Archetypes In Beowulf

In the Anglo Saxon epic poem Beowulf, written down by two Christian monks, archetypes are highly prevalent and the hero archetype is filled by the main character Beowulf, this position being filled by Beowulf is very heavily throughout the book. One example of this position being filled is his close following to the hero’s quest. Throughout the book he closely follows many of the stages of the hero's quest such as his repeated cycle of fighting evil after defeating it already, we first see this with grendel, then grendel's mom and then the dragon, in the hero's quest the hero constantly has to fight off evil as he is the only one who is able to do it. The first quote in which we see this fighting of evil happen is “So times were pleasant for the people there/ until finally one, a fiend

The hero archetype is represented by Beowulf himself and other great warrior characters, being extremely strong and brave in the critical moments without fail and seemingly immortal at times. Beowulf was a great example of a hero, due to his many heroic qualities and great deeds. Beowulf was brave, selfless, and fearless. While fighting battles and helping others, Beowulf did not fear death, and was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice at any moment for

There are several characters in Beowulf who represent the hero and outcast archetype. Beowulf represented courage, strength, and respect. These qualities allowed him to become both the hero and outcast within Beowulf. Wiglaf, along with Beowulf, represented the hero archetype, as well. However, Grendel, Beowulf, and Grendel’s mother all represent the outcasts within the epic poem because they were all isolated, away from society. While each character acquires separate roles within the poem, they all have a major impact on the foundation and background of the poem.

The epic poem Beowulf by Seamus Heaney uses character archetypes to explore the values embodied in Anglo-Saxon culture.

The epic Beowulf has many parallels to fairy tales. Examples of this include the promotion good deeds, Beowulf being an archetype for a hero and the contrast of Grendel being an archetype of a villain.Even in the vary beginning of the story Beowulf is described as “the strongest of men” and as a “warrior”, both are ways the Anglo-Saxons would describe heroes in their time. Beowulf has all the likeable and charming qualities of a hero, in the epic everyone he meets finds him courageous and likeable. Just as heroes in fairy tales represent what a society holds high, Beowulf represents the quality’s that the Anglo-Saxons held high; such as strength and courage. In contrast to Beowulf being a great hero, Grendel is described as a terrible villain.

Firstly, archetypal characters all have a definition of how they may act, a situation they may be in, and/or how the character compares to others in history. Beowulf’s characters seem to match these descriptions fairly well. The hero and the

“Have you heard the story of “The Scorpion and the Frog”? A frog comes upon a scorpion and pleads for his life. The scorpion says he will not kill the frog if the frog takes him across the river. The frog asks, “How do I know you won’t kill me as I carry you?” The scorpion replies, “If I were to strike you, we would both surely die.” Thinking it over, the frog agrees and halfway across the river the scorpion strikes the frog in the back. As they both start to drown, the frog asks, “Why did you strike me? Now we will both die.” The scorpion replies with his last breath, “Because it is in my nature.” Developing characters using archetypes helps readers understand why heroes, villains and other

Beowulf fits the model of a hero because throughout his journey, he follows the steps of the monomyth. Beowulf had many battles in his day, the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. All of the battle he wins can be seen as heroic in the sense of a epic hero in literature. Beowulf’s boasts and encounters reveal him to be the strongest, ablest warrior around. Many of the great epic heroes in literature have been strong and noble warriors. In his youth, he personified all of the best values of the heroic culture. When being young, he of course is in the peak of his physical abilities and could be this great warrior. Later, in his old age, he proves a wise and effective ruler because he couldn’t be the warrior he once

In the epic Beowulf, there is a man named Beowulf. He is a classic tale of a true hero. He shows many traits of a hero when he is fighting a larger than life monster. Throughout the story, he battles three monsters, all of which show his true character. The two main character traits in Beowulf are superhuman strength, and loyalty.

