Beowulf

Beowulf is a Germanic mythological hero. After studied several versions of the Beowulf work, where the story is approximately the same, I wondered about what kind of Hero is Beowulf. I think that first mythological heroes are always following the same archetype of Epic and Tragic Hero. I will see first why they are following archetypes of epics hero and then why there are following tragic hero archetype.

First, The mythical hero, as he appears in Greek mythology like for example, Héraclès stands out for his supernatural qualities but also through his exceptional success and courage, it’s the same things with Beowulf. With pure strength and without a weapon he defeats Grendel, a creature from hell. His superhuman abilities make him arrogant, in fact, he never hesitates and is sure of himself. His strength allowed him to dominate and triumphs over enemies, so this makes him a great warrior. Although he has already a reputation as a great warrior, before the beginning of history. Moreover, he is a warrior in search of glory and adventure. This will lead him to make a trip in order to defeat the enemy threat and his opponents he faces are usually supernatural beings, for example, Grendel or with the Hydra with Heracles.

So we can say that Beowulf and Greek hero are similar, and take place in the epic hero archetype.

Secondly, Beowulf doesn't only have qualities. Indeed at a moment, he will act recklessly.

After Beowulf became older, his great strength weakened, so he loses his greatest abilities. However his excessive pride leads him to go fight against a dragon anyway, but during the battle, Beowulf is exceeded by the force of the dragon due to his lack of strength. Due to his great pride and his perpetual pursuit of glory, Beowulf acted recklessly and failed to show moderation, he didn't realize that he was just a shadow of its former self. The most important characteristic of Beowulf is his hubris, and that's what defines a tragic hero. It's what allowed him to do such an act, like killing Grendel but it's also what will lead him to his tragic death. In the case of Herakles, he went mad and throws his children into the fire and he's thinking about killing himself, he’s also a tragic hero with a tragic end. So we can say that Beowulf and Greek hero are similar, and take place in the tragic hero archetype.

To conclude firsts mythological hero follow the same pattern.

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