Beowulf was a very highly decorated hero of his own time that every individuals considered him as a legend. He had accomplished a lot of adventures particularly slaying demonic creatures that were quite impossible for mere mortals to defeat.
Although, Beowulf was also just a mortal man no different from any other people around who has his own strong and weakness. On this post, let’s cover his heroic characteristics that made him so great but also caused his own downfall.
Bravery and Courage
Beowulf possess the characteristic of “bravery and courage” where he won’t back down from his foe. Whenever he came face-to-face against a monster, he never thinks twice but immediately engage into a fight while being full of “confidence” in winning the battle.
Being brave and courageous are indeed an important characteristic of a hero. But without limitation, it could actually lead into a very risky act. Thus, Beowulf was too risky but he possess extreme kind of luck. Something similar to what they call as, “Survival Instinct”.
Loyalty
Beowulf’s loyalty can be observed by how he treated his men by choosing to sleep along with them rather than to rest at a place offered by the king. His loyalty to king Hrothgar can also be observed by offering his aid to slay Grendel.
Superhuman Strength
The 2007 Beowulf movie shows that the hero doesn’t seem to possess super human strength. But in the original poem, he had such incredible strength where he displayed it by ripping Grendel’s arm with his own bare hands. Aside from his strength, he also has the capability to hold his breath for an insane amount of time. The movie shows a good portrayal on this aspect of Beowulf’s inhuman capability.
Fair and Justly
The hero was also known for his characteristic as being “fair and justly”. He won’t face an opponent if he had an advantage. So when he fought Grendel, Beowulf used his bare hands. In the movie, he went to the extent of getting naked.
Faith or Strong Belief in God
In the movie, Beowulf claimed that he was being protected by the gods which is plural. So he must had been referring to the Roman gods. But in the original poem, the hero often gives references to the Christian God particularly right after being victorious over his enemies.
A Hero will always be a Hero until the end
When Beowulf got old and became the king of “Spare Dane or Hearot” kingdom, he finally decided to retire from his adventures especially from slaying demonic creatures. But at an unfortunate event, a dragon came to attack his kingdom. In the movie, Wiglaf already warned him that they were too old to go and hunt for monsters. Despite of his friend’s warning, he still insisted of stopping the dragon.
Beowulf has this characteristic about being too risky which is already mentioned above, that he doesn’t care about himself as long as he can save others. The movie shown that the hero died from a great fall along with the dragon. While in the original poem, he got poisoned by the dragon. After being able to kill the flying creature, he later died from his poisoned wound.
Moreover, there are still many other characteristics of Beowulf but those that are mentioned on this post were his major qualities of being heroic known by many.
Although, Beowulf was also just a mortal man no different from any other people around who has his own strong and weakness. On this post, let’s cover his heroic characteristics that made him so great but also caused his own downfall.
Bravery and Courage
Beowulf possess the characteristic of “bravery and courage” where he won’t back down from his foe. Whenever he came face-to-face against a monster, he never thinks twice but immediately engage into a fight while being full of “confidence” in winning the battle.
Being brave and courageous are indeed an important characteristic of a hero. But without limitation, it could actually lead into a very risky act. Thus, Beowulf was too risky but he possess extreme kind of luck. Something similar to what they call as, “Survival Instinct”.
Loyalty
Beowulf’s loyalty can be observed by how he treated his men by choosing to sleep along with them rather than to rest at a place offered by the king. His loyalty to king Hrothgar can also be observed by offering his aid to slay Grendel.
Superhuman Strength
The 2007 Beowulf movie shows that the hero doesn’t seem to possess super human strength. But in the original poem, he had such incredible strength where he displayed it by ripping Grendel’s arm with his own bare hands. Aside from his strength, he also has the capability to hold his breath for an insane amount of time. The movie shows a good portrayal on this aspect of Beowulf’s inhuman capability.
Fair and Justly
The hero was also known for his characteristic as being “fair and justly”. He won’t face an opponent if he had an advantage. So when he fought Grendel, Beowulf used his bare hands. In the movie, he went to the extent of getting naked.
Faith or Strong Belief in God
In the movie, Beowulf claimed that he was being protected by the gods which is plural. So he must had been referring to the Roman gods. But in the original poem, the hero often gives references to the Christian God particularly right after being victorious over his enemies.
A Hero will always be a Hero until the end
When Beowulf got old and became the king of “Spare Dane or Hearot” kingdom, he finally decided to retire from his adventures especially from slaying demonic creatures. But at an unfortunate event, a dragon came to attack his kingdom. In the movie, Wiglaf already warned him that they were too old to go and hunt for monsters. Despite of his friend’s warning, he still insisted of stopping the dragon.
Beowulf has this characteristic about being too risky which is already mentioned above, that he doesn’t care about himself as long as he can save others. The movie shown that the hero died from a great fall along with the dragon. While in the original poem, he got poisoned by the dragon. After being able to kill the flying creature, he later died from his poisoned wound.
Moreover, there are still many other characteristics of Beowulf but those that are mentioned on this post were his major qualities of being heroic known by many.
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