Is Beowulf a Hero?

Is Beowulf a hero?

It is vital when approaching the question of whether or not Beowulf can be viewed as a hero to attempt to understand the concept of a 'hero'. Joseph Campbell, the American theorist, studied mythological characters and texts in great detail and developed the concept of the monomyth (or Hero's Journey) which he suggested all heroes undertook:

"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow men."

If we are to take this statement as being accurate it is fair to say that at least in so far as what actually occurs in the poem that Beowulf is a hero. He 'ventures forth', as Campbell puts it, from Geatland to Denmark, a world inhabited by monsters, which certainly fits the idea of 'a region of supernatural wonder'. Here he encounters Grendel and Grendel's mother and defeats both in battle, in keeping with the 'fabulous forces' and 'decisive victory' in the Hero's Journey theory. Eventually Beowulf returns to Geatland and in time becomes King of his homeland, which in turn fulfils Campbell's idea that a hero will return from his 'adventure' and his fellow men will benefit from his presence. In looking at the dictionary definition of a hero:

'a person, typically a man, who is admired for their courage or outstanding achievements

'

We can see that Beowulf obviously also fits this description perfectly, his courage is undeniable and outstanding achievements

ultimately so numerous that he is admired virtually the world over. He is strong, brave, fearless, loyal and shows a certain indifference to pain and death, all qualities pointing towards the fact that he possesses a heroic character.

Beowulf can certainly be seen as an Anglo-Saxon Ьbermensch in terms of his physical strength and presence. He is described thus 'he was the mightiest man on earth' by the poetic persona and Hrothgar, who later becomes a mentor figure to Beowulf, recalls accounts he once received of him as a man

'with the strength of thirty

in the grip of each hand'.

Both of these descriptions precede any of Beowulf's encounters with the various monsters and so even before these heroic feats occur we are given the sense that he should be thought of as being elevated above ordinary human beings. Beowulf makes sure these claims ring true when he announces how he plans to fight Grendel:

'hand-to-hand

is how it will be, a life-and-death

fight'

He obviously has no fear of the impending fight, even going so far as to give up the opportunity to gain an advantage over the monster in what appears to be an honour-driven choice to make the battle equal. This decision proves to enhance his heroic reputation after the fight as he is victorious, ripping off Grendel's arm with his bare hands and achieving what no other could before him (presumably fully armed) by killing the beast.

In his subsequent battle with Grendel's mother Beowulf makes the choice to enter the battle with a sword and armour for protection. At least as far as the sword is concerned this may have more to do with the fact it was a gift from Unferth than any notion Beowulf may have been more concerned by the challenge of killing Grendel's mother. His super-human qualities here are outlined not by how he chooses to enter the fight, as they were in his first encounter, but where he chooses to confront the monster, in the 'heaving depths of the lake'. We are told how it was 'the best part of a day' before he reaches his desired destination at the bottom of the lake. Obviously to any ordinary human spending this amount of time underwater is an utterly impossible task, but Beowulf is seemingly able to break natural laws in keeping with his hero, or Ьbermensch, status. Not only this but at the end of this swim he has enough energy to confront the second monster and again gain victory. What is most interesting in this battle is Beowulf's use of the giant's sword:

'so huge and heavy of itself

only Beowulf could wield it in battle.'

His amazing strength is again evident in his ability to wield the sword. He is the 'only' person who has the power to use this sword, suggesting he is indeed the mightiest man alive, succeeding in this task where all else would fail and so succeeding in the defeat of Grendel's mother.

There is a possibility that this decisions to fight bare handed in his first battle, to fight in the natural territory of Grendel's mother in the second and indeed to sail to Denmark and aid Hrothgar in the first place was influenced by his native people's perception of him:

'He has been poorly regarded

for a long time, was taken by the Geats

for less than he was worth:'

We are only made aware of this different view of his character on Beowulf's return to Geatland after his victories. In Shakespeare's Henry IV Prince Hal fought Hotspur in order to dispel others' negative views of him. There is a feeling, similarly, that Beowulf may have felt he had something to prove and this could have motivated his decision to vanquish the monsters and the manner in which he set about achieving that goal. Although this could have been the case it is hard to argue that this means Beowulf is not a hero. Despite the possibility of ulterior motives in wanting to help the Danes, he still displays a huge number of personality traits we associate with the idea of a hero.

It is not only Bewoulf's strength that is laudable but also his apparent lack of fear at the thought of his own death. Shortly before his contest with Grendel's mother we are told he is 'indifferent to death' a point which is exemplified when prior to the fight he sets out his wishes to Hrothgar for what should be done should he perish. He is not arrogant enough to assume victory is assured and yet he is also courageous enough to not fear the possibility of defeat.

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