The maker of Beowulf was not trying to create an epic; he was trying to tell a heroic story”.
Epic has evolved from its ancient tight roots into a many limbed tree with multi-genre branches. It has been elemental in expanding literary genres and the adapted use of epic conventions in the genres of science fiction and fantasy has created a significant expansion of the readership.
Is Beowulf an ideal hero and king? The essay aims at answering this question. Beowulf is such a character in the poem ‘Beowulf,’ whom the reader might fail to determine whether he passes for an ideal king, hero, or probably both or none. Such a case may result depending on the reader’s interpretation of the terms hero and king.
Any leader will pass for an ideal king based on how well he/she handles the people he/she leads. As the paper unfolds, Beowulf depicts all the aforementioned qualifications of both an ideal king and a hero.
The fact that Beowulf values the welfare of his people more than his own passes him for an ideal epic hero. The opening of the poem confirms this when Beowulf has to travel all the way to Denmark to set the Danes free of the monster.
He sacrifices, not only his time, energy, and money, but also his own self only to ensure the safety of the Danes whom he views as his own people. In addition, after having served for fifty years as the Geats’ king, the retired old Beowulf realizes that there is a dragon upsetting his people.
Beowulf, too, passes for an ideal hero based on his overwhelming physical strength. He says, “The strength of my body. Themselves they beheld me when I came from the contest” (“Beowulf” Line 786). His fight with the ghost is just one among the many he has involved himself. As a man of incredible strength, he wins all but the last one.
The response from his people as he gathers them to go for the fight depicts him as a hero because they accept with no doubt to follow him since they know very well that he must win the fight. In addition, the way he kills the demon qualifies him as an ideal hero.
Besides being an ideal hero, Beowulf is an ideal king. One expects a perfect king to ensure the welfare of his people. The entire poem features Beowulf accomplishing this task right from his youth age to his old age. Referring to Beowulf, Gerhard observes, “His ideal kingship was apparent by his excellent fighting skills as a warrior, his perseverance, leadership, loyalty, and generosity” (Para. 6).
As an ideal king, Beowulf always has the welfare of his people at his heart. He is quite generous to his people in that he sacrifices to assist them even after retiring despite his old age. The poem, despite its unknown authorship, passes for an informative piece of work through the way it exemplifies Beowulf as both an ideal king and a hero.
