Most Heroic Of Traits Within Beowulf example essay topic

The story of Beowulf is one of courage, nobility, and heroism. Beowulf possesses each of these attributes both as a young prince and an elder king. These qualities allow him to become the honored king that he was, yet they also lead to his death. The story describes Beowulf as the most heroic man of the Anglo-Saxon times.

He is an invincible person with all the extraordinary traits required of a hero. He is able to use his super-human physical strength and courage to put his people before himself. He encounters hideous monsters and the most ferocious of beasts but he never fears the threat of death. He was therefore showered with gifts of gold and riches for his tremendous achievements for killing the monsters, and therefore saving Hrothgar's men.

The most heroic of traits within Beowulf is that he is not afraid to die, which is one of the qualities of a true Anglo-Saxon. Clearly every young prince inspires to earn enough respect to become king in their latter years. Beowulf first earns this respect when he sails to Herot to kill Grendel, the monster that has been attacking and brutally murdering the soldiers of the village. Upon arrival in Herot, Beowulf brags of his past accomplishments, in order to earn some respect from Hrothgar and his men. While this beast has killed many of Hrothgar's men, Beowulf vows to destroy him with his bare hands.

So he carefully arranges a plan to do so and Grendel falls in this trap and Beowolf kills him. But even after doing as he promised, Beowulf has still not finished his duties. The following day, he is faced with another challenge; killing Grendel's angry mother. When Beowulf is asked to perform this task, he accepts without hesitation, as he sees it as another chance to gain fame. Once again, Beowulf returns successful in his battle with the mother monster, bringing along with him the chopped head of Grendel's mother and thus increasing his popularity within his people. Clearly Beowulf's brave encounters with these monsters showed his king and followers that he is worthy of becoming a fearless leader.

Beowulf was therefore showered with gifts of gold and riches for his tremendous achievements of killing the monsters. Here is where his manner is shown to be one of strong moral. While he could have easily kept them all for himself, Beowulf gives his rewards to his king, Higlac. In addition, Beowulf declined his first offering at the throne.

He says that his sense of morality and loyalty to Higlac tells him that it is only right for Higlac's son to take the throne before himself. A few years later, Beowolf was offered the role of King of the Geats, so he accepted this time, but he did not change as a person or as a warrior. Once again, a monster is brought to the attention of Beowulf, but this time, in his own land. Even in his old age, Beowulf vows to fight this dragon on his own. Yet this battle was not to be fought for his own fame, yet for the safety of his people. Beowulf attacks the dragon as he had done so many times in the past, in hope of a victory.

However, he quickly learns that his strength and armor are no match for the fire breathing dragon. As the fight comes to a close, Beowulf lies dead on the ground all in ashes, and the dragon had a sword stuck in its heart. Although the dragon was defeated, the Geats lost their honorable king. He died doing what any good leader would, defending his land and people. Beowulf's mistake was to let his ego take over, as he tried to take on the dragon alone.

This is especially notable for a young prince to follow. While it is necessary to be brave and courageous, a prince of king must know his own limitations in order to succeed.