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Katie Franco

Mr. Rosenbusch

Honors English 12

28 September 2021

Beowulf Essay

Beowulf is a poetic story that tells about a strong warrior named Beowulf that is seen has

the greatest of all time and is looked up to by almost everyone. The poem tells about instances in

which Beowulf is called upon in times of need and distress to help save the people. There are

multiple instances throughout the poem that view Beowulf in higher light than everyone else in

the story. Beowulf is able to be so powerful and mighty compared to others because of his strong

dedication to the Anglo-Saxon ways of life. However, there is one place in the story where

Beowulf’s image is doubted. “So fame / Comes to the men who mean to win it / And care about

nothing else!” (Lines 610-612). In these lines, Beowulf is being accused of selfishness and only

caring about his fame and glory. It is not possible for Beowulf to be seen as selfish because of

how he portrays the Anglo-Saxon values throughout the poem, which are strength, courage,

loyalty, and fame and glory.

Strength is the first Anglo-Saxon value that Beowulf portrays in order to prove he is not

being selfish for fame and glory. “No man swims in the sea / As I can, no strength is a match for

mine” (Lines 265-267). Beowulf is saying that he has strength no one else can match. He has the

abilities no other normal human can have. “At last, that Grendel could be killed; he believed in

Beowulf’s bold strength and the firmness of his spirit” (Lines 342-343). In this line, the king is

talking about how Beowulf is the only one bold and strong enough to fight the monster, Grendel.

Beowulf has proved himself in the past that he is the only one strong enough to defeat Grendel.
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By having the king come to him first about fighting the monster, it shows that he truly trusts

Beowulf and he is not just in it for himself. “He twisted in pain / and the bleeding sinews deep in

his shoulder / snapped, muscles and bone split / and broke” (Lines 496-499). Grendel had not

