Beowulf's Heroic Traits

People know what to look for in a hero. Whether it be pride, happiness, strength, or integrity, people generally have at least somewhat of an inkling on what makes a hero. In this poem, “Beowulf,” translated from Old English by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf is a typical hero. The son of Ecgtheow, Beowulf is a famous Geat warrior who valiantly fights off the horrid monsters Grendel and Grendel’s mother. He gains attention and fame for his courageous actions, and he does not get too overly confident about them. With this passage from the poem, Beowulf recklessly dives in the water to fight Grendel’s mother and encounters her strength. Grendel, a descendant of Cain, who committed the first-ever murder in human history, has been killing men remorselessly until Beowulf bravely steps in to fight him and defeats him on the spot. Grendel’s mother, (who is the monster Beowulf battles within this passage), is enraged by the fact that someone has dared to kill her son. Do not test a mother’s love for her child. He is dragged down underwater and our hero is seemingly in a tight position. Through this passage, Beowulf is proved to have the true makings of a hero. He is an exemplification of the qualities that defined a hero in his time: he is strong, fearless, and proves himself to be both selfless and generous to friend and foe alike.
What most people look for in a good hero is selflessness and generosity. This trait is common even in modern day superheroes; Spiderman saves the city with no compensation, Captain America fights against the evil organization with no request for anything in return, and even Thor does not ask for anything in return when he saves the human race from the outside threat of his younger brother, Loki. Beowulf easily slides in with these well-known modern day heroes; as our hero readies for war, he tells all who are listening to and Hrothgar to “send Hygelac the treasures I received” (1483) if he falls in battle (Hygelac is is king and uncle). Even Unferth, the famous warrior who dared to openly criticize Beowulf as Beowulf gave his speech on how he was going to defeat Grendel, will receive something of real value: Beowulf’s own “sharp-honed, wave sheened wonderblade” (1490). It’s clear that Beowulf acknowledges that he is not immortal, and that he can be harmed and killed in battle. Part of the passage above speaks clearly on how Beowulf selflessly gives his prized possessions away. It’s almost as if Beowulf is writing his will in case if he falls in battle with Grendel’s mother. Beowulf is only entitled to a debt that his father owed to the King of the Danes, and by killing Grendel without asking for anything in return, he has more than enough repaid his debt that his father still owed to the great king (his father’s life was spared by Hrothgar once. In the time period in which “Beowulf” is set in, debts that go unpaid are automatically passed on from father to son. Therefore, Beowulf has inherited the debt that his father, Ecgtheow, carried with him when he was alive). While proving he has the characteristics of a hero, he selflessly risks his life and puts it on the line for the greater good and does not demand any compensation in return. In addition, these selfless actions can also be considered as generosity. Even if it is for his own will, this act of generosity, like giving his own prized sword to a man who publicly insulted him not too long ago, does not go unnoticed. It’s inarguable that a man who requests that his treasures be given to a man who does not appreciate him and his king is a man who is generous and has a lot of good-will. True heroes should all share this quality, or they cannot be considered to be heroes at all. The mere fact that Beowulf is willing to give up his life for others is both generous and selfless. Clearly, Beowulf displays the excellent quality of selflessness and generosity that all heroes should have.
Another quality that Beowulf carries is fearlessness. Again, (relating this trait to modern day heroes), Sherlock Holmes definitely displays the quality of fearlessness as he solves dangerous crimes. The Doctor from Doctor Who shares these qualities as he faces numerous space monsters (while saving damsels in distress and Earth as an added bonus). Beowulf, a true hero, is no exception to this rule of boldness. As he leaps fearlessly into Grendel mother’s lair deep underneath the water, the author makes readers realize that even getting to the lair of the demon itself is a daunting task, the lair is deep underwater in a lake. Beowulf clearly displays his fearlessness at daunting tasks because as he rushes to meet Grendel’s mother he is described as “impatient to be away” in fighting the monster (1493). Obviously, not everyone can dive into a deep, dark lake with an angry mother demon waiting to kill them knowing that they might not get out of it alive. Not only that, but throughout this passage, Grendel’s mother is portrayed as a fearsome beast:
So she lunged and clutched and managed to catch him in her brutal grip; but his body, for all that, remained unscathed: the mesh of the chain-mail saved him on the outside. Her savage talons failed to rip the web of his warshirt. (1501-1505).
