In the epic story of Beowulf, the hero is Beowulf. He shows physical strength in the story by defeating Grendel. In line 219 of Grendel’s mother, it tells how Beowulf killed her. “…cut it through, broke bones and all.” His strength is also told in line 213 of how he “lifted the sword that was so massive that no ordinary man could lift.” Beowulf’s determination, or his will to win, was throughout the story, even up until his death. A quote that describes this is, “…he cut the beast in half, slit it apart. It fell…”line 185. He shows courage along with his cousin, Wiglaf, when they defeat the fire dragon.
In line 189 it says, “…their courage had killed it, two noble cousins had joined in the dragon’s death.” Beowulf also shows courage in all of his battles. His intelligence is far above any others. He used the sword made by the giants to kill Grendel’s mother. In lines 210-222, it describes how he was quick and saw the sword “hammered by giants, strong and blessed with their magic…and struck with all the strength he had left, caught her in the neck and cut it through…” Beowulf was altruistic because he always put the needs of others before his own. His whole reason for coming to Herot was to help the people against Grendel. He even stayed to defeat Grendel’s mother and the fire dragon. “My life was almost lost, fighting for it, struggling under water:
I’d have been dead at once, and the fight finished, if our Father in Heaven had not helped me.” Line 310. In the story, Beowulf is also a Tragic Hero.
He possesses goodness by telling the king of the Danes in lines 1-8 that he is honored to be there helping them. Beowulf shows superiority in the story. “I sold my life for this treasure, and I sold it well.” Line 76. I believe that his tragic flaw is that he was too sure of himself, and never brought the right weapon to fight with. In line 113 it tells how his sword broke into bits after striking the dragon. Beowulf’s tragic realization is that he knew that it was his time, because he believed in the Lord. Line 17-20.
Beowulf is a folk epic because it involves the five characteristics. First is the hero, which was Beowulf, who is a figure of imposing stature. The setting covers vast nations, which included Denmark, Germany, and Sweden. Third is the action, which in this case there are three, defeating Grendel and his mother, and the Fire dragon.
The other characters included Shild, Hrothgar, Grendel, Grendel’s mother, the Fire dragon, and Wiglaf. The last characteristic is the poet. It is a recount of the deeds of the hero with a measure of objectivity.
