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Beowulf Essay Revise
Beowulf Essay Revise
Julian Moreno
Ms. Figueroa
Senior English
10 December, 2018
What is an Anglo-Saxon? The Anglo-Saxon civilization dates back into the 15th century.
It relates and or denotes the Germanic inhabitants of England. The Anglo-Saxons social structure
consist of tribe units lead by chieftains, meaning kings or lords. Theoretically, they earn respect
from there warriors. This is where Beowulf steps into the spotlight. Beowulf, an epic poem
created by Anglo-Saxon, describes Beowulf with very much detail. In the Beowulf story,
Beowulf takes it upon himself to extinguish and slaughter all the unimaginable monsters that lurk
inhabitance, Beowulf shows many Anglo-Saxon traits but the most that standout the most are
amount of resect towards his image. He wants people to know how honorable he truly is and has
shown it in his behavior. For example, instead of eliminating potential threats against the Danes,
Beowulf asked the King of Danes, Hrothgar, for permission to kill the threat, in this case the
savage beast Grendel. Beowulf states, “This is one favor you should not refuse of me – That I,
alone and with the help of my men, may purge the evil from this hall” (Beowulf 164-166).
Beowulf understands that a person’s image is important. He asked permission from the King
Hrothgar in order to maintain his image. If there was no permission present, the King’s political
position would potentially be at risk. That was not the only time Beowulf showed honor. He also
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showed honor bravely when he announced that he would fight and slay the devil like beast
Grendel without weapons. He proclaims, “That monster scorn of men is so great that he needs no
weapons and fears none. Nor will l” (Beowulf 167-169). Beowulf knows that the beast Grendel
has killed many Danes without the use of weapons and knows that Grendel will not use any
weapons against him. All Beowulf wants is a fair battle, therefore he declares that he will not use
weapons; an honorable way to declare a battle. Beowulf has shown that he is extremely
honorable in more than one way. He has so far shown Anglo-Saxon Traits.
Although Beowulf has tremendous amount of respect towards his loyalty, Anglo-Saxon
traits are not just shined upon Beowulf. In the story Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon traits are shown
within every individual introduced within the story; even evil can astonishingly be loyal. For
example, Grendel’s mother seeks vengeance for her son who was killed by Beowulf. Grendel’s
mother did not want her son’s death to go silent. Grendel’s mother had the audacity to leave her
uncharted territory and traveled to Herot to kill Hrothgar’s, King of the Danes, best man. The
story states “So she reached Herot… took a single victim… She’d taken Hrothgar’s closest
friend” (Beowulf 397-416). Grendel’s mother was extremely sad. She showed value towards her
family and demonstrated loyalty by murdering Hrothgar’s best man to avenge her son. Wiglaf,
Beowulf’s best friend, was not only brave but was also a loyal companion. Wiglaf was brave
enough to volunteer and help Beowulf fight a dangerous battle. Wiglaf knew Beowulf was going
to need support and tried to create a convoy in order to assist Beowulf. Wiglaf said, “And now
our lords must lean on younger arms, and we must go to him, where angry flames burn at his
flesh, help our glorious king” (Beowulf 722-725). Wiglaf managed to convince others to join the
treacherous battle, unfortunately the others realized how dangerous the battle actually was and
they fled. Wiglaf was the only one to stay and help his companion. That act alone showed a great
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amount of loyalty. Loyalty was not shown within the heroes of the story, but was also displayed
within others.
Anglo-Saxons are valued upon many traits. Honor and loyalty are just the tip of the
iceberg, but more are included and presented throughout the story. Bravery, and or courage are
validated through the acts performed by Beowulf himself. Grendel’s mother sought her
opportunity for vengeance on her son by killing Hrothgar’s best man, she fled to uncharted
territory, never explored by man. The zone she considers her home is full of unhuman-like
fictional beast. The poem exemplified, “They live in a secret place… No one knows its bottom,
no wisdom reaches such depths… Grendel’s mother lives in a terrible home, in a place you have
never seen” (Beowulf 425-445). Beowulf was furious and feared nothing under his abrupt anger
and had such fearlessness to fight Grendel’s mother in her home. The battle was a challenging
success. After this courageous act, many considered Beowulf a hero due to his bravery. After the
elimination of Grendel and his mother, many of the Danes have thought they were no longer in
danger, but sadly they thought wrong. There was one more predator, a dragon, which has
attacked another colony, Beowulf’s colony. When Beowulf heard about such horrible attacks he
said “I am old now, but will fight again, seek fame still… Like Grendel, Gripped by my hands
and torn limb by limb… I fear no shame!” (Beowulf 609-618). Beowulf understood that he did
not have to fight the dragon, but he sought fame. His cocky acted of bravery lead to his ultimate
doom. Surprisingly though undefeated, the battle against the dragon was his last act of conflict.
Sadly Beowulf has suffered many gory injuries that lead to his miserable death.
Beowulf was full of Anglo-Saxon such as honor, loyalty, bravery and or courage. These
characteristics were values that he upheld to everyday and astonishingly his bravery was the
leading cause of his death. Traits provided by the Anglo-Saxons are the many reasons why
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cavitation was able to stay afloat. Honor was shown when The Danes and the Geats had pride
towards their image. Both societies managed demonstrate these individualities in their day-to-
day lives. Loyalty is shown though the whole story of Beowulf. Beowulf himself was loyal to
both the Danes and the Geats. Beowulf was a one man army for both societies. When help was
needed, Beowulf was there to eradicate the potential problem. The eradication of problems was
happening frequently during the 15th century. Many territories and empires were being concurred
and without bravery and or courage, the Great Danes and Geats would have not lasted during this
treacherous timeline. Not only was the story of Beowulf entertaining, but it was also educational.
A reader would be able to capture important life lessons such as becoming to confident is not
always an upright thing or even becoming too brave, which can lead to atrocious consequential
problems. Overall Beowulf is a very inspirational story that embodies all values that a hero
should hold.
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Works Cited