Maggie Ray

Mr. Rosenbusch

English 12: British Literature

28 September 2020

Beowulf Final Essay Topic #2

Beowulf is a story from the Anglo-Saxon time period written down by a Monk from

North Britain. The story is about the hero, Beowulf, defeating many monsters and proving

himself a great Anglo-Saxon warrior. The Anglo-Saxon people, especially the warriors had four

main values: strength, courage, loyalty, and fame/glory. Defeating his enemies wins Beowulf

much fame and glory throughout his people and all the world. There is one line “So fame /

Comes to the men who mean to win it / And care about nothing else!” (Lines 610-612) which

makes it seem like Beowulf is only interested in fame and glory. However, Beowulf is a well-

rounded Anglo-Saxon because he also demonstrates strength, loyalty, and courage throughout

the story.

To begin, Beowulf is not only interested in fame and glory because he also shows that he

cares about strength. The first instance when readers see that Beowulf thinks his strength is very

important is when he is explaining to the king of the Danes, Hrothgar, why he has come to help.

“They have seen my strength for themselves, / Have watched me rise from the darkness of war”

(Lines 151-152). Beowulf explains to Hrothgar that his strength is unmatched and that he values

his strength and will use it to defeat the monster. This shows that Beowulf does not only value

fame, but also his strength and desires both strength and fame during battle. Another time when

readers see that Beowulf shows his valuing of strength is when he is responding to a challenger
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from the Danes’ people. He says, “But the truth / Is simple: No man swims in the sea / As I can,

no strength is a match for mine” (Lines 235-236). This shows that Beowulf really values his

strength because he is using it as an argument against someone that is questioning his ability to

defeat the monster. Clearly, Beowulf values strength along with fame/glory making him a well-

rounded Anglo-Saxon Warrior.

Furthermore, the fact that Beowulf shows that loyalty is important to him proves that he

is a well-rounded Anglo-Saxon. One time when Beowulf shows how loyal he is, is when he is

talking to Hrothgar and explaining to him why he has come. He says, “My people have said, the

wisest, most knowing / And the best of them, that my duty is to go to the Dane’s / Great king”

(Lines 149-151). Beowulf shows that he is loyal to his people when saying this because he says

that he listens to his people and follows what they believe to be right. But he also shows that he

is loyal to his fellow man and ruler by saying that it is his duty to help Hrothgar and his people

from the monster. Another time that shows that Beowulf is loyal is when the narrator is

explaining the time when Beowulf heard about the monster that was attacking the Dane’s.

referring to Beowulf, the narrator says, “Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror / And

quickly commanded a boat be filled out, / Proclaiming that he’d go to that famous king, / Would

sail across the sea to Hrothgar / Now when help was needed” (Lines 112-116). This lines states

that Beowulf was not thinking of fame and glory when he decided to help Hrothgar, Beowulf had

only just head about Grendel the monster and decided to help immediately out of loyalty to his

fellow man, not for fame and glory. So, evidently, Beowulf may want fame and glory, but he

also values loyalty like all other Anglo-Saxons.

Lastly, Beowulf also shows that courage is important to him which means that he is not

only interested in fame and glory. There are many times that Beowulf displays courage but one
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of the first, and most important is when he is talking to Hrothgar about his upcoming battle and

explaining how he is going to when. Beowulf says, “Let me live in greatness / And courage, or

here in this hall welcome / My death!” (Lines 368-370). This line shows that courage is

important to Beowulf because he wants to live in courage, and if he cannot do that then he will

accept his death. This means that Beowulf really values courage if he would rather be killed then

to not live courageously. A second moment in the story that proves Beowulf’s courage is when

the narrator is explaining how Beowulf’s challenger feels when he questions Beowulf, “vexed by

Beowulf’s adventure, / By their visitor’s courage, and angry” (Lines 235-236). This line proves

that everyone around notices how courageous Beowulf is, meaning that Beowulf clearly values

courage if he is portraying his own so much. Another time when Beowulf shows how he values

courage is when he is about to fight in his last battle and is talking to the soldiers he brought with

him. He states, “I shall win the gold / by my courage, or else mortal combat” (Lines 685-686).

This line again may show that Beowulf is thinking about victory and the fame he could get but it

also shows how important courage is to him again. This is evident because he again shows that

he is going to win with his courage showing how important courage is to him. Beowulf proves

that he does not only care about fame and glory because he also values courage, and wants to be

courageous.

In conclusion, Beowulf is not only interested in fame and glory and that is proven

because he also demonstrates strength, loyalty, and courage. While the one line mentioned

above does make it seem as though Beowulf may only be focused on fame and glory, he also

finds the other four key Anglo-Saxon values important.