Theme of Bravery in The Poem of Beowulf

Epic hero’s that are in poems and stories all have something in common which is having hero characteristics or traits. Having great bravery, strength, wisdom, caring and intelligence is some of the traits a hero has. One of the many epic hero’s is the character played in “Beowulf”, which was made around 750 but the author remains unknown. Beowulf was a hero who was known for having strength and courage when it came to putting his people first and fought for them. Beowulf was a humanitarian because he took the initiative on taking on battles that no other person could’ve been able to survive.

One of the major reasons on why I believe that Beowulf is a humanitarian is because of his instant reaction when he heard about what grendel had done. In page 46 on line 113 it was said he “quickly commanded a boat fitted out”. It shows how quick he was to want to go out to Herot and do whatever he could to help them in need. He sailed across the sea to see Hrothgar which is the king. He took all the mightiest men he could find with him and went off on his voyage.

A hero has an initial instinct to care for their people and have strength and courage which is what Beowulf had. Beowulf decided to take on the battle to defeat grendel. When he was waiting for grendel in herot, he made the choice to fight without a weapon because he thought his Lord Higlac would think of him less if he hid behind his shield. He decided god would be the one to decide who would be given deaths cold grip. That showed that he wasn’t afraid of grendel and believed in all his strength to defeat grendel, which he did. His heroic instinct was to care for others and protect them no matter the circumstances.

Another reason Beowulf is an epic hero and a humanitarian is because of all the battles he went through when he didn’t have to do any of them. In page 46 line 110 and 111 it is said that Beowulf is, “Strongest of the geats” and “ stronger than anyone anywhere in this world”. Which is why I also believe kept beowulf want to keep fighting for his people so he can continue to remain with that title. The battles were extremely violent and deadly but beowulf fought through every single one of them using all his strength.

For example he even picked up a sword that was made by the giants that no other could pick up but him. He worked hard to find ways to defeat all the monsters because he put his people’s welfare before his own. That is the reason why i can see his point of view on showing his people pieces of the monsters that he would defeat. One was holding the head and an arm of another to show others his bravery, not in a wanting to show off way but in a wanting to have recognition and being proud type of way.

Every hero shows tears that make them a true hero but two of the most important in my opinion is having wisdom and bravery. One way beowulf shows his wisdom is when he was in the battle against grendel. He didn’t want to let go of grendel’s arm until he saw it was detached from his body. He knew if he would’ve let go he would’ve died and grendel would’ve lived and would continue to hurt his people. He kept going until he won the battle. He thought carefully and knew he was risking his life but wanted to make the right choice for his society.

The other trait was having bravery which is definitely something beowulf has. He went out to fight against monsters on his own without constantly having warriors defend him. In the battle against grendel he had made the choice of fighting bare handed knowing he could lose but still didn’t want to go without a fight. Another time is when he was in his older aha and still went out to fight for his people against a dragon. His men had fled and left him there while he stayed to defeat the dragon. He didn’t let fear get in the way of stopping him. His bravery was shown and known in many ways with him constantly risking his life and even got killed for his bravery all because he wanted his people to be safe and taken care of.

Briefly, he always put his people’s welfare first over his own. He wasn’t forced to go and battle against so many monsters but he did it out of caring for his kind and wanting them safe. He may have seemed like a glory seeker to others but he was only showing his proudness and courage after he would defeat monsters. There’s always a different perspective in a story and it’s important to try to view both sides.

Beowulf in my opinion is a humanitarian with his kindness and bravery in all the battles he was in just to give his people peace. In life in the present, many people assume that someone is showing off what they have whether it’s with money, buying materialistic items or even doing well in education. In reality multiple people want to have that feeling of having others proud for your hard work and being recognized. Seeing a different perspective really does change the true meaning behind a story and the outcome of what was thought of over what it really was

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