Courage In Beowulf

Loyalty and bravery are themes that are often found in literature, and Beowulf is no exception. It is one of the reasons I find this poem so interesting. Beowulf is the hero of the poem who decides to sail to Denmark with hope of protecting the Danish people from a creature known as Grendel, who has attacked and devoured many of King Hrothgar’s warriors while they were asleep. Like all heroes, Beowulf exhibits true bravery, courage, and puts the people before himself, which makes him a very likely candidate for king. Even before he faces the terrifying monster, Grendel, Beowulf renounces the uses of weapons when he says “Soon I shall sink him into death-sleep, not with my sword but solely by strength. He is unschooled in skills to strike against

Beowulf consistently expresses his bravery and fortitude is when he goes to battle on three different occasions. The first time he shows his bravery is when he hears of the trouble the Danes are experiencing and he decides to offer his “wholehearted help and counsel” (line 278). He shows this same bravery again when going after Grendel’s mother. This isn’t the

Courage, the ability to do something that frightens one. This is the first thing one must have to be considered noble, and Beowulf went all out. In one act of courage, he stripped himself of all of his weapons in order to face Grendel, ”He began to remove his iron breast-mail,/took off the helmet and handed his attendant/the patterned sword, a smith’s masterpiece,/ordering him to keep the equipment guarded.”, not even knowing that no weapon on Earth could damage him. He had told the Geats of his plan and they had all listened to him as he held his end of the bargain and took down the mighty beast. Grendel on the other hand, didn’t show much courage. He confronted a dragon, yes, but he just talked to it and listened, he didn’t

Beowulf has confidence when he battles. Beowulf announces that he will fight Grendel, the evil that has been lurking them for a long time. However; Beowulf says he will fight with his bare hands instead of using weapons (Lines 400-490). This shows how he is brave enough to challenge Grendel with a single combat with only hands and in the end, he wins. Another example is when Beowulf boasts, Unferth interrupts him and insults him. Then Beowulf replies, “The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly as keen and courageous as you claim to be Grendel would never have got away with such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king, havoc in Heorot and horrors everywhere” (590-595). This is an example of where he shows courage because he corrects Unferth and makes him look as a fool for not stating the truth of what actually happened. Also, this explains while they were swimming he was fighting off sea creatures along their swim, which is why he lost. According to Heaney, Beowulf shows courage when he believes he can defeat the dragon. During when Beowulf fights the dragon, it states, “Yet the prince of the rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague. He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all its courage and strength, for he had kept going often in the past, through perils and ordeals of every

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

In Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, Beowulf’s courageous conquering of several vicious monsters throughout the poem inspires me to continue my journey of getting through difficult times in my own life. Beowulf, a great Geat warrior, has battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon, in which he defeated them all with prowess. Beowulf puts aside his ego and wins against these monsters by focusing on protecting the Spear-Danes from the evil forces by himself, not wanting others to get hurt in the process. He perseveres through these tough actions not out of selfish ambition, but in selflessness, saying, “'Tis no matter of yours, and man cannot do it/ But me and me only, to measure his strength with/

In Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, courage is undoubtedly the most important trait a man could have. The Geats thrived for 50 years under the powerful and courageous reign of King Beowulf. However, the Danes suffered through twelve winters under Grendel because of King Hrothgar’s fear. The strength and bravery of a strong leader and warrior can lead many countries to peace and power. Throughout Beowulf, many characters exhibit courage, which increases their morale on the battlefield and leads to victory.

Courage is certainly a trait which every hero must possess, particularly because no one wants a hero who is a coward. Thankfully, Beowulf is no coward. When Beowulf hears of Grendel’s exploits in Denmark, he travels to the “distant” land, without hesitation, to rid the Danes of that “demon…conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God”. Beowulf’s courage is displayed even more when he chooses not to fight with weapons, despite knowing

Courage is a theme that is shown throughout the entire epic of Beowulf. By definition courage is the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes on ones own will and determination. There are many things form the epic that could be used to prove this statement, but I chose to use the section entitled "The Final Battle." In this section there are two great speeches given by both Beowulf and Wiglaf. I believe that in both of these monologues courage is portrayed by the two warriors, and it is easy to see why.

When Beowulf arrives to the land of the Danes, as soon as they dock and get off of their ship Beowulf shows his courage instantly by taking the lead and explaining to the guards that watched out for raiders and enemy ships approaching who they were and where they were from so that they may advance to the Heorot which he had heard much about. After they get inside Heorot Beowulf truly shows his courage when he tells Hrothgar about all of the triumphs he had when he was younger and how when he heard of their problem with Grendel and how he planned to be a match for him so that he could be the one to bring peace back to Heorot. He also explains how he isn't afraid of death because if he is going to die it will happen whether he wants it to or not and by doing this he gives king Hrothgar peace by knowing that he is courageous enough to take on this challenge and not be afraid by the terror that his people have been facing for the last 12 years.

In the epic poem, Beowulf, the main character, Beowulf, can be seen as one of the most prime and pure examples of an epic hero due to his almighty courage.

In Beowulf the classic epic, Beowulf, the hero of the epic, and other major characters reflect heroic ideals and beliefs of courage, generosity, unquestioning loyalty and devotion. Courage is most evident throughout Beowulf Beowulf does not back down from any challenge that stands in his way whether it be Grendel, Grendel’s mother, or the dragon. His bravery is most evident in his preparation for his fight with Grendel, Beowulf, “took off his shirt of armour, the helmet from his head, handed his embellished sword, best of irons to an attendant,…” He chose to bravely fight his foe, man to beast without weaponery for he knew it would be “cowardly” to defeat Grendel with a sword and armor when Grendel himself had none. Even in his

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 first displays his courage during his fight with the evil monster Grendel. In the poem, Beowulf challenges the beast to duel and says that he will fight him with no weapons and armor to show his courage. “No weapons, therefore,/ for either this night: unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares” (Heaney 683-685). This shows how much courage Beowulf has because he is fighting a descendent from Cain and is taking him on without any weapons and armor. Secondly, Beowulf does not hesitate for one second and takes on the beast without any help, this shows how courages the hero is.

Beowulf’s virtues of courage and strength appear throughout the poem during his life as a warrior and as a king. He begins the story with courage and “the strength of thirty / in the grip of each hand” (380-381), which are vital to his accomplishments as a warrior. His courage and strength are apparent when he fights Grendel without the use of weapons. Both virtues are crucial to his success in that battle and lead him to become a leader of wisdom and stature. As king of Heorot he uses his courage and strength in the battle against the dragon. Before the fight he has a feeling of uncertainty and it is stated “He was sad at heart / unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. / His fate hovered near, unknowing but certain: / It would soon claim his coffered soul.” (2419-2424). His sense of forthcoming death may illustrates a lack of confidence in his ability to slay the dragon; however, it also shows tremendous courage by involving himself in an unevenly matched fight. Although his physical strength may have abandoned him in his last fight against the dragon, his courage and wisdom intensified his glory beyond his death.