Beowulf the Epic Hero

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In the end Beowulf is always displaying courage and is continually fighting for glory. He is now the king and leader of his people, and as he prepares to go into battle with the dragon he explains “Now that I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning” (2512-2514). Beowulf no longer needs to prove that he is an epic hero however; he is in search for his one last victorious battle that is going to display his glory. One thing that sets Beowulf apart as an epic hero was his courage to never back down from a battle. He understood that this battle could very well lead to his death and he had the power to order armies of men to go and defeat this dragon, but Beowulf chooses to fight the dragon himself. Beowulf is heroic up until the end of his life stating to the men before battle, “This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth. I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear our lord away” (2535-2537).

Beowulf was one of the great epic heroes during the Anglo-Saxon Era and he continued to prove this up until his final battle. He gave his life in service for his people proving that he was the epic hero that they needed. Beowulf was the epic hero and displayed this continually with endless generosity, strength, leadership and courage.

Works Cited

Beowulf. Trans. Seamus Heaney. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. Vol. A. Norton, 2012, pp. 36-108.