A Hero is a Hero Beware! This is not the poem of Beowulf, nor about realistic heroes today. In fact, this isn’t a story at all! I will say, however, Beowulf and realistic heroes are great to know and hear about. Although, learning more about realistic heroes and Beowulf is enjoyable, they do have their differences, including types of good deeds, when it occurred, and the strength of the hero. In the poem, Beowulf, the protagonist, Beowulf had defeated a monster for the people as his good deed. According to lines 5-10, it states, “Heard how Grendel filled the nights with horror And quickly commanded a boat fitted out, proclaiming that he’d go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar, now when help was needed,” which shows …show more content…
For example, the firefighter saves lives almost every day. They save people by either pulling them out of fires or extinguishing the fires before anyone gets injured. Another example, could be police officers, they save innocent pedestrians’ lives. Police officers assist in saving hostages from criminal activity. They also extract dangerous or potentially dangerous people from public streets and buildings. There are much more actions police officers and firefighters can do. There are thousands of different types of good deeds realistic heroes today can …show more content…
We are currently in the twenty-first century, which means the poem was written fifteen centuries ago. Even though it is a really entertaining poem with an interesting story line about a man who procures a new honor by defeating a monster that is terrorizing all of the people, stories have evolved since the sixth century. Yes, real people and poems can be written about in the same way, but there is a different way of comprehending due to the century it was written in. Beowulf is one of the oldest poems, in the English language, since it was written fifteen centuries ago. The realistic heroes today do actions that are beneficial to the world, today. Realistic heroes can do the noble actions any day. There could be a surgeon somewhere, saving somebody’s life, today. Even a civilian who may perceive an elderly woman being robbed by a thief, congregate his friends, marches over to the thief, and accosts him. This type of action could have happened yesterday, could happen today, or maybe tomorrow, and it can be news the next day. The realistic heroes today’s magnificent deeds could have occurred yesterday, today, or
Heroes willfully put their own life in the place of someone else’s. In other words, a hero risks their life for another person because they wish to benefit the society they live in. This creates a more superior society for the
Beowulf is one of the oldest poems in history, it was originally written in Anglo-Saxon, and it was told orally with many literary devices so it could be remembered throughout generations. It shows what their society was based on back in the Anglo-Saxon era. Although throughout history the poem has been changed to fit our modern day society. For example, having different values and morals and how we look at religion has all changed. In the Beowulf poem and movie there are many similarities and differences in Religion, Characterization, and Morals it highlights the value and beliefs of each society.
Beowulf, a legendary hero of Geatish lore, from the epic poem named after him, is the definition of a hero. There is one being who can be collated to Beowulf: the mighty Thor, god of thunder. Derived from Norse mythology, Thor is hot-headed, with an appetite for food and drink. He also is one of the strongest gods, serving as the protector of the people. Both of these characters share similar qualities in what some would define a hero, despite one being a man, and the other being a deity.
The Old-English epic poem of Beowulf, officially written down somewhere around the year 1066 by the Beowulf poet, is one where you are persistently kept of the edge of your seat due to its superior use of vivid phrases and imagery. In the Anglo-Saxon period in which the story takes place bravery, heroic deeds, and loyalty to one another is paramount. Beowulf, a tenacious scandinavian warrior, is the savior of a neighboring kingdom due to his aptness to slay the treacherous monsters such as the nefarious Grendel and his mother. A truly remarkable feat is how the words and actions of this poem are put to life in the movie. Though remarkable, the cinema didn’t exactly correlate with the poem. In fact the integrity of the poem almost seems diminished
Whereas in Beowulf, written by an anonymous poet, is about a man who is very strong. He travels to a distant land to kill a couple monsters and earn glory for himself. The quest begins when Beowulf heads to the Danish castle. He is a Geat by the way. His king is Higlac and Beowulf asked him if he could travel the seas to earn glory for himself by helping out the Danish and their king, Hrothgar. When Beowulf finally got to Hrothgar, Hrothgar was glad to see him; he seemed to have a lot of faith in Beowulf. “Our Holy Father has sent him as a sign of His grace, a mark of His favor, to help us defeat Grendel and end that terror” (Beowulf, ln 381 – 384). The monster, Grendel, had
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.
