Heroism Portrayed in Beowulf and The Dream of the Rood Essay

Heroism Portrayed in Beowulf and The Dream of the Rood

In the poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, we encounter the hero, Beowulf. A hero is one who places himself or herself at great risk while performing acts of courage. Not only is Beowulf a hero because of his physical strength, but also because of this: rather than basking in the resulting glory of his battles and triumph, he returns the glory to God. In my estimation, he is close to the ultimate hero, a man who put his life on the line in taking up the fight for an entire kingdom.

Beowulf's heroism can be plainly seen as he takes fourteen of the bravest men in his land to lend aid to Hrothgar. Hrothgar was Beowulf's father's close friend who has been plagued by attacks for twelve years by the demon, Grendel. These attacks have threatened the kingdom at its very core. Beowulf was not obligated to offer aid to Hrothgar and his people, but does so because he realizes the abilities God has given him, and understands he has to use them. As soon as Beowulf heard of the troubles in this land, he set sail. He continues to show his thankfulness to God for giving them safe travel across the sea. Beowulf is lead to Hrothgar and offers him his services.

Beowulf is asked by the warriors to tell of his past exploits while eating in Hrothgar's palace. Beowulf is already a hero to the people of this land by reputation, and he is about to further his legacy by ridding them of their enemy, Grendel. The warriors are anxious to hear what he has done and what he plans to do to Grendel. Here Beowulf runs through his battle plan, just as any great commander would. As the Banquet continues, Hrothgar thanks Beowulf, and promises him great treasure if he succeeds in defeating Grendel. As an ultimate hero, Beowulf decides, to be fair, he will not use weapons in his battle against Grendel since Grendel reputedly does not use them. "When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel. So it wont be a cutting edge Ill weild to mow him down, easily as I might. ...No weapons...unarmed he shall face me if face me he dares. (Beowulf, 677-685).

That night, even after hearing of all of Beowulf's heroic defeats, the warriors still feel that no man on earth will be able to stand up to the evil Grendel carries with him. Beowulfs mind is set, and he will either defeat Grendel or die in the process. "...a life and death fight with the fiend. Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgement by God (Beowulf, 439-441)." Beowulf awaits the arrival of Grendel then goes on to defeat him and sends him back to die.

Hrothgar's speech to Beowulf is understated as an expression of thanks. For he states: "So now, Beowulf, I adopt you into my heart as a dear son." When a heroic deed is done such as Beowulf has done, it is common practice for them to accept you into their family. Once again, the influence of Christianity shows in Hrothgar's speech to Beowulf. He states that it was the "Almighty" who sent Beowulf and, furthermore, it was "with the Lord's assistance" that Beowulf was able to defeat Grendel. Hrothgar wants to make it known throughout the world that Beowulf is the strongest man alive and is a proven hero. They are the characteristics of agelessness and dedication that set him apart from the other warriors, and makes him a truly heroic individual (Beowulf, 927-955).

Beowulf may have defeated Grendel, but his fighting days are not yet over. For Grendel's Mother is about to seek revenge. Hrothgar is beside himself speaking about anguish descending upon the Danes. The king begs Beowulf to help him once again. Hrothgar is extremely upset by the death of his friend Aeschere. His speech to Beowulf shows how hurt he is. "[Aschere was] a soul-mate to me, a true mentor, my right hand man (Beowulf, 1325-1326).

Beowulf's heroic reputation is more evident than ever when he consoles Hrothgar on the death of his friend. He offers his services once again by offering to kill Grendel's mother. Hrothgar, Beowulf, and a few warriors set out and follow the monster's tracks until they reach the lake where the monsters live.

There, floating on the water, they see the remains of their friend, Aeschere. Beowulf prepares to go in and look for Grendel's mother. He tells Hrothgar that if he should happen to die in the lake, Hrothgar is to take care of his men and send his treasures to King Hygelac, his hometown king. Here Beowulf once again shows the traits that makes him a true hero. That is, the consideration of others, generosity, and his own mortality.

