Macbeth vs Beowulf

Lady Macbeth is filled evil schemes, and knows how to achieve her goal of getting her husband into the kingly position. Lady Macbeth is very convincing in her ideas, and does not leave a lot of space to think otherwise. Macbeth is not left much choice but to conform himself to his wife’s mischievous strategy to get him to become king. He is very loyal, and wants to remain so to his king even knowing he would become king if Duncan, the present king, were to die. Lady Macbeth, however, has other plans for Macbeth, and she soon has him convinced to commit an act which will change their lives forever. Macbeth and his wife are truly opposite people, as Macbeth is laid back and easy going, while Lady Macbeth wants everything planned out and will go onward with plans no matter who they affect. She truly does make Macbeth a more interesting person through her evil schemes.

Shakespeare's play Macbeth shows the roots of all evil, our own human nature. The play is centered on the coexistence of good and evil. Macbeth, unlike any other Shakespeare play has the protagonist convert to evil. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is shown as a hero in the Scottish army, that is ironic because Macbeth defeats a traitor and he himself becomes one later. Macbeth knows his place in the world. He is fully capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Macbeth purposely disregards his own moral judgment to rise to power which is again ironic and goes against his own beliefs. Macbeth stands as a symbol for Satan's sin of ambition. Like Satan, Macbeth's thirst for power and ambition drives him to commit evil.Contrary to

Adversity is defined as difficulties or challenges presented to us. This can be anything that troubles someone or gives them a hard time in life. Yes we are all faced with adversity but what is different is how it is overcome. Everyone has their own way by either reacting or responding. Accepting the adversity and trying to change it into something better. Some people just crack under calamity.

Throughout the ages the tale of the epic hero has been subject to change, as writers found new inspiration and allowed the art of storytelling to evolve. With it, there was the change of the portrayal of the epic hero, and I will be illustrating this through an analysis of the epic heroes from Beowulf, suggested to have been first composed between the 8th and 11th century, and Macbeth, composed early in the 17th century. It is important to note the time difference, and all the change that time would have brought to social structures in written fiction. The tales of epic heroes are a good way of researching historic civilizations, as they play a role in reflecting the ethics and morals of civilizations and always have. Beowulf and Macbeth play a similar role as the works of the Greek poet Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey or tales from other cultures. It is partially through the differences in character portrayals and roles within the plot that someone can understand the morals of those before us and

In Anglo Saxon times, Beowulf is considered a well known epic hero. “Epic heroes are literary characters from ancient mythology and other stories, which were written down in the form of long, narrative epic poems. The hero is the main character, or protagonist of the poem”("Epic Hero: Definition, Characteristics & Examples."). The epic hero usually battles for accomplishments to a set of tasks to complete important goals. Beowulf is described as an epic hero because of his honor, bravery, and intelligence.

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

Beowulf is an epic poem written by a mystery author. The main character, beowulf, shows evidence of having heroic traits using personification. Beowulf is a heroic character because he volunteers for things that nobody else in the kingdom would ever think of doing. He rises up to the occasion when he is faced with a predicament.

An epic hero is someone who is of great importance, they have supernatural abilities, have some form of connection with the Gods, and accomplish great deeds. In Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is the epic hero in his tale and he is considered great by those who know of his life. There are two versions of his story which portrays him in a certain way. The video version does not do its best to portray him as an epic hero but instead show that he is a liar, a womanizer, and a coward. The written version does not portray him as such, it portrays him as someone who is strong, brave, and fearless. The written version best portrays Beowulf as an epic hero by showing his actions involving superhuman deeds in battle.

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.

Beowulf’s two main positive attributes are his selflessness for the people that he does not consider friends initially as well as confidence to go into battle whenever certain death is prevalent. During the story Beowulf goes against four different enemies, three that are monsters where typical weapons would do no good and an impossible battle against the Swedes. In all he is the only person save Wiglaf at the end that is willing to fight these enemies. The moments leading up to Beowulf’s fight with Grendel, the narrator implies the sheer animosity of the enemy, “None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again or get back to his native place and the people who reared him.They knew too well the way it was before, how often the Danes had fallen prey to death in the mead-hall. (Heaney 47)” Nobody, likely including Beowulf even saw the remote possibility of him defeating even, only the first monster, yet he showed a willingness to fight and powered through and won. It is heavily implied that he only did this for his own glory and the pure danger of the situation, but by many especially the characters in the book, this is interpreted as someone without a fear of death.

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 dual and says that he will fight him with no weapon 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 hesitat for one second and takes on the beast without any help, this shows how courages the hero is. “He was bearing in/ where he lay on the bed: he was bearing in/ wiht open claw when the alert hero’s/ comeback and armlock forestolled him utterly” (764-750). Beowulf then defeats the evil monster grendel by tearing off his arm and killing the beast. In the poem the poeple are celebrating over this victory while Beowulf is dissapointed in himself because he thinks that it would be better if he had the head of the beast rather than the arm. “If you could have seen the monster himself/ where he lay beaten, I would have been better pleased” (960-961). Beowulf does not realise that he was the only one who could defeat this monster and no one else could because they do not have the courage.

An epic hero displays bravery, courage, and strength. An epic hero also wants to achieve immortality through heroic actions. Beowulf can be categorized as a legendary epic hero. There are many things that prove Beowulf is an epic hero in the poem. He proves that he is an epic hero through his heroic actions that occur throughout the poem.

In the stories Macbeth and Beowulf, the stories have patterns that are very alike including the pattern of using Pagan references. They both have unrealistic characters on their stories. Macbeth has the three witches that foresee everything that will happen in the future, and beowulf has Grendel, along with a dragon and other living fantasy creatures that Beowulf kills. Both of the stories also display a resemblance if evil. That evil is a pattern that goes throughout the story to express how evil is was. Grendel defines evil in Beowulf by murdering many men countless times. Even when Beowulf went to the rescue, he went to eat more men. Its evident how the pattern of evil is carried by Grendal when the story says, “Their courage was great but all hatred: they could hack at Grendel. From every side, trying to open a path for his evil soul, but their points could not hurt him , the sharpest and hardest iron could not scratch at his skin, for that sin stained demon. Had bewitched all men’s weapons, laid spells. That blunted every mortal men’s blade” (Beowulf 50). Macbeth also portrays evil when he killed a series of men to make him feel like nothing will get in the way of being king. He shows no mercy to Macduff's family when he says, “Time, thou anticipat’st my dread exploits. The flighty purpose never is o’ertook unless the deed go with it. From this moment the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand. And even now, to crown my thoughts with acts be it though and done: the castle of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool; this deed I’ll do before this purpose cool: But no more sights!- where are these gentlemen? Come, bring me where they are” (Shakespeare 366). It is very harsh and evil for

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.