Heroism and Loyalty in "Beowulf"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the main theme of heroism and loyalty in the ancient literature "Beowulf" and cites examples from the story to illustrate this theme. The paper discusses the loyalty of Beowulf to the king, the people, his values and to the expectations of those around him. The paper also explains that Beowulf, the hero, needs the loyalty of the people while the people need the loyalty of their hero. In addition, the paper notes that Beowulf does not fight for the sake of fighting; he fights only for his people. The paper emphasizes that Beowulf places loyalty on a high pedestal and, as a result, he becomes a hero.

From the Paper:

"Beowulf, as one of the oldest texts in literature, is interesting to read because the text reveals much about the society for which it was written. We know that Beowulf placed a high regard for heroism and loyalty. Sarah Lawall notes that Beowulf is "both a heroic poem of dark magnificence and the most vivid account left to us of the social world and life experiences of the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples" (Lawall 1057). She adds that the poem is also a "fairy-tale story of how the hero Beowulf conquered three monsters" (1057). In addition, she notes that the "most important fact about Germanic tribal society is its violence, which is why the poet describes that society by means of a narrative of monster-killing" (1057). From this notion, we can surmise that the hero was a hero because he did great things - namely he fought monsters."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Heaney, Seamus. Beowulf. Bilingual ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
• Fisher, Peter. "The Trials of the Epic Hero in Beowulf." PMLA. JSTOR Resource Database. <http://www.jstor.org/> Site Accessed February 15, 2008.
• Lawall, Sarah. "Beowulf." The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Vol. I. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1999.
• Magill, Frank. "Beowulf." Masterpieces of World Literature. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.

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