...According to Joseph Campbell, “a hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than him or herself”. Joseph Campbell includes many observations about a hero. I believe Beowulf fits Joseph Campbell’s definition of a hero due to many of his outstanding qualities. Beowulf gives his life for something bigger than himself, undergoes tests and trials, and goes through transformation. Based on Beowulf’s poem, Beowulf sacrifices his life for something above himself. “Proclaiming that he'd go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar, now when help was needed”(lines 114-116). In lines 165-166, Beowulf states, “That I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall.” Not only does Beowulf demonstrate...
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...Unfortunately for Grendel, Beowulf was aware of what was going on. Grendel swallows a warrior, and then attempts to reach for Beowulf. Beowulf snatches Grendel's claw and holds on as tightly as he can. Grendel is just imagining being home, but he could not even budge with Beowulf's grip. Eventually he rips from Beowulf's grasp and flees leaving behind his arm. The people had seen the battle because they were awoken by Grendel's screams, but they felt helpless in the situation. Although they did not participate they were still able to praise Beowulf on his victory. Beowulf and the people rejoice over the arm in the light of day. This story symbolizes light and darkness very clearly. Grendel is this dark monster coming to Heorot in the darkest time of the day, while Beowulf is awaiting his arrival in the light, and he is heroic person and the light is always shining upon him. The dark and gruesome battle is happening in the dark, and they rejoice the victory in the light of day. 3 ) Grendel the scary monster went to Heorot in the dark of the night to attack. When he arrived he believed everyone would be in a dark sleep. "Then he stopped, seeing the hall Crowded with sleeping warriors" (line 409-10). He first ate one warrior. "Ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws, drank the blood from his veins, and bolted him down, hands and feet; death" (line 422-25). Then he reached for Beowulf who he thought was in a...
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...each other. Topic sentence/Detail: In the poem Beowulf, Grendel and Beowulf perform actions that make them a hero or villain. Thesis: The difference between Grendel and Beowulf is one is evil and the other is good. Similarities between Grendel and Beowulf are both feel satisfied after they fight someone and win and in the end they both accept their deaths. Body 1: Good and evil Topic sentence: A difference between Beowulf and Grendel is that one is a hero and the other is a monster. Beowulf defeats Grendel to end years of suffering in Herot hall. Grendel is the monster who eats men in Herot hall for 12 winters. Quote 1: For example lines 37-38 Grendel “snatched up thirty men, smashed...
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...The epic poem Beowulf is one of the most important Anglo-Saxon literary works and it should be fairly easy to make a blockbuster movie out of this story. It contains all the elements of a Hollywood movie; it has a strong handsome leading man, plenty of battles, and let’s not forget about the mystical dragon. So with all this adventure I figured that the movie would fall in line with the poem but you could imagine my surprise while watching to see just how far it strayed away from the original. As I was watching the movie I noticed little differences, like the characters are not how they were described in the book nor was the setting adequate enough to portray how grand Heorot really was but for the most part the story line was followed. The story started to change the night that Grendel was introduced. The movie showed Grendel as a more human form of a monster who started attacking Heorot because the villagers were making too much noise. I didn’t remember reading that Grendel was sensitive to noise or that he attacked the village while they were celebrating. As the movie progresses it tells us that Hrothgar is Grendel’s father because he was seduced by Grendel’s mother. The poem never even hinted of a love affair between Grendel’s mother and anyone so this part of the movie was a stretch. This change in the plot makes the way the characters are portrayed seem completely different and makes it harder to connect them with their original character’s personalities in the poem. Although...
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...drastic transition in character while reading and comparing the books of Beowulf and King Arthur. Although the story archetypes remain the same for the most part, different ideals reflect themselves in a variety of ways. Things like companions and quest are still important to the people, but their ideals change. The ideals of the Germanic peoples of Northern Europe drastically change as Christianity moves across the region, and their archetypes reflect this change of character in the culture. In Beowulf, Beowulf and his companions express the heritage based Germanic Ideal of Comitatus or "loyalty to king and companions". Before fighting...
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...As the narrator of Beowulf describes the hero, he sets up a scene for whirlwind adventure of superhuman abilities. “In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac’s follower and the strongest of the Geats, greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world” (Line 90-93). An epic hero is someone who is a larger-than-life figure who often embodies the ideals of a nation or race. Epic heroes take part in dangerous adventures and accomplish great deeds, many undertake long difficult journeys and display great courage and superhuman strength. In the poem Beowulf, the author describes Beowulf as an epic hero through his actions and adventures that are similar and different to those of a modern day superhero such as Iron Man. Beowulf possess superhuman abilities when he describes his ability to drive five giants into chains and defeats Grendel with his bare hands. “Heard in his home: of heroes then living/ he was the stoutest and strongest/sturdy and noble”(line 8-12). Through these experiences that the author tells about in the epic, it is obvious that Beowulf is more than an ordinary man. His strength is tested by mythical beings that Beowulf has easily defeated. He also has some of the mental characteristics that are common to an epic hero including, his lack of self-righteousness and his perseverance while in battle. In the story Beowulf, Beowulf takes on a responsibility of fighting a dragon, this responsibility resulted in him dying at the end of the story. In Iron Man, Tony Stark...
