Ideal+Hero

= = =**Beowulf Embodies the Following Characteristics of an Ideal Hero:**= = = = = = = = =
 * =**immortality, legacy**=
 * ===Through his reputation for bravery, victory, and strength, Beowulf is kept alive well beyond his death. Even during his lifetime, Beowulf was known to be as strong as three men. Before his demise, Beowulf ordered a memorial to be built for him so he could be remembered by generations to come.===
 * "There was no one else like him alive. in his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful" (196-198)
 * "So every elder and experienced councilman among my people supported my resolve to come here to you, King Hrothgar, because all knew of my awesome strength. They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beasts, raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it upon themselves, I devastated them). Now I mean to be a match for Grendel, settle the outcome in single combat." (415-426)
 * "You have won renown: you are known to all men far and near, now and forever. Your sway is wide as the wind's home, as the sea around the cliffs." (1221-1224)
 * "Then the Geat people began to construct a mound on the headland, high and imposing, a marker that sailors could see from far away... It was their hero's memorial... They extolled his heroic nature and exploits and gave thanks for his greatness; which was the proper thing, for a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear and cherish his memory when the moment comes when he has to be conveyed from his bodily home." (3156-3176)
 * =**formidable in battle**=
 * ===Beowulf caused dread for all of his human opponents. The following quote illustrates the Hetware's fear of Beowulf after Hygelac is killed in Friesland.===
 * "There was little for the Hetware to be happy about as they shielded their faces and fighting on the ground began an earnest. With Beowulf against them, few could hope to return home." (2363-2366)
 * =**revered**=
 * ===Beowulf earned respect with each demon he defeated and each battle he won.===
 * "an embroidered banner; also breast-mail and a helmet; and a sword carried high, that was both precious object and token of honour" (1021-1023)
 * "They sang then and played to please the hero, words and music for their warrior prince,..." (1062-1063)
 * =**valor, courage**=
 * ===Valor is defined as"boldness or determination in facing great danger, esp. in battle " ([|source]) ===

There is no doubt that Beowulf proved himself to be the bravest of men first in the battle against Grendel, then against his mother, and finally with the dragon.
= =
 * "I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board, hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend" (436-440)
 * "...let us immediately set forth on the trail of this troll-dam. I guarantee you: she will not get away, not to dens under ground nor upland groves nor the ocean floor. She'll have nowhere to flee to." (1390-1394)
 * "So the noble prince proceeded undismayed up fells and screes, along narrow footpaths and ways where they were forced into single file, ledges on cliffs above lairs of water-monsters." (1408-1411)
 * =**selflessness**=
 * ===Beowulf shows his benevolent nature by coming to aid the Danes, even though they did not ask for help. Even after defeating Grendel and his mother, Beowulf promises the Danes that he will come to their side again in future times of trouble.===
 * "...I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend's clutches." (634-636)
 * "You have treated us well. If there is any favour on earth I can perform beyond deeds of arms I have done already, anything that would merit your affections more, I shall act, my lord, with alacrity. If ever I hear from across the ocean that people on your borders are threatening battle as attackers have done form time to time, I shall land with a thousand thanes at my back to help your cause" (1822-1830)
 * "No need to lament for long or lay out my body: if the battle take me, send back this breast-webbing that Weland fashioned and Hrethel gave me, to Lord Hygelace." (450-454)
 * =has faults: **thinks highly of self, boastful, proud**=
 * ===**We have all read the many instances in which Beowulf retells the stories of his battles. He comes back victorious, boasts about his feat, receives awards, and enjoys a feast in his honor.**===
 * "When I was younger, I had great triumphs" (408-409)
 * "We'd been children together and we grew up daring ourselves to outdo each other, boasting and urging each other to risk our lives on the sea" (535-538)
 * "However it occurred, my sword had killed nine sea-monsters. Such night dangers and hard ordeals I have never heard of nor of a man more desolate in surging waves" (574-576)
 * "So, son of Halfdane, prince of Shieldings, we are glad to bring this booty from the lake. It is a token of triumph and we tender it to you. I barely survived the battle under water. It was hard-fought, a desperate affair that could have gone badly; if God had not helped me, the outcome would have been quick and fatal.Then my moment came in combat and I struck the dwellers in that den. Next thing the damascened sword blade melted. I have wrestled the hilt from the enemies' hand, avenged the evil done to the Danes; it is what was due. And this I pledge, O prince of the Shieldings: you can sleep secure with your company of troops in Heorot Hall. Never need you fear for a single thane of your sept nation, young warriors or old, that laying waste of life that you and your people endured of yore" (1652-1676)
