Beowulf- Courage

In Beowulf, one of the major themes present is that of courage.  Throughout the epic poem, the title character Beowulf shows feats of immense courage that contrasts with the cowardice of many other characters in this world.  One example of his unmatched courage is when he offers to fight and defeat the demon Grendel who terrorizes the people of Denmark.  This is the case because of King Hrothgar’s inability to take care of this issue himself, as the Danes attempts have either failed or never materialized due to fear.  Beowulf see’s this intimidating force as more of a challenge of his own strength.

One example of his courageousness in the text is found on page 47 lines 677-680, where he states “when it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel. So it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield to mow him down, easily as I might.” This shows Beowulf’s complete lack of fear at the prospect of facing Grendel, even mocking the idea of a confrontation claiming he can defeat him without the use of a weapon. Another example is found on page 103 lines 1492-1495, in which Beowulf says “After these words, the prince of the Weather-Geats was impatient to be away and plunged suddenly: without much ado, he dived into the heaving depths of the lake.” This occurs as Beowulf is hunting Grendel’s mother and in order to find her, he must dive into this lake. The fact that he does this with little to no hesitation shows his confidence and courage.

One final example is that of his words before going to face the dragon. On page 169-170 lines 2511-2515, Beowulf states “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…” In this passage, he boasts about himself before he goes to face his final foe. Beowulf is the personification of courage as seen through these various examples in the text.