancient sword, but the blade melts and he is left with the jeweled hilt, just a little of the ancient sword, and Grendels head to prove his glory and his heroic feats were true. Beowulf lived on to be an aged king. Everyone of the land of the Geats and Danes knew that Beowulf was the mightiest hero of all. Then a match for him finally set upon his land arrived. Beowulf knew that this enemy would be his last so he set out to be praised in song and to prove his worth one last time. He would have liked to face the dragon without a sword or

Morales 3 shield, but in his wisdom he decided that the dragon would be too much for his old age and therefore he took armor, his shield, his sword and his dagger without shame. As Beowulf went to fight the dragon, it breathed hot fire which caused his shield to melt. For the first time, fate is against him. As his shield failed him, the troop also failed him and ran away, except for his companion, Wiglaf. Wiglaf rushes in to defend his heroic and beloved king and himself with his yellow shield. Faith is restored to Beowulf and he strikes the dragon with his own sword, Nagling. (Beowulf. 136) But then Nagling broke to pieces, as iron always had in Beowulfs hands. (Beowulf. 136) Wiglaf, seeing Beowulf needed further assistance, strikes the dragon with his own sword. The sword breaks but the dragon is weakened. The sword had done its job. His enemy was further enfeebled and his armor was sundered. The dragon had bitten Beowulf with his poison fangs but he had one last goal, to defend his people like a hero. Knowing he would die, it only made him fight harder as he struck the dragon one last final time with his dagger and split him apart. For defeating the dragon he earns the respect and legend of his name throughout time and his kingdom earns the treasure of the dragons tower. Beowulf also earns a glorious death by fighting the dragon without fear instead of dieing old and feeble, which was a dream of many Anglo-Saxons at the time. The Anglo-Saxons believed Beowulf was the greatest hero of all, and rightly so. Beowulf saved his people, and went out of his way to save anothers people. Some people would say that Beowulf was not a hero at all because he boasted too much, and that hero does not do this. This is not the case, because Beowulf had every right to boast about his feats and accomplishments. They were unlike any other mans and most importantly, they were true. The Anglo-Saxons did not believe a hero was in the heart, they believed in strength and warrior-like abilities. As Beowulf had more of these than any warrior in Anglo-Saxon history, plus having a good and just

Morales 4 heart, he had earned the right to be called a hero. He had sacrificed his life against Wyrd, or fate, to defend his country and that is what a hero should do. A hero is defined as someone who sacrifices to save others. All in all, Beowulf ended up being a hero of heroes. He had achieved Wergild and won against Wyrd. He not only proves his worth by defeating Grendel, Grendels mother, and the mighty dragon, but he also earns the right to boast and is written about in an epic poem. After all, a hero lives or dies based on his or her own actions. Beowulf certainly did live forever for being such a powerful warrior and hero.

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Works Cited Delahoyde, M.. N.p.. Web. 1 Oct 2013. <http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/anglosaxon.html>. Skiba, Laurie. Literature and the Language Arts: The British Tradition. Second Edition. St.Paul: EMC Paradigm, 2001. (Beowulf) 112-140, (Anglo-Saxon) 84-88. Book. Raffel, Burton. Beowulf. Literature and the Language Arts: The British Tradition. Second Edition. Skiba, Laurie. St.Paul: EMC Paradigm, 2001. (Beowulf) 112-140, (Anglo-Saxon) 84-88. Book.