Bernard 1 James Bernard
23 September 2024
English III
Fr. Ytsen S.J
In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf is the epic hero. Beowulf gives is a symbol of
strength, hope, and perseverance. Beowulf showed hope in the first battle. He fought Grendel in
this battle at Heorot. Strength was shown in the second battle. Beowulf went into this battle
versus Grendel's mother with a ineffective weapon and still won. In the third battle Beowulf
showed perseverance. He fought his hardest until the very end.
In the first battle Beowulf fought the monster Grendel. Grendel is a descendent of Cain.
Cain is a biblical character that murdered his brother Abel out jealousy and was given a mark, so
nobody talked to him. To defeat this monster Beowulf said he would not use any weapons. On
the night of the battle Beowulf sat in a corner and waited on the Grendel to come to attack
someone. When Grendel came Beowulf grabbed onto Grendel's arms and would not let go.
Beowulf then ripped the arms off, and Grendel ran away. This shows hope because Hrothgar
knew nothing about Beowulf, but he just had to hope that Beowulf was the hero that would
finally put an end to Grendel.
In the second battle Beowulf fought Grendel's mother. Beowulf fought her in her lake.
Grendel's mom lived at the bottom of the lake. When Beowulf was swimming to the bottom
Grendel's mother snatched him with her claws and pulled him to the bottom. “Then she snatched
him up, seized the good warrior in her horrible claws...” (lines 1501-1505) In the actual battle it
seemed Beowulf was losing. The sword he had brought was not harming Grendel’s mother. “But
then he discovered is battle-flame would not bite through to kill; the edge failed its man at
need.”(lines 1523-1524) While fighting, Beowulf spotted another sword that was made by the
giants that he then used to slay Grendel and his mother. This shows strength because Beowulf
Bernard 2
was able to overcome her home field advantage and kill her while also having an ineffective
weapon at the beginning of the battle.
In the third battle Beowulf was now old and a king. Beowulf had heard of a dragon that
had been terrorizing his kingdom and surrounding villages. Beowulf said this will be his last
battle. When Beowulf and his men reach the dragons cave all of Beowulf's men ran away. In this
battle it seemed like Beowulf was losing. At the end of the battle the dragon clawed Beowulf
through the chest and Beowulf had also stabbed it. They had killed each other. The men then
returned after the battle was over but this time with Wiglaf, Beowulf’s closest friend, Wiglaf was
angry with the men. Wiglaf told the men that they wasted the gear Beowulf gave them. “...all that
battle gear entirely wasted in the time of his need” (lines 2871-2872) Wiglaf also took everything
from these men and their families and says, “Death will be better for each one of you” (line
2890). This battle shows perseverance because Beowulf was old and frail, and he still overcame
these challenges and slayed the dragon.
In the poem Beowulf was a hero that seemed inhumane. He was someone people put their
hope and trust into, like in the first battle in Heorot. Also, he was very strong, physically and
mentally. He could make swift decisions that could flip the outcome of a battle. He could also
persevere through and challenge. In the third battle he overcame old age and completed the
mission even at the cost of his own life.
