Beowulf And Gilgamesh Analysis

Beowulf proclaims “In the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together” (liens 156-160). Beowulf claims that he must go to defeat Grendel, as it was his errand, or his duty, and his fate. This speech he makes to King Hrothgar reinforces his true reason to come to the King, not for any pride. Another vow Beowulf makes is when he says “That this is one favor you should not refuse me—That I, alone and with the help of my men, many purge all evil form this hall” (lines 163-166). In this line, Beowulf is pleading for the King to do one thing, which is to give him the permission for him and his men to go and fight Grendel, what Beowulf had arrived for. The fact that Beowulf asks the king for only one thing, which is to fight Grendel, shows Beowulf’s selflessness and concern for the safety of others. At no part does he ask for a reward, but even says that if fate is in favor of Grendel to give his armor back to his family. These words help paint the image of Beowulf being concerned for others, not for his

Throughout “Beowulf”, Beowulf decides to go on an adventure to the Danish islands and help out the Danes in a battle of good versus evil. The reason of Beowulf’s journey was to end the reign of terror of Grendel, a monster who lives under Herot and massacres individuals. In the poem Beowulf states to King Hrothgar, “‘…Now Grendel and are called/ Together, and I have come…That I, alone and with the help of my men,/ May purge all evil from this hall,” (Beowulf 254-261). This quotation explains that Beowulf wants to rid the world of evil and help the Danes defeat what has been preying on their men and inflicting terror upon a civilization. Also, Beowulf

The epics of Beowulf and Gilgamesh are about a pair of heroes who had many common characteristics as well as characteristics that contradict one another. Beowulf is a Christian epic that roots from the Anglo Saxon culture. Throughout the plot, there are numerous biblical allusions. “Grendel who haunted the moors, the wild Marshes, and made his home in a hell not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime, conceived by a pair of monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished By God,” (from Beowulf part one, translated by Burton Raffel pg. 21, lines 17-21) Gilgamesh is a story from the Mesopotamian culture, which is now present day Iraq. As Beowulf, Gilgamesh also has

Beowulf, king of the Geats, engages in battles in order to protect his community from physical creatures while King Arthur’s knights engage in spiritual battles against evil temptation which lurks around every corner. Beowulf proudly displays his prowess before he must confront Grendel, the “God-cursed brute” when he declares with bold confidence that he “can calm the turmoil” (Heaney 11, 21). Beowulf boasts of his strength, pledging to kill Grendel with his bare hands. Grendel, the cursed descendant of Cain, enjoys death and destruction, ruining Hrothgar’s reputation with every attack on his kingdom. The monster kills one of his men, angering the Thanes and encouraging them to fight

Beowulf’s triumphs are short lived due to another attack on Herot. This time, Grendel’s mother comes to the great mead hall to avenge her son. The battle between Grendel’s mother and Beowulf differs greatly from the previous battle with the beast’s son. After another attack, Beowulf now must seek out his new enemy, and fight her on her own turf. As it stood, the scores were even between the monsters and the Danes, but Beowulf now looked for victory over the monsters, not revenge. Beowulf also had to regain his reputation. He had just won a trophy, when the bigger, badder bully came up to him and took it straight from his grasp. Now Beowulf traveled to the burning lake, which proved a test of its own. He then swam to the bottom of the lake where the monster resided. All of this just to get to the monster shows that this brave hero would do anything to set the scores right for his people and for the glory that came with it.

When he chopped off Grendels head, he carried it from the ocean with ease, but it took four men to lift the monster’s head and carry it back to Herot. This strength is a key trait of Beowulf's heroism. Like Beowulf, Gilgamesh possessed great physical strength unmatched by any man. He also had insurmountable courage. Gilgamesh fought numerous battles that were considered impossible to win. Gilgamesh first destroys an evil monster known as Humbaba. Humbaba is feared by all who enter his cedar forest. Gilgamesh arrives and kills Humbaba with a sword given to him by the god Shamash. After killing Humbaba the goddess Ishtar sends The Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh. After the bull killed many of the townspeople Gilgamesh grabbed it by its tail and stabbed it in the back of its head. On his final quest for everlasting life Gilgamesh is attacked by a pack of lions. He takes an axe in one hand and a sword in the other and kills many of the lions, sending the rest fleeing in fear. Gilgamesh’s strength and courage is much like that of Beowulf.

