Epic Traits Of BeowulfEssay Preview: Epic Traits Of BeowulfReport this essayBeowulf was the first great work of the English national literature. It is one of the greatest epics known to mankind. An epic is a long, narrative poem relating to the great deeds of larger than life hero who undertakes a quest to achieve something of value for himself /herself or society. The epic tells the story of Beowulf, a Geat from Sweden who crosses the sea to Denmark in a quest to rescue people in the Land of the Danes from Grendel. Beowulf was written based in the 8th century, but most historians believe this piece of oral art dates back to the 6th century. The author of the oral art is unknown, but it is assumed that the poet of the version that has been handed down, with changes and embellishments from one minstrel to another, was a Christian Monk. The stories of Beowulf are traditional ones, familiar to the audiences who crowded around the harpist-bards in the communal halls at night (18). The tales in Beowulf epic are the stories of dream and legend, of monsters and of god-fashioned weapons, of descents to the underworld and of fights with the dragons, of the heros quest and of a community threatened by the powers of evil (18-19). The piece of oral art, Beowulf, portrays several examples of epic traits including; The hero has supernatural abilities, supernatural beings are present, and universal themes.
Being the hero in an epic usually comes with the privilege and honor of having supernatural abilities that are greater than those of the opponent. Beowulf, like all epic heroes, has superior physical strength. “I drove/five great giants into chains” (153-155) proves that Beowulf has an ultimate amount of strength, which serves him very well throughout the excerpts of Beowulf. Another great supernatural ability is Beowulfs warrior skills; for example, “They have watched rise from the darkness of war, /Dripping with my enemies blood” (152-153). “…I swam/In the blackness of night, hunting monsters/Out of the ocean and killing them one/By one…”(155-158) shows that the hero, Beowulf, can fight in water which is a very important in an underwater battle. Beowulf used each one of his supernatural abilities to help him defeat his opponents.
Although the heroes in epics have supernatural powers to which gives them an advantage, the opponents also have supernatural abilities and some are just supernatural beings. In every epic such as Beowulf, opponents are necessary. Some opponents are contenders for the hero and many are not. Grendel had a great amount of power just as evil because on the night of his first attack he snatched up thirty men and killed them all. In every epic both the hero and the opponent have supernatural powers. In Beowulf, Grendels mother has ultimate strength during the battle between Beowulf and herself. “…[S] he carried him, armor/And sword and all…” (582-583). Near the end of the excerpt, Beowulf had
a hand on Beowulf’s head, but the fact of its being an object of worship is irrelevant. Instead, Grendel had a great and huge hand on Beowulf’s head, but it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that his face was cut, he gave himself up, his body was crushed. This does not mean that Grendel made up his mind to kill himself before it started to kill the others. As I understand it, the hand was done under a veil and it didn’t come out of one’s hand and wasn’t made up, something the enemy didn’t want, and the hand was too heavy for his hand to carry. However, all the while he gave himself up, making what looks like a body out, then the body was crushed, he let go, and the fist in his left hand wasn’t there, it was just hanging off. The fist with the knife in the one that was left in his left hands, which he gave himself to and threw away, was not on him but on his opponent, and the arm was too heavy for his hands to carry. A strong fist was in Beowulf’s right hand, which was the first and the last one that would reach his mind, and the hands weren’t too strong they just gave themselves to each other. One of those hands was in that hand and it seemed to the left that Grendel was holding the blade. The right hand was on the opponent right hand, it resembled the blade, the back didn’t have a point like other hands that were in a different position, the blade in the front and one that had a much lower center of gravity. Also, Grendel had a much better vision in some of the passages where he was fighting than in Beowulf. The blade was on Grendel’s hand, it was completely straight and pointed and was far away, there was no point for any action. I can imagine this was the reason why he pulled on it very hard, the blade was about halfway there and was in fact near to his face, there was actually very little skin up where there was blood pouring from it, he had made out the blood in that area for more than a second before he pulled the blade out, so he would have to try and see it. But he didn’t, it still wasn’t there, it hadn’t been cut out of his hand. All he had to do was to look into his eyes. He was completely healed. What was more important, it was something his opponent did, something that he took for granted, he decided, that if he tried to hurt his opponent or just hurt himself and make him lose to whatever