Heroism In Sir Gawain And The Green Knight

The basic definition of a hero is an individual who carries out acts of bravery and who shows great courage as well as strength of character. People look up to heroes because of the noble and the brave things that they have done in the years of their lifetime. Heroism is a dominant theme in Middle Age literature works. The epic poem Beowulf, the classic tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the classic tale Morte d’Arthur feature characters that possess the qualities of a hero. In Beowulf, the main character Beowulf comes across as an ideal king. He possesses such qualities as loyalty, courage, honor and valor and often fights to save others in need of assistance. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain represents several
Although the other two can also be considered to be heroes in one way or the other, they have several misdoings that discredit their heroic acts. In addition, some of their heroic acts border on their own selfish interests which leads to their downfall. Beowulf, on the other hand, comes across as a man of the people. His most famous heroic act is aimed at saving the common people from the beast, Grendel, who has wreaked havoc on them for a long time. Although he also seeks a reputation for himself, this is nevertheless not his main motivation for his heroic acts. An ideal hero is one who places his own life and reputation on the line for the sake of others, and this is exactly what Beowulf does. His selflessness and his courage makes the Geat people realize that he would be an ideal king, and they, therefore, make him one. Boasting was considered to be part of a hero’s actions. According to Murphy, “The man who vowed to do a certain heroic deed was often the man who could and did boast about heroic deeds already achieved; the man who boasted about deeds performed could be expected to perform heroically again” (Murphy 105). His actions here are therefore