Beowulf As An Epic Hero

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The epic poem Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, is the story of a legendary warrior from the Anglo Saxon era. He is called upon to eradicate the evil monster Grendel from King Hrothgar’s land. After his quest is complete he finds himself, many years later, as the king of the land, but a new evil has risen in the form of a dragon and it must be dealt with. During this time, the Anglo Saxon’s values and lifestyles were very different than todays. Their values consisted of bravery, friendship, generosity, and loyalty to each other. Their lifestyles were as the king, farmers, warriors or slaves. Beowulf exemplified the meaning of being an epic hero by showing his bravery to kill the mightiest of foes, his commitment to his king, and generosity…show more content…
One of his most difficult encounters with battling a monster was when he was asked to kill Grendel. King Hrothgar’s men were being decimated by this threat, and only one man could complete this task. Grendel was immune to any human made weapon, and only Beowulf knew of this knowledge. He tore off Grendel’s arm off and the threat was finally over. “Grendel snatched at the first Geat He came to, ripped him apart, cut His body to bits with powerful jaws, Drank the blood from his veins, and bolted Him down, hands and feet; death And Grendel’s great teeth came together, snapping life shut.” (Raffel…show more content…
It was full of golds and riches to the top of the cave. Overwhelmed with all the precious metal around him, he took a goblet. Enraged, the dragon woke and began to seek out the thief and destroy him. Beowulf and his army went to the battlegrounds, ready for his last battle. With all the strength the dragon beheld, it managed to injure him severely. Wiglaf, a magnificent warrior, looked at the old king, and knew he would need help this time. “Together Beowulf and the young Wiglaf kill the dragon, but the old king is fatally wounded. Beowulf, thinking of his people, asks to see the monster’s treasure. Wiglaf enters the dragon’s cave and finds a priceless hoard of jewels and gold.” (Raffel

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