Heroes bring hope to people and countries by bringing support and supplies to those in need. As seen by all the examples, a hero is not someone who thinks about themselves but someone who does things that they believe are right and are admired or idealized for their
In the Battle of Beowulf his battles where epic. Everyone praised Beowulf’s name and the stories of his heroic battles of the monsters he battled and defeated. Battles will forever be recognized and remembered.
The hero is an age-old concept that describes someone that will defend their honor to the end. In Beowulf, the author portrays the warrior Beowulf and his three battles in such a way as to clearly define what it means to be a hero. Fred Robinson and J. R. R. Tolkien addressed heroism in Beowulf regarding the warrior’s traits, as well as his battles and burial. The author of Beowulf defines the hero through Beowulf’s three battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon. In this poem, each monster possesses a specific quality undesired by heroes. Beowulf battles anger/jealousy, vengeance, and greed/selfishness for the good of his Geat nation. As Beowulf fends off these anti-hero traits, he becomes capable of being a great leader of
Archetypal heroes are found in many literary works, and in varied forms. In literary terms, a hero (male) or heroine (female) is defined as a character that goes against adversity, has great strength, courage, bravery, and who makes unselfish sacrifices, usually for the greater good. The Collins English Dictionary defines “archetypal” as a perfect example of something. Archetypes in literature was first applied by Carl Jung (1875-1961), a Swiss psychiatrist. Jung recognized patterns in mythologies and stories regardless of the time period that was covered by the literary work. Archetypal heroes present in various forms including warriors,
The modern day hero contributes positively to the society; he or she is a role model to different race, age and gender. In Beowulf, the king was in charge of the kingdom and he was obligated to fight with his warriors while the modern day, the President is in charge of the people but he does not fight with them in battle, he sends his soldiers off. Modern day heroes are not out looking for fame or fortune, they operate with great passion and drive to fulfill their dreams; if they get recognized for their great work, it is not publicized, it is done within the confines of the work environment. Modern day heroes do not depend on physical strength, they think of other ways to positively impact the society for example, Philanthropy is a great way to impact change in the community and philanthropist are seen as heroes in the eyes of the people they help. A person who donates his kidney to save
Because of the emotional sophistication of modern audiences, the creators of the movie Beowulf vastly changed the storyline from the epic poem.
This poem also uses a lot of religion throughout the story and so Beowulf is pretty much depicted as a god in the story. All he does is fight monsters and help people. The story is a combination of Christianity and warrior values. Beowulf is the amazing and well-known hero because of the battles that he’s been involved in and has won because he puts all of his own trust into the hands of god and that’s why he is such a good warrior. There are also some pagan values that Beowulf possesses which is things such as, loyalty, courage, strength, and just a good reputation among all the people that know him. Which makes him into such a great example of what a hero should exactly be like. Beowulf only survives through the protection he receives from god and throughout the entire story Beowulf countlessly acknowledges god as his one and only protector.
Beowulf was a poem written as a foundational text in British Culture, by Seamus Heaney. Beowulf is the story of shame future told through the eyes of a guilt culture. Not only does it critique the way society runs, but reinforces how critical a society is. The Anglo- Saxon society relates to the poem to critique everything wrong in society, such as bravery, truth, loyalty, and perseverance. Beowulf as a story is still relevant in today's world because he shows that his personal code of honor or ethics is stricter than that of the people around him, when he's offered a distinction that many people want him to accept and turns it down because it belongs by right to someone else.
The Importance of Beowulf in Modern America By Jennifer Carley Modern culture and literature include many stories of great heroes and fictional adventures. Many people grow up reading about these great adventures and looking up to the heroes of the stories. Heroes are great roll models because they are portrayed as courageous and trustworthy individuals, two very admirable qualities. Despite numerous cultural and technological advancements, life in modern America continues to bear resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon world of the hero Beowulf. The poem Beowulf, though written many centuries ago, still contains the same universal themes of any great action-adventure story in today's society. The poem is about a great hero who overcomes seemingly