Compare the Beowulf poet's presentation of the battles with Grendel and his mother with the Gilgamesh poet's depiction of Gilgamesh' battles with Huwawa and the Bull of Heaven.

Beowulf is humbled after fighting Grendel. Before fighting Grendel Beowulf was over confident and cocky. He believed that he was the greatest and did not realize the extent of the challenge of fighting Grendel. Although Beowulf won the battle he did not kill him in the mead hall as he had intended. Before Beowulf fought Grendel he thought that he could “alone… purge all evil from [the] hall… /[and is so great that he needed] no weapons and [feared] none.” (431-434). During the fight no matter how “hard… [Beowulf] held him he still pulled free” (928). “Grendel escaped,/ But wounded as he was he could flee to his den” (819-820). Beowulf did not have the skill set to kill Grendel as he first predicted, he seriously injured him but did not kill him in the mead hall. Beowulf learned that not everything is as easy as it may seem. The result of the fight humbled Beowulf. Fighting Grendel gave Beowulf perspective and taught him not to act egotistical, and to never underestimate your opponent. The lesson Beowulf learns is reflected in his actions throughout the rest of the story. When praised for his accomplishments, Beowulf did not boast or act superior, he accepted his loses and celebrated his wins among the rest of the Danes.

To begin, Beowulf has a complex motivation for fighting the monster Grendel. His first motivation is duty which is part of the Anglo-Saxon code he’s obligated to go and kill Grendel. His people told him so go and do it so he does duty comes first and personal choice comes second. On page 47 lines 244-246 Beowulf says, “My people have said, the wisest, most knowing And best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king.”

When Beowulf is helping Hrothgar get his vengeance, he attacks Grendel, “saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws, Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at his hands.” (Beowulf, page 36). Beowulf fights Grendel with his hands because he promised Hrothgar that he would help him obtain his vengeance. Beowulf gets his fame, wealth and glory for his victory over Grendel which was achievable through Hrothgar’s desire for vengeance against the monster. After the battle with Grendel, Hrothgar spoke to Beowulf, “Glory is now yours, Forever and ever; your courage has earned it, And your strength.” (Beowulf, page 42). Hrothgar praises Beowulf for granting his desire of vengeance on Grendel and awards him. He tells Beowulf that he has earned glory and wealth by helping him in destroying Grendel.

But despite their differences they were both two tremendously powerful characters that generally set out for one mutual ambition, fame. The great king of the Geats exhibited his brute strength in the brawl with Grendel on his journey to seek fame. As the literature declares, Beowulf traveled to Denmark to save the Danes from the wrath of Grendel. When the infamous killer tried to seize Beowulf in battle, he embraced the claws of the beast in his fist until they crumbled. Similarly, Gilgamesh pronounces to

British literature like Beowulf and Gilgamesh hold several characteristics that make this type of literature unique. Each of theses stories hold similarities and difference that alter the course of the main character. Both Beowulf and Gilgamesh took vast journeys in their ruling as leaders, but they each took the journeys for different reasons. These two epic heroes of british literature both used the up in coming benefits of christianity in their journeys expressed in the novels, yet the two characters used the beliefs in different ways. Both of these men are viewed as having great amounts of power and through analyzing it can be determined that the men use their powers to different extents. Gilgamesh and Beowulf are two heros that have a number of similarities and differences in their epics.

The character Beowulf embodied the Pagan heroic code (comitatus), but he also exhibited Christian values. Overall, he was a warrior and a hero who sought fame and reputation. Most of his actions were motivated by his desire to be remembered after his death as a courageous and loyal warrior. When Beowulf hears about Hrothgar’s trouble he goes to help him. He wants to help him for a few reasons, all of which relate to the comitatus. He wants to acquire fame and he wants lifelong honor. By beating Grendel he would receive honor and his reputation would be enhanced. Also, Beowulf wants to repay Hrothgar for settling a feud for his father years before. Beowulf is willing to do battle for the old king even though it means that he could die.

Throughout the story, Beowulf’s boasts resemble nothing less than a symbol of his arrogance. “…sailors have brought us stories of Herot, the best of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the moon hangs in skies the sun had lit, light and life fleeing together. 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. 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; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come…I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I. My lord

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