Motivation In Beowulf

We all have told lies many times in our lives; and yet, the truths we tell reveal that we can redeem or prove our bravery. We may also describe honor as a sign of respect; That is, respect to humanity, respect to loyalty, and respect to ourselves. This is best described in Beowulf as the titular character arrives in Danes to assist Hrothgar, King of the Danes, to slay off the monster that is Grendel, proving he is the most honorable and strongest soldier of the Geats. For instance, Beowulf states, "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" (Beowulf 149-153). This quote is highly significant, given that Beowulf is of noble birth, because Beowulf is showing a sign of honor, or respect to his loyalty to the Geats. In this case, he reminds the Danes of his noble adventures of glory, knowing his destiny is to win every battle he has fought with a sense that it is all for glory alone. Beowulf full-on demonstrates the trait of honor in my personal code, and yet, I have a slight feeling that the epic poem alone may not just demonstrate a partition of my

Beowulf, now an old man, says in his final boast, “I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old, now, but I will fight again” (lines 607-609). Beowulf realizes the dangers of going into battle as an old man, and despite still knowing that his strength and fighting skills were not what they used to be still goes into battle against the ferocious dragon in order to protect his homeland from the villain. Unfortunately, as Beowulf was fighting saw that “for a time (the shield) held, protected Beowulf as he’d planned; then it began to melt, and for the first time in his life that famous prince fought with fate against him, with glory denied him. He knew it, but he raised his sword and struck at the dragon’s scaly hide/And the Geats’ ring-giver did not boast of glorious victories in other wars” (lines 666-671/678). As Beowulf fights the dragon, he comes to realize that he is not going to win and is going to meet his fate. All the battles he had previously fought had him fighting alongside fate, not against it, but now he realized that this is the battle he would not win. Still, Beowulf fights on knowing he would die. He, as stated in the quote, does not seek any pride nor has he in any of his battles and would valiantly fight until his death. These actions Beowulf has portrayed ultimately

Finally, after many years, Beowulf goes on to face his final opponent; the Dragon. After the Dragon has been set on a rampage against the Geats, Beowulf declares in his last boast that, selfishly, he will defeat the Dragon alone, “Beowulf spoke, made a formal boast for the last time: I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning” (2510-14). Beowulf’s emphasis in his formal boast is about “the glory of winning” instead of expressing concern for his people. Beowulf, this entire time, has not been fighting monsters for the Geats or to help others. In this formal boast he directly reveals his true intentions of gaining glory. He even states right afterwards that if he were stronger he would fight the dragon without a weapon, just as he did Grendel, “I would rather not use a weapon if I knew any other way” (2518-19), but alas he has grown old and realizes he needs the help of a blade to slay the Dragon. Then he speaks to his comrades about the battle, stating that he alone will fight the Dragon and must either win the fight with courage or

The world as it is depicted in Beowulf is home to many aspects of society that are at odds with behaviors acceptable in modern culture, but perhaps shares a startling number of similarities as well. As part of the Anglo-Saxon society, the concept of loyalty is imbued into the seams of the civilization, and allegiance can be found split between lords and kin. Tales concerning themselves with eternal human problems are not few and far between in Beowulf—given that it is an epic poem—and antithesis governs the flow of the narrative. In the midst of the battles raging between evil and good, heroes and villains, mourning and glory, and victory and defeat, death is omnipresent, constantly looming and prompting men to drift towards their swords. This is a society in which chances for a clean slate—a tabula rasa—are minimal, and every action is chiseled in stone, forever etched into eternity. During a time period when very little is certain, the only guarantee of being remembered, of having your name go down stamped with your identity, is through heroism and action. Boasting is a means through which one can build a reputation for himself, planting his name into his opponents’ heads and setting a foundation for success. It remains a skill to be used prudently, though, as overstating and misrepresenting one’s abilities has the great potential to yield adverse repercussions.

Beowulf takes on leadership positions in a variety of contexts, such as guiding King Hrothgar, or when “the precious gifts you gave me, My Friend, send them to Higlac. May he see in their golden brightness the Greats’ Greats lord”. His leadership is marked by a trifecta of humility, knowledge, and strength. By leaving all his belongings with his people to use instead of being buried with him. Beowulf shows how important it is to set an example for others, and he motivates them to follow in his footsteps.

In the epic Beowulf, the author establishes the Anglo-Saxons view of wealth and treasure as a something worth acquiring and going to ward in order to attain more wealth. To be considered good, a king would possess a large assortment of “far-fetched treasures” (36). However, just controlling this treasure would not automatically earn a king the title of “ring-holder”. A leader also had to be willing to dispense their wealth to those in their court or their father’s court (21) and to “dispense [their] God-given goods to old and young” (70-71). They would do this to buy the allegiance and loyalty of their warriors and nobles to keep their throne or to ascend peacefully to their rightful place after the death of their father the king. For instance, Beow did so while his father was alive so that if or when

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf touches on the vice of pride, and is instilled in the main character, Beowulf, the great and mighty warrior. His boasting and arrogance when first dropping anchor at Heorot transitions throughout the poem, and, in contrast with his ideal kingsmanship, motivates him to accomplish and overcome the many challenges he faces as an epic hero. The contrast of his absent humility in the rise and fall of the story help promote the progression of the story, through its different purposes. Beowulf, when first landing upon Hrothgar’s kingdom, boasts, which does not go unchallenged, so that he might gain the trust of the Danes, but when knowingly facing his last battle, uses bragging to comfort and brace himself for his ultimate demise.