We can see here that Grendel’s mother is portrayed as a violent creature with a “brutal grip”; Beowulf barely manages to escape from her evil grasp. This relates to Beowulf’s fearlessness because he knew what he was getting himself into before he entered this battle. Yet, despite the consequences, he choses to grapple with Grendel’s mother and is able to because he has confidence in his own power, and he is fearless in the sense that he is not afraid to go against all odds. Especially, when Grendel’s mother drags him down into the depths of the lake, “[the] gallant man/could see he had entered some hellish turn-hole” (1515-1516), and yet he still fights on. Heaney also does an excellent translation of the epic “Beowulf”. He includes brilliant epithets to hint at Beowulf’s bravery. Beowulf is referred to the “prince of the Weather-Geats” (1492). When one thinks of a prince, one immediately thinks of a gallant, handsome, and fearless man who is out to do good to his kingdom as well as the world. Beowulf is again called different names, like “the ring-mailed prince” (1507), referring to the fact that he is wearing chainmail in preparation to fight Grendel’s mother, and he is also referred to as “the gallant man” (1512) while he is dragged underwater, again hinting at his bravery and boldness in his situation. In addition, Heaney’s excellent use of diction proves to readers, yet again, that Beowulf is fearless:
...and a bewildering horde came at him from the depths, droves of sea-beasts who attacked with tusks and tore at his chain-mail in ghastly onslaught. The gallant man could see he had entered some hellish turn-hole (1512-1516)
While using words like ‘bewildering horde’ and the excellent use of compound words like ‘sea-beasts’, both Heaney and the author prove to readers that the challenges Beowulf faces are not that of the average man, hinting at the fact that Beowulf has superhuman strength as well as bravery. The mere fact that Beowulf does this deed without bribery or compensation shows his bravery and integrity. Beowulf’s courage and ability to dive into dangerous situations without fear is something readers all should look up to. Truly, Beowulf’s fearlessness is most certainly a trait that one should look for in a hero. In addition, Beowulf is a hero because he has superhuman traits. When one thinks of superhero, they must think of superhuman abilities at some point. Great modern day heroes such as Superman, Black Widow, and Iron Man (and much more!) may not share much in character, but they have at least one trait that they share; superhuman ability. Beowulf, as a hero, is no exception to this. Surely, a man who can wrestle a monster as great as Grendel’s mother is not a normal human. Beowulf’s actions in this passage, especially, suggest that he is not your typical warrior. When Beowulf swims, the author’s tells us that it “was the best part of a day/before he could see the solid bottom,” (1498-1499). Obviously, no human can hold their breath that long, let alone swim for that long in the deep depths of a lake. Yet, Beowulf somehow miraculously manages to accomplish both these feats in one go. In addition, Beowulf is then dragged down to the depths of Grendel’s mother’s lair, and a “bewildering horde/came at him from the depths” (1514-1515) and “droves of sea-beasts/who attacked with tusks and tore at his chain-mail” (1515-1516), but yet “the water did not work against him,” (1517). As shown, Beowulf lives on despite all the challenges that he faces during his epic battle, he still fights on. In spite of all the odds that Beowulf faces, he is able to surpass these obstacles (such as the ‘droves of sea-beasts’ and the water,) due to his super abilities. His superhuman strength makes him a hero because not only is he selfless and uses it for the greater good of all the people, but also because his superhuman strength saves him time and time again from all the ominous dangers that he expectedly and unexpectedly faces during his fights with monsters and beings that are superhuman themselves. Essentially, Beowulf possesses superhuman traits that only help him become what one would call a hero.
During his battles with Grendel and his mother, Beowulf displays qualities admired in heroes today and in Anglo-Saxon culture. Not only is he both selfless and generous, but he also fearless and has superhuman traits that make him a person one can definitely call a ‘hero’ in both Anglo-Saxon times as well as modern times. His pure motivations, conviction to protect the peace, and promotion of honor make him admirable to any reader. This epic appeals to people because Beowulf is a hero whose motives can be understood by anyone from any time period.