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Beowulf

 

            How Beowulf does and does not appear like a hero to the contemporary reader.
             As in any civilization, Anglo-Saxons looked to their hero as a leader and a man whose valor and courage served as a source of inspiration for the entire society. Their hero was a man who believed in fate and a man whose super-human body could crush even the mightiest of opponents. In Anglo-Saxon times among the many heroes, only one truly stands out. His name was Beowulf, a man whose story has survived, and whose legacy will never be forgotten.
             Beowulf, the fiercest and bravest of heroes, represents a hero far from the norms of today but whose spirit embodies every trait of the typical Anglo-Saxon hero of the past. Whether a person today swims the English Channel or shatters a decade long home run record, it seems that pride and spirit go hand in hand with a soft-spoken reserved victor. This is a polar opposite of an Anglo hero. Heroes of that day took no shame in boasting and bragging of their many successes. Throughout this poem, Beowulf constantly reminds us of his heroism by exulting his every stellar victory. He begins with an interlude of his past successes by telling the great Hrothgar how "The days of [his] youth had been filled with glory." To prove his pretentious claim, Beowulf tells Hrothgar how he effortlessly defeated any opponent that stepped his way. His greatest claim is his tale of how he "drove five great giants into chains." Beowulf not only believes that he is powerful and great but, that he, alone, is the sole hero in this story. This is a far cry from the "team player" heroes of today. .
             An Anglo-Saxon hero truly believed that your destiny was in the hands of god and god only. Their heroes threw the phrase that "destiny was in the hands of the beholder" into a completely different realm and took their belief of fate up to a higher level. Beowulf was governed by this law of heroism. Every time he stepped to a challenge he conceived that "god must decide who will be given to deaths cold grip.


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