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...Hodges 1 Erin Hodges Dr. Harris English 2210-006 1 March 2011-Revised Beowulf as an Epic The Anglo-Saxon tale Beowulf was most likely written by a single poet from a Christian background. The poem as a whole exhibits the poet’s empathy for epic heroes like Beowulf, and for how they lived and died without the hope and consolation of the Christian faith (“Beowulf” 30-31). Beowulf is an epic poem that describes various characters and events from the sixth century, in particular the story of a brave warrior named Beowulf, his many heroic adventures, and his ultimate death. This poem originated from both legends and myths from other cultures that originally were passed down orally from generation to generation and then eventually recorded. By definition, an epic poem is a “long narrative poem in an elevated style that celebrates heroic achievement and treats themes of historical, national, religious, or legendary significance.” Some common characteristics of an epic that are obviously evident in Beowulf are the use of specific types of figurative language, the fighting of heroic battles against supernatural creatures, the unusual behavior of god-like heroes, and the array of geographical settings which are often included in a long journey (“Epic”). One characteristic of epic poems is the use of certain types of figurative language. One type of this elevated language is an epic simile, “an extended simile often running to several lines used typically in...
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...between a poem and a movie based on the same story?’ The poem and the 2007 movie of Beowulf are both unique in their own way. The movie of Beowulf doses a good job of retelling the poem in a Hollywood fashion. But, there are some major differences between the poem and movie, such as Grendal’s Mother, Beowulf kingdom, and of course the Dragon. Let get started on comparing and contrasting shall we. Grendal’s Mother in the poem. Beowulf tracks Grendel’s Mother down in a lake and commences fighting her with armor and sword that he received from Unferth. During the fight, it said in poem that “ Grendal’s Mother whips out a huge knife and stabs at Beowulf’s shoulder but, the chain- mail turns the blade and saves Beowulf life”.(Page 70 Lines 1497-1812). Beowulf’s sword breaks, then Gendal’s Mother tries to stab Beowulf but, can’t because Beowulf had armor on and protected him from getting stab to death. He then finds a giant sword and uses it to stab Grendal’s Mother with it in the neck and kills her. Now, in the movie, Beowulf gose and tracks Grendal’s Mother without any armor. When he finds her she isn’t as hideous as she is the poem. She ends up being a beautiful woman that instead of killing her, he has sex with her. Beowulf’s kingdom in the poem. It’s said the poem that “Hygelac is killed in battle his son inherits the throne with Beowulf‘s support but, is also slain.”(Page 91 Lines 2200-2400). Beowulf returns to his homeland after slaying Grendal and his Mother. He ascends to the...
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...Beowulf is a probably one of the oldest great poems written in English, being made around twelve hundred years ago. This epic poem felt like it was an adventurous and action packed story put into a book, this was because I found the story to be very descriptive and entertaining. Since the story didn’t have pictures, it illustrated a vivid visual using the literary device of imagery for every moment in this poem. For example, when Grendel goes and attacks to the Heorot, leaving fear within the hall for years. The fight between Beowulf and Grendel was well described, talking about Beowulf encountering the monster when breaking into the hall at night and Beowulf wins the fight against Grendel. Although the story was quite elaborate it became overboard...
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...was the most exciting. During this underwater fight, the second of his three fights, Beowulf and his adversary continually battle throughout her home. Although the conflict seems unrealistic because of the location, it makes the battle even more thrilling and suspenseful. For this and several more reasons, the battle between Beowulf and Grendal's mother is the most exciting episode in this brilliant epic. The battle begins when Beowulf travels for many hours underwater to take revenge against Grendal's mother the day after she carried of one of Hrothgar's men. Beowulf and she proceed to fight until her miserable death in her own home. When Beowulf was almost to the point of death, he grabbed a giant sword of the wall and slew Grendal's mother. To me, this entire fight is very unrealistic. The sword, supposedly a massive sword created by giants, could never have been lifted by a normal person. The fact that he took several hours to get to the bottom of the lake makes the episode seem very unlikely, but it is also very useful in creating suspense in this poem. This entire episode is filled with excitement, suspense, and imagery. Suspense and imagery were hand-in-hand during this fight. Not only did suspense keep the reader's attention; it also created the mood of this episode. The most exciting point was when Beowulf took the giants' sword off the wall and killed Grendal's mother. When Beowulf took the sword down, I could actually see the sword in my head. As I thought of it...