Beowulf was a good king. He wasn’t greedy or mean or selfish, he put his people first. And it’s evident in the fact that he went to fight the dragon himself, when he could’ve got some other “hero” to do it. “...he saw nothing to fear, thought nothing of the beast’s claws,

Beowulf is a man who desires to help the kingdoms around him with monsters they face. He has fought with sea monsters, ending their reign in the seas with ease, and he has taken on the task of ending Grendel’s rule over Herot, the mead-hall that belongs to an ally kingdom. He has taken on these challenges for the sake of helping the kingdom, however, at the end of chapter twenty-one it is said that, “Only Beowulf would risk his life in that lake; Unferth was afraid, gave up that chance to work wonders and win glory and a hero’s fame,” (Burton 64), hinting that he has also done it for the glory and treasure he will get in payment for his deeds. In chapter

“[Beowulf is] is recognized … as an embodiment of the contradictory nature of heroic ideals” (Wanner. Page 2). Beowulf’s religiously following of the Comitatus leads him to his doom. Beowulf’s lust for fame and hubris lead him to break the code of Comitatus. Beowulf as a king was supposed to let new heroes at the time take care of the dragon. Instead, he gets severely injured by the dragon because of his huge ego and pride to slay the dragon alone. Ironically, at the end Beowulf would not have even killed the dragon without help from the emerging hero Wiglaf. At the end Beowulf breaks the code he followed by heart only to be shown at his death, that one must remember their rank in the feudal

The scene in Beowulf when main character Beowulf proclaims the reasonings he felt to go protect the Geats suggests among the Spear-Danes classification as a warrior related with proving loyalty in the form of self-sacrifice. Additionally, I will argue in what follows that other scenes in the poem, such as, Wiglaf giving the speech on what amounts of cowardice behavior proves respect came from an urgency for loyalty proven through self-sacrificing methods. However, I will argue on top of loyalty being expressed as important it was not matter of want for Beowulf to sacrifice himself but his understood purpose. Influentially, a tension is formed between how reputation and loyalty is defined throughout the poem. The passage I will analyze is when Beowulf is speaking in the mead hall about urgency to be loyal towards the Geats right before Grendel attacks the hall. Here in Beowulf dictates that in order to be a good warrior he knew it was necessary to go to sea to defend the Geats which would entail him having to go extremes to prove his loyalty. Beowulf’s urgency suggests the believable notion that loyalty is necessary to survive in this society even when it means a warrior would sacrifice his own life for others. This in makes it difficult to withstand the belief that reputation was as important as loyalty.

The deeper meaning of this quote signifies that Beowulf’s fame and glory through the representation of his “wealth” has continued on into the so-called “afterlife”. As the wealth continues on with him to his grave, Beowulf’s heroic deeds will live on as his story is passed on in time. Ultimately, the essence of riches and praise is displayed through the values of self-sacrifice and honor which is seen as a definitive goal throughout the Anglo-Saxon culture.

Many readers of the poem Beowulf may find it difficult to distinguish the 'good' kings from the rest – indeed, almost every man who holds a throne in the epic is named at one point or another to be 'good'. By examining the ideals of the time period as identified by the 'heroic code', it becomes clearer that a truly 'good' king is one who generously distributes treasure and weaponry to deserving retainers to honour courage and strength displayed in battle and to encourage the defense of the kingdom (Intro). When Beowulf ascends the throne of the Geats, the heroic traits of courage and strength for which he was so highly praised as a warrior do not serve well in making him a good king. Indeed, by exhibiting the traits of a thane, that is, by

There are several ways that people can get through their lives. The most obvious and simple way to see it is by waking up every morning and going about each and every day. However, the more complex way to see it is how people get through their life mentally and emotionally. Most people set goals to try and get to something they want to accomplish. These goals are connected to motivation. Motivation is a way people move themselves forward when objectives seem to be impossible to get to. For example, graduating college, or buying a house. The article, Why Motivation Is Important in Life even claims, “Without motivation, you can’t achieve anything,” (Mellema). In the story, Beowulf, a heroic character, Beowulf encounters several obstacles in which he must maneuver through. The long poem was written by authors that are still unknown. Although, it was created by stories that were orally told and one day, someone or a group of people, wrote the stories down to create one, moving story. Beowulf has to defeat three terrible and frightening monsters throughout the story. He was not, however, told to defeat any of these monsters. In the story Beowulf, the all mighty Beowulf has many motivations to help him defeat these brutal creatures; which include: his duty, becoming a hero, and being forever remembered for his actions.

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.