Beowulf Epic Hero

794 Words4 Pages
The literary term “epic hero” fits Beowulf perfectly. An epic hero is a brave character in a long narrative poem. On Beowulf’s mother side, he was born to a royal family in Geatland which lead to him being an epic hero. On his father’s side, he was born to a noble house of warriors. Epic heroes also have great abilities and are appreciated by their noble acts. They are known for achieving great events. These heroes have to be willing to sacrifice their lives for others in need. The hero is usually the protagonist in the poem, which is the main character. Epic poems are told in a formal style of language. There are certain characteristics you have to meet in order to be considered an epic hero. Being courageous, strong, loyal to some leader,…show more content…
Beowulf didn’t go because he knew he would get money, but he went because of his courageousness and he wanted to help the Geats. Beowulf was not forced to go and fight battles. He was being a good leader and volunteered to go and lead. Since Beowulf has been successful in the past, he felt it was only precise for him to help out the Geats and kill Grendel. When Beowulf went to fight Grendel, he fought almost naked meaning that he barely had any protection on. Beowulf didn’t expect anything in reward for helping out the Geats. Beowulf had to be brave enough to go against his enemies knowing that his own life would be in danger. Knowing that the dragon is more powerful than he is, he still did not back down from slaughtering the dragon. Beowulf is showing how brave he is by not giving up. Dragons are usually harder to kill. Even though Beowulf lost his life defeating the dragon, he still did not give up until the dragon was completely killed. Killing the dragon shows how strong and courageous Beowulf really is because others walked out on him but he did not stop until the end. Beowulf knew that his sword could not defeat the dragon he decided to fight anyways because that’s how much courage he has. By him being able to carry the sword, also shows Beowulf’s strength that not just a normal human has. Wiglaf saw that Beowulf was struggling trying to defeat the dragon. Wiglaf stepped in and helped him but didn’t

More about Beowulf Epic Hero

Open Document