The Heroic Transformation Of Beowulf

The Heroic Transformation of Beowulf The poem Beowulf presents the transformation of Beowulf from a brave warrior to an honorable King. The evolution of Beowulf shows how he fulfills his obligations to the warrior’s heroic code and then transcends into a King who loyally protects his Kingdom. Beowulf’s transformation is shown through a progression of three increasingly more difficult conflicts he must overcome- first with Grendel, then Grendel’s mother and finally against the mighty dragon. These three events are seen "as the three agons in the hero 's life"(Chickering 64). Through these adverse events Beowulf will change from brave young warrior to noble King. This paper will examine the manifestation of heroism in the poem Beowulf and also consider how Christianity may also have affected Beowulf’s transition from warrior to king. In the time of Beowulf there were well-defined social duties and expectation in tribal societies. The warriors had a heroic code that dictated the warrior’s moral code and the individual was either compliant or in violation of the code (Lawrence 29). Warriors were expected to be loyal, brave, and fearless in order for their warrior status to prevail for all time. Beowulf was considered "the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful"(196-198). The King also had obligations to his subjects and was expected to act with generosity and reward his warriors (known as thanes) with valuable gifts for their sacrifices and success in battle. King Hrothgar was known as the ‘ring-giver’ and bestowed lavish gifts on Beowulf and the other warriors when they defeated the monster Grendel who had terrorized the Danes (Chickering 245). These social codes existed because they contributed to a stable and protected society. The battle scenes in Beowulf also show a pattern of progression from simple battles to battles that require weaponry. The final battle becomes even more than a battle and requires that Beowulf sacrifice himself

Cited: Chickering, Howell D. Beowulf A Dual-language Ed. Transl. with an Introd. and Comm. by Howell D. Chickering., Jr. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Print. Lawrence, William Witherle. Beowulf and Epic Traditions. Hafner Publishing: New York, 1961.