Beowulf Paper
Emmett Kitchens
English IV
Ms. Buuck
15 September 2014
Beowulf Paper Beowulf is an old Anglo-Saxon epic that was told for thousands through oral tradition and eventually written down by the early Christians. The early Christian writers added religious themes such as Beowulf thanking god for his strength or the monster Grendel is a descendent from the biblical character Cain. Many of the stories written around this time were epics which are long poems where the hero, who often has some semi-divine traits, must defeat must defeat some supernatural threat. The classic epic Beowulf fits these criteria because Beowulf’s actions require unnerving courage, supernatural strength, and throughout the book supernatural forces seem to intervene. One of the characteristics of Beowulf that makes it an epic story is Beowulf’s unwavering courage in the face of danger. One special thing about Beowulf’s courage is that it is not just blind arrogance; the reader can tell that there are times in the story where Beowulf realizes the danger of the situation but goes forward because he knows it is the right thing to do. “If I should fall/ and suffer death while serving your cause.” (Beowulf lines 1477-1478) Beowulf states showing the reader that he acknowledges the danger of going into the cave in the mire but continues to do it anyway for the safety Herot. Through the majority of the Epic Beowulf is very careful about letting his courage turn into over confidence until he reaches his last fight with the dragon where he is able to defeat the dragon, but at the cost of his own life. Beowulf’s eventual downfall due to overconfidence also is due to his inhuman strength, which helped him defeat all of the monsters in the book. Another characteristic of Beowulf that aided him in defeating his enemies is his supernatural strength. Throughout the novel the reader may have noted how many times Beowulf seems to pull off physical feats that seem impossible to any normal human being.
English IV
Ms. Buuck
15 September 2014
Beowulf Paper Beowulf is an old Anglo-Saxon epic that was told for thousands through oral tradition and eventually written down by the early Christians. The early Christian writers added religious themes such as Beowulf thanking god for his strength or the monster Grendel is a descendent from the biblical character Cain. Many of the stories written around this time were epics which are long poems where the hero, who often has some semi-divine traits, must defeat must defeat some supernatural threat. The classic epic Beowulf fits these criteria because Beowulf’s actions require unnerving courage, supernatural strength, and throughout the book supernatural forces seem to intervene. One of the characteristics of Beowulf that makes it an epic story is Beowulf’s unwavering courage in the face of danger. One special thing about Beowulf’s courage is that it is not just blind arrogance; the reader can tell that there are times in the story where Beowulf realizes the danger of the situation but goes forward because he knows it is the right thing to do. “If I should fall/ and suffer death while serving your cause.” (Beowulf lines 1477-1478) Beowulf states showing the reader that he acknowledges the danger of going into the cave in the mire but continues to do it anyway for the safety Herot. Through the majority of the Epic Beowulf is very careful about letting his courage turn into over confidence until he reaches his last fight with the dragon where he is able to defeat the dragon, but at the cost of his own life. Beowulf’s eventual downfall due to overconfidence also is due to his inhuman strength, which helped him defeat all of the monsters in the book. Another characteristic of Beowulf that aided him in defeating his enemies is his supernatural strength. Throughout the novel the reader may have noted how many times Beowulf seems to pull off physical feats that seem impossible to any normal human being.