Beowulf Character Sketch Final Draft

Oliver Tran                                                                                                           Mrs. Yates

09/16/16                                                                                         Beowulf character sketch

Beowulf is the hero any society needs. Being the main character in the epic also

named Beowulf, he expressed a perfect image of a hero. His great virtue was demonstrated

through his courage, generosity, and faith in the Lord.

The poet portrayed Beowulf as the ultimate hero mostly through his extraordinary

courage. Beowulf had a famous history of his great achievements, from coming safely from

conflict to defeating the sea monster (line 337 to 342). Even more, “gallant and bold” (line

196) as he was, Beowulf showed no hesitation when facing the monster Grendel. Before the

fight, our hero gave up all assistance from weapons. “Shall do without swords,” he said in

line 476, he wanted to have a “hand to hand” battle with Grendel. He proudly believed that

he was “not second to Grendel” (line 469). He truly exhibits great bravery in everything he

does. No man without great courage as Beowulf can fulfill such heroic virtue.

Another way Beowulf displayed that he was a hero was his big heart. His generosity

was demonstrated throughout the entire poem. An excellent example of his selflessness was when he said in line 431: “I’d work the will of thy people, or fall in the fight.” He was willing

to jeopardize his life for the good of others. He traveled across the ocean to help the King of

Danes “who needed help” (line 200). Even though Grendel was no obstacle to him, Beowulf

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