Beowulf exhibits great bravery by coming to Heorot to help Hrothgar, out of his own free will. Before facing Grendel, he announces, “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” (Heaney 436-440). Reckless and impressive actions like abandoning “the shelter of the broad shield” deciding to “renounce sword” and fighting “hand-to-hand” makes Beowulf appear as more courageous and daring (Heaney 436-438). Nevertheless, he boasts, “When it comes to fighting, I count myself/ as dangerous any day as Grendel. / So it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield/ to mow him down, easily as I might” (Heaney 677-680). Beowulf’s belief in himself that he counts himself “as dangerous any day as Grendel” motivates him to believe that he can defeat the demon-monster. His decision to not use “a cutting edge”

Many heroes have been known for being brave, courageous, and strong; Beowulf is one of these heroes. Every hero is brave, some heroes may not start out that way at first. Heroes become brave by fighting in battles and slaying their enemies. Courage is not only a trait of heroes everyone has some courage somewhere deep inside them. Heroes use their courage to slay dragons and fight monsters just like Beowulf did. Not every is physically strong, but also strong minded. Heroes have to pay attention to their surroundings in order to stay alive. Heroes use their strength to save their kingdoms, if that hero is lucky they might even become king just like Beowulf. All of these traits help to make up a great hero.

Throughout Beowulf’s quest to help other people you get to see some of his hero characteristics like his bravery, loyalty, and strength. One characteristic that a true hero has to have is bravery. A hero cannot fear anything it is up againsts. Beowulf’s bravery is shown when he says ‘’I swim in the blackness of night hunting monsters out of the ocean and killing them one by one’’ (Beowulf 38).

To begin, one of the many ways that Beowulf was different than Grendel is that Beowulf was brave. Every night Grendel snuck into Herot Hall to destroy King Hrothgar’s men. He did this while hiding in the shadows, sneaking around in the dead of night, and attacking while the men we asleep and at there most vulnerable. These are not the characteristics the brave, these are the characteristics of a foul, loathsome, cowardly beast. Mean while, Beowulf liked to meet a problem head on, in this case the problem was Grendel himself. Determined Beowulf sailed to Denmark to defeat Grendel, telling Hrothgar that he will take Grendel’s life with his bare hands. As told in the story, “ That mighty protector of men/ Meant to hold the monster till it’s life/ leaped out” (Raffel, 1963, l. 366-368). And when Beowulf got the chance to do just that, Grendel took the cowards road, “Grendel’s one thought

Not only is Beowulf honorable and well respected, he is brave as well. His courage is shown by not hesitating to risk his own life to pursue the Dane’s enemies. By being self-assured, Beowulf is able to successfully defeat the fiends, Grendel and his infamous mother. At the time Beowulf is planning to pursue the vindictive dragon, the epic poem states, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old now, but I will fight again, seek fame still, If the dragon hiding in his tower dares to face me.”(ll. 2511-2515). He feels no fear, is confident in fighting the dragon alone, and has no qualms in risking his life to save others. He declares his bravery by saying, “When he comes to me I mean to stand, not run from his shooting flames, stand till fate decides which of us wins... No one else could do what I mean to, here, no man but me could hope to defeat this monster.”(ll. 2525-2534). In his actions, Beowulf’s bravery is clearly shown throughout the poem.

Beowulf is a hero, and we all know a hero when we see one. There are many traits and characteristics that make someone a hero. These traits and characteristics are more expressed in ancient epics and poems. Beowulf is one of the most famous ancient Anglo-Saxon poems still taught to this day in schools and colleges all over the world. The story starts off of how a man by the name of Beowulf receives news that a neighboring land is being terrorized by a monster named Grendel. Beowulf shows several characteristics of here such as, bravery, loyalty, generosity, friendship, and showing a high level of intellect. Beowulf first shows his heroic character through his bravery while journeying on his epic quest. There are several cases where he is not afraid, and instead of being frightened, he shows great bravery. An example of from the poem is, “Instead, they inspected omens and spurred his ambitions to go, whilst he moved about like the leader he was, enlisting men, the best he could find; with fourteen others the warrior boarded the boast as captain” (Beowulf 205-210). This quote gives proof of his bravery because he was the head of the group leading his men. Beowulf proves that even he himself must be brave in order to lead the bravest of men into battle.