Unlike past battles, there is no mention of God's help. In this particular battle, Beowulf is relying on his own courage. When Grendel's mother appears to have they key to Beowulf's death, God intervenes in the midst of the battle. It seems as if He was watching all along, as He does, waiting for the right moment to show whose side He is on.

Following the feasts of celebration of the death of Grendel's mother, Beowulf and his troops set sail for their homeland. Beowulf is greeted with feasts and great displays of gratitude once he arrives back home to the Geats. Beowulf presents Hygelac with the treasures he earned while fighting on the side of Hrothgar. After Hygelac dies and his son Herdred is killed in battle, Beowulf is given the throne and rules over the Geats for the next fifty years. As Beowulf's rule nears an end, he will have to fight heroically for his country one more time.

Beowulf will prove his heroics when he fights a dragon even though he knows there is little chance that he will be victorious. As Grendel threatened the people of Hrothgar's kingdom, so the dragon shows his anger on Beowulfs kingdom. Like Grendel, the dragon only strikes at night, burning down all the houses so that nothing is spared, not even Beowulf's hall or throne. Because of his character, when Beowulf finds out that his house has been destroyed, his first thought is that he did something to anger God, and for this, he feels guilty. As Beowulf prepares to fight the dragon, he looks back at his youth and his battles against Grendel and Grendel's mother.

The thief who stole the dragon's cup leads Beowulf and his men to the dragon's cave. As Beowulf runs through the battle in his mind, he once again looks back on his heroic life. He realizes that he's not as strong as he was when he fought Grendel, and realizes that the risk of dying is all but inevitable. Though Beowulf's old age has taken away his physical strength, his heroic courage still allows him to think like a hero. The speech that Beowulf gives before this battle is different from previous ones. Now that he is an old man Beowulf's's confidence in himself has decreased.

As a hero it is Beowulf's job to accomplish the impossible, and as an old man he still wants one last moment of glory. I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open (Beowulf, 2511-2515)."

It is Beowulf who starts the battle, by waking the dragon with his battle cry. During the first few seconds of the battle, the dragon's flames have melted Beowulf's shield. Here Beowulf realizes that his fate has arrived. However, that does not keep him from striking the dragon dead with his sword.

Beowulf manages to hit the dragon, but not fatally. This blow to the dragon upset him dearly inciting him to respond by covering Beowulf in a great ball of fire. Seeing the fire of the dragon, the warriors run away, thinking only of saving their own lives. To them, saving themselves has become more important than giving Beowulf the dignity that he deserves. These actions are examples of what separates a hero from a great warrior. Beowulf has the tenacity to stick with to the end, even if he is the only one. Beowulf is able to finish off the dragon, but in the process loses his own life. The response of the warriors shows how quickly the values of the world are changing. Without the tenacity to keep with it, even though the though times, they will bring upon themselves there own destruction.

Beowulf can be called a hero because he put his life on the line for an entire kingdom. Even though Beowulf had hoped that his people would benefit from all of the treasures he had stored up, we are taught, the material things that one earns during one's life can not stop what is God's will. For everything in life must come to an end and that time is always uncertain, even for a hero.

And now we consider the Rood. Heroic in its own right, the Rood is dreamt of and described such: a most rare tree, wound in light, brightest of beams...triumph-tree (The Dream of the Rood, 27). It is easy to see, as the story unwinds, why this tree is thought of as such a heroic figure.

Spiritually speaking, the tree is perhaps the most widespread of religious symbols in the spiritual history of mankind. All the way from shamanism to the biblical tradition, there is hardly any mythology, culture, religion or system of thought that does not include in one way or another that particular symbol.

It may be interpreted as the Cosmic Tree, the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge or wisdom and even as the Tree of Death as it is the case in the tradition of the Kabala where the Tree is blamed for providing the leaves to Adam to cover up his nudity. There again the Cross as instrument of torture and redemption brings together in one single image the two signified extremes of that major signifier of the Tree of Life. Through death the path leads to life, through the Cross, formerly a tree, to eternal light.