Verified Document

Leadership, Values, And Beowulf The Epic Poem Term Paper

Leadership, Values, And Beowulf The epic poem of Beowulf is a narrative a famous warrior who eventually becomes a powerful king. The story involves the exploits of a Scandinavian warrior-prince who comes from the land of the Geats, located in what is now southern Sweden. The poem may be divided into two periods of the Beowulf's life. These two periods exemplify the heroic life in youth and old age.

The poem starts by acquainting the reader with the problems of Hrothgar, King of the Danes, who is being threatened by Grendel, a monster who relentlessly has come to the kingdom night after night for twelve years to carry off and devour the vassals of Herot. Beowulf hears of this situation and resolves to defeat the monster. Eventually, Beowulf defeats Grendel in hand to hand combat tearing off one of the monster's arms. The following night Grendel's mother comes to avenge her son's death and kills one of Hrothgar's counselors. Beowulf follows her to the sea bottom and eventually slays the woman monster. Beowulf leaves Herot a hero, returns to Geats, and becomes king of his own people. Fifty years or relative peace ensue until under his rule until Geats is put upon by a fire-spewing dragon. Beowulf resolves to kill him. In the battle that follows both Beowulf and...

The poem ends with a tribute to Beowulf's bravery, goodness, gentleness, and generosity (Serriallier). This paper will look at the leadership traits and values exhibited through this leadership in the light of the modern world.
2. Discussion

The German heroic code asserts leaders are set apart by certain qualities and shaped by the events of their lives. Often a leader is a personage of extraordinary strength, honor and bravery, is exalted for his bold exploits and is favored by the gods. A leader is willing to forfeit his life, take on challenges, and act in ways that often contributes to his people and the world. Beowulf is an example of the qualities a leader must possess according to this code (Yaguexta).

Unlike other warrior's of his time Beowulf has tremendous strength and courage. Where all other warriors had failed against these mythical creatures Beowulf succeeded. It is his extraordinary qualities and his outstanding abilities that helped him to defeat Grendel, his mother, and the dragon Beowulf is also a true hero because of his personal virtues, he exhibits loyalty, courtesy and pride. Beowulf's support of Hygelac's son, the rightful heir, to the throne instead of seeking it for himself is a further…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Anonymous. Beowulf. Ed. Michael Alexander. Penguin Books: London, 2001.

Hall, Lesslie (Trans.). Beowulf: An Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem." Boston, New York, Chicago: D.C. Heath & Co., 1892. Web. 30 May 2013.

Serriallier, Ian. Beowulf the Warrior. New York: Henry Walck Incorporated,1961. Print.

Stitt, Michael J. "Beowulf and the Heroic Code." English 477 Tolkien & Fantasy Literature, University of Navada, Las Vegas, (ND). Web. 30 May 2013.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Epic of Gilgamesh Is Literature,
Words: 3483 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Paper

Hi arrival at Uruk tames Gilgamesh who now leaves the new brides to their husbands (Hooker). Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the cedar forest to acquire timber for Uruk's walls (this need for protection indicates both increased prosperity and further urbanization), but before doing so they must defeat Khumbaba, the forest's guardian, a primitive, nature deity. They know fear for the first time, triumphing only with help from the god

Literature Beowulf
Words: 1450 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Beowulf: A Classic Medieval Archetypal Leader Beowulf is one of the earliest epic poems. It tells a classic tale of a great hero. The style of the epic reflects a much earlier writing style found in the Viking sagas. Yet the story is that of a Danish King. Literature and art are the keys to understanding society. Art is not random, but rather is a product of the society in which

Comparing Beowulf to Anglo Saxon
Words: 1098 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

embedded values within the Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon communities through their fundamental belief systems. In particular, it seeks to uncover the underlying similarities as also the divergence apparent in the cultures by addressing the implication of embracing the Christian religion to the Anglo-Saxon successors who followed the traditional belief in Norse gods by the Germanic ethnic group and the culture of a heroic fighter that are still living under extremely

Shape and to Create Our Modern World
Words: 1799 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

shape and to create our modern world? The modern world was shaped by a range of events and powerful people. One of the first most influential people was Clovis. Clovis was the founder of the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings, and one who defeated the Roman rule in Gaul along with defeating a range of Germanic people, creating the kingdom that is known as France nowadays. Most notably, it was

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now