Beowulf: The Legendary Hero Of The Millennium

Beowulf: The Legendary Hero of the Millennium
The worst and most feared monsters of the fen are coming for the people, and only one hero can stop them. The epic story Beowulf was originally written in Old English over one thousand years ago, and, since then, has been interpreted into many different versions. Throughout the story, the hero Beowulf defeats many feared enemies and is honored by people for his actions. In his homeland, he later becomes the king and defeats the Firedrake as his final deed to his people. In the novel Beowulf: A New Telling, Robert Nye introduces a version of Beowulf, a courageous and clever hero.
One of the qualities Nye gives Beowulf is courage. One moment when Beowulf shows his courage is when he volunteers
For instance, Beowulf is clever when he uses his bees to fight the Firedrake. When Beowulf tells his men to leave their swords but take the hives, none of them know what they are for, and “all [think] privately that Beowulf [has] gone mad” (96). This evidence shows that Beowulf is cunning when he uses the bees to defeat the Firedrake. The other soldiers want to use their swords to defeat the fire-breathing monster, which would cause many casualties. Nobody else knows or has any idea of what Beowulf is planning to do, which proves he is cunning and clever. Another event when Beowulf shows he is clever is when he is fighting Grendel’s mother. When Beowulf is fighting Grendel’s mother, he first tries to defeat her by using his sword. However, her skin is “too tough and scaly”, so he “[throws] the sword away” (68). Fighting Grendel’s mother, Beowulf quickly realizes that swords are useless against her after he swings at her tentacles. Other soldiers and warriors would most likely hold on to their swords, wanting to kill the demon with strength alone. Beowulf quickly catches on, and immediately knows that his sword is useless. It is evident that Beowulf is a clever and cunning