The elements of the epic hero include that he is brave, he is ethical, he is glorified, he is skilled, he is smart, he is strong and/or superhuman in ability, and he represents the culture in which he lives. Today, we finished the first battle in BEOWULF. What traits of the epic hero have you seen thus far in the story? In what ways have these traits been exaggerated? What do these traits reveal the Anglo-Saxon values and ethics?
(The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight, Wednesday, January 16, 2013.)
3 comments:
BEOWULF has portrayed the elements of an epic hero in that he is brave, ethical, glorified, skilled, smart and superhuman. He knows there is no battle too strong for him and will attempt anything. He is also very ethical in the manner that he is repaying Hrothgar for the favor he did for his dad a few years back. This repaying is also showing us a little of the Anglo- Saxons values and ethics. Everyone looks up to and counts on Beowulf to rid the evil from their Great-Hall. He is glorified in that manner. Beowulf shows how smart and skilled he is in the first battle. He sacrifices one of his men to trick Grendel. Beowulf is also described as superhuman because he is said to have the power of 30 men in one hand. I feel that this is the only element that is extremely exaggerated. However, I am thoroughly enjoying this story and can not wait to hear about the battle between Beowulf and Grendels mother!KS
Beowulf has potrayed many heroic elements, but a few that stand out to me would be his confidence, strength, and fairness. Beowulf shows Hrothgar his great confidence by giving him his "resume". All of his battles claimed to us that he has never lost and that he is the one for the job. He also claims to have the strength of thirty men and lets face it to be an epic hero you need to be strong. I feel that this element is extremely exaggerated. He also shows us his fairness by stating that he will use no weapons to fight the monster. This shows Anglo-Saxon values because they believed in fairness, not only in battle, but in all aspects of life. ER
I believer that Beowulf has portrayed many heroic elements, such as, bravery, confidence, loyalty, and strength. Beowulf introduces himself to Hrothgar by giving him all of the good things he's done and showing him how strong he is, in other words he gives him a "resume". Beowulf believes that there is no battle to strong for him, which shows how confident he really is, also a little bit cocky. He is also not only coming to kill the monster destroying the Heorts people but also he is coming to repay Hrothgar for a good deed he did for his dad, which shows his loyalty. Beowulf's strength is shown by the scop comparing the strength in one of his hands by how many people Grendel has killed, which is 30 men. I also, feel as if his strength is the main element in this story that is exaggerated. Beowulf shows his bravery by fighting Grendel unarmed because Grendel has no weapon. The connection with the Anglo-Saxons is that they believe in fairness, and that they always stood by their brotherhood and always repaid people, which is what Beowulf does by coming to Heort and killing Grendel for Hrothgar.
CD
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