 * "What happened, Lord Hygelac, is hardly a secret any more among men in this world- myself and Grendel coming to grips on the very spot where he visited destruction on the Victory-Shieldings and violated life and limb, losses I avenged so no earthly offspring of Grendel's need ever boast of that bout before dawn, no matter how long the last of his evil family survives" (2000-2009)
 * "I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as a king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning..." (2511-2514)
 * =**victorious**=
 * ==="I came, I saw, I conquered", a famous quote by Julius Caesar could be interpreted into Beowulf's many triumphs. He came to the area of trouble (the land of the Danes or the towns destructed by the dragon), saw what was happening, and was victorious.===
 * "However it occurred, my sword had killed nine sea-monsters" (574-575)
 * "...in the hand the hero displayed high up near the roof: the whole of Grendel's shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp" (833-835)
 * "In he came then...to address Hrothgar: his courage was proven, his glory was secure. Grendel's head was hauled by the hair, dragged across the floor where the people were drinking, a horror for both queen and cpmpany to behold.They stared in awe. It was an astonishing sight" (1644-1650)
 * =**determined**=
 * ===**Beowulf was persistent in every battle and against every monster he was up against.**===
 * "Once again the king gathered his strength and drew a stabbing knife he carried on his belt, sharpened for battle. He stuck it deep into the dragons flank. Beowulf dealt it a deadly wound. They had killed the enemy, courage quelled his life; that pair of kinsmen, partners in nobility, had destroyed the foe. So every man should act, be at hand when needed; but now, for the king, this would be the last of his many labours and triumphs in the world." (2702-2711)
 * =dies in battle=
 * ===Beowulf was defeated by the dragon, just as the dragon was defeated by Beowulf.===
 * "Now the people's pride and love, the lord of the Geats, is laid on his deathbed, brought down by the dragon's attack" (2900-2902)
 * =not necessarily strongest, but bravest=
 * ===Although Beowulf is the strongest of men, he is also the bravest. He demonstrates this by bringing his thanes with him to each battle, but does not need their help (with the exception of Wiglaf )===
 * "The man whose name was known for courage, the Geat leader, answered them..." (340-342)
 * "He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all of its courage or strength, for he had kept going often in the past, through perils and ordeals of every sort, after he had purged Hrothgar's hall, triumphed in Heorot and beaten Grendel. He outgrappled the monster and his evil kin." (2345-2254)
 * =courteous=
 * ===Beowulf demonstrates his kindness and politeness throughout the poem. The first time is when he greets the Danish coastguard with respect. When Hrunting proves to be an unworthy sword, Beowulf returns it to Unferth by thanking him and saying that it was helpful, contrary to the purpose it actually served.===
 * "We belong by birth to the Geat people and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac. we come in good faith to find your lord and nation's shield, the son of Halfdane. Give us the right advice and direction. We have arrived here on a great errand to the lord of the Danes, and I believe therefore there should be nothing hidden or withheld between us" (260-272)
 * "Beowulf is my name. If your lord and master, the most renowned son of Halfdane, will hear me out and graciously allow me to greet him in person, I am ready and willing to report my errand" (343-347)
 * "He said he had found [Hrunting] a friend in battle and a powerful help; he put no blame on the blade's cutting edge. He was a considerate man." (1810-1812)
 * =purpose is to protect kingdom=
 * ===The purpose of an ideal hero is to protect their kingdom. Beowulf is said to be a good king and proves to be one when he saves his people from the menacing dragon.===
 * "[Beowulf] ruled it well for fifty winters, grew old and wise as warden of the land" (2208-2210)
 * "... leaving Beowulf to ascend the throne, to sit in majesty and rule over the Geats. He was a good king." (2388-2390)
 * =goes beyond commitment to own lord to help other peoples/lands=
 * ===The majority of the poem takes place in the land of the Danes. Beowulf is a Geat who sees it not only his purpose to defend his own people, but others in peril.===
 * "and so, my request, O King of Bright-Danes, dear prince of the Shielding, friend of the people and their ring of defence, my one request is that you won't refuse me, who have come this far, the privilege of purifying Heorot, with my own men to help me, and nobody else." (427-426)
 * =strength=
 * ===Beowulf is said to be as strong as three men and he demonstrates this by battling Grendel without weapons, then by being able to use a giant's sword to defeat his mother. The same sword breaks under Beowulf's immense strength when he strikes the dragon.===
 * "An ideal weapon...but so huge and heavy of itself only Beowulf could wield it in a battle" (1559-1562)
 * "When he wielded a sword, no matter how blooded and hard-edged the blade his hand was too strong, the stroke he dealt (I have heard) would ruin it." (2684-2688)