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...Beowulf and Ulysses are both men of courage. In the epic poem of Beowulf whom is from the 7th century, volunteers to participate in an outstanding challenge to face Grendel, a fiend who feasts on the flesh of humanity. Later on in the poem Beowulf takes on yet another courageous challenge against Grendel's mother, who many wouldn't face, in which he defeats her but dies after. As for Ulysses who is from the 8th century; is exposed and determined to fight in the Trojan War. Both show their bravery however, Beowulf is more dependent when it comes to muscularity and Ulysses is more dependent on wisdom or trickery. In the Dramatic Monologue of Ulysses, one can see how he is very noble. Once Ulysses fights in the trojan war he becomes very...
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...To start my reading notes off I would like to say that Beowulf contains some highly valuable key concepts that we still use in our world today. When I first heard “Beowulf” for the first time I was thinking in my head, “What in the world could Beowulf mean?”. I was so curious that I decided to look it up. The watered down meaning of Beowulf is man and wolf. Which comes to make sense because Beowulf possessed both human and beastly qualities. Sometimes Beowulf was relaxing while other times he was just as horrific as all of the other beasts he surrounded himself with. As I read along I came to realize that identity is a huge theme and that appearance is something they all value. In Beowulf’s mind is anyone able to change someone’s identity once...
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...literature, and his name was Beowulf. There are three overarching characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon heroes within the epics written of the time, and those are the hero’s boast, the hero’s superhuman abilities, and lastly the hero’s selflessness and bravery. I believe that the Anglo-Saxon characteristics of an Anglo-Saxon hero are shown through Beowulf, and he displays his glorious boasts, his amazing superhuman abilities, and his heroic moments of bravery and selflessness, because of his efforts shown in the text against his times of opposition. Anglo-Saxon heroes were known for their infamous boasts, Beowulf being a prime example of such. In the beginning of The Coming of Beowulf, Beowulf arrives before the king of the Danes, Hrothgar, and as such he must prove himself worthy to take on the task of defeating Grendel. Beowulf boasts of his accomplishments to that very king. Beowulf speaks of himself defeating the race of giants and driving five into chains, diving into the ocean at...
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...Beowulf and Heroism When the word hero is spoken or read the understanding is one of bravery and admiration. However, when one speaks of an epic hero, the definition is just a little different. An epic hero is legendary, may be of noble or divine lineage, is usually superhuman in strength, and intelligence. This is the hero of Homer and Ovid, and many ancient poets. This hero is also the image of the main character in the epic poem Beowulf. While Beowulf is of the epic hero of the poem, he is not the only hero for the term hero in early English had many values. Heroes could be kings, noblemen, or commoners, and could be male or female. The hero was one who had the virtues needed to be admired and adored. The main virtues of all heroes are strength, courage and loyalty, but add the superhuman strength and lineage and you get the epic hero. Beowulf, from the very beginning of the poem, is seen to be super human, and is known by Hrothgar, the King of the Danes, and the man Beowulf has come to help (Helterman 2; Sharma 251). It is understood that Beowulf is of noble lineage, and his father Ecgtheow had come to the aid and sworn allegiance to Hrothgar when Beowulf was but a child (Beowulf 372-373). It is because of this allegiance that Beowulf has come to lend his own warriors to the protection of Hrothgar. It is in this same point that the strength of Beowulf is said to be “the strength of thirty/ in the grip of each hand” (Beowulf 380-381). While this beginning shows...
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...The key character in the poem Beowulf, is a heroic and a legendary character whose actions are embodied to the Anglo-Saxon culture. As a hero he has the accepted and the most ideal characteristics that are accepted in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The tale revolves around these characteristics to make up an epic tale. Beowulf is moulded to possess the virtues, traits and beliefs that were highly respected and requires in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Therefore, is displayed to have these virtues in his own actions and words during different circumstances in the tale. Reading Beowulf brings out lots of similarities with many pieces of literature from the Ancient Greek and the Modern literature. The Beowulf carries is similar to many Greek dramas that focused on a protagonist who was turned out to be a tragic hero. There was an element of belief in the gods who had super- human powers and had unique and ultimate special skills of their own, and overcame unsurmountable problems. However, in Beowulf, there is no Greek or Roman gods, but there are other supernatural beings defined as monsters that exist and are difficult to win over. Beowulf is extra-ordinarily strong, agile, and super intelligent. He is portrayed as one who overcomes many obstacles and was able to kill Grendel and his mother and the others in the sea. In addition, the wide character list and meaningful names is similar to those of other types of literature of the early eras. The story of Paradise lost opens in hell. Satan...
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