Beowulf As Anglo Saxon Hero

A typical Anglo-Saxon hero has the qualities of bravery, courage, pride, and honor. The epic poem “Beowulf” is the story of a famous Anglo-Saxon hero that displays all of the specific qualities. Throughout the novel, Beowulf expresses all of these heroic traits to portray him as an Anglo-Saxon hero. When the story of Beowulf is first introduced, the people feel honored that he has come to their land to fight for them. They proclaim, “To give us your pledge and rescue us at honor's call, my friend Beowulf, you have come to us”. As an Anglo-Saxon Hero, one must be admired by his people, as shown here by this example. The fact that the people say that they are honored that Beowulf has come to them, shows that he means more to them than just any other warrior, he is a hero.
A hero must be loved by his people, and the people love Beowulf.
He is given so much by his people because they adore him so much and it is said that “[Beowulf] is showered with gifts and jewels wear these bright jewels, belovèd Beowulf enjoy them...oh fortunate young warrior; grow richer, let your fame and your strength go hand in hand” Beowulf is seen so famously, that people give him the best treatment. They shower him with gifts, all because of his strength, glory and heroism. A hero must be famous, but must also be able to backup the reason why he got to be so well liked. The dragon is so feared amongst the people, and then along came Beowulf, willing to fight it. It was said that, “His spirit did not break and the ancestral blade would keep its edge, as the dragon discovered as soon as they came together.” Beowulf knew the likelihood of him making out from the battle with the dragon alive were very slim. What makes him a hero is the fact that he went and killed the dragon, and died so that the people no longer had to worry about it. That is true courage. A hero also takes pride in his people and making them
satisfied. This can be seen when Beowulf says, “When we crossed the sea, my comrades and I, I already knew that all my purpose was this: to win the goodwill of your people or die in battle.” A hero, Beowulf proclaims that he knew as he approached the land, he was there to please the people or do trying, and he did so. Being a hero, a bit of cockiness and arrogance is needed, and Beowulf has that. He will back down to no challenge and will do anything he is faced with. When Grendel is mentioned, Beowulf states that "Grendel is no braver, no stronger than I am! I could kill him with my sword; I shall not, easy as it would be.” Here, Beowulf shows lof, another Anglo-Saxon heroic quality. He is so confident that he makes comments like this one to show he is scared of no one, especially Grendel. Because of his actions throughout the epic poem that display his heroic traits, Beowulf be seen as an Anglo-Saxon Hero.