Beowulf - A Hero Beowulf is an epic poem about a man and some of his adventures. Beowulf, the main character, is the hero of the story. He possesses many traits that cause him to be not only an epic hero, but a tragic one, too. The traits that many heroes in literature have are: # A hero's conception is often unusual, and by tradition his mother is a virgin. # Usually there is a plot to kill him immediately after his birth. # Although little is known about his childhood, he grows to maturity in the home of foster parents after his narrow escape with death. # After he grows to manhood, he returns and achieves a victory over a king or a wild animal. # He marries a princess. # He becomes the king. # After a long and uneventful rule and no longer in the graces of the gods, he is driven from his kingdom where he mysteriously dies.
The Old English epic poem Beowulf is written in al...
English: An illustration of Beowulf fighting the d...
Beowulf & Grendel# Although not buried, he typically has one or more holy graves. The hero, like Beowulf, does not have to possess every quality or exactly as they are stated.
# A hero's conception is often unusual, and by tradition his mother is a virgin. Beowulf's conception is not mentioned in the poem. He was already at adulthood when he was introduced in the story. "In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac's Follower and the strongest of the Geats - greater And Stronger than anyone anywhere in this world..."ÃÂ (Beowulf; lines 194-196) Also, his parents are hardly ever spoken of in the story, making it harder for the reader to know anything about his past.
# Usually there is a plot to kill him immediately after his birth. The reader does not know if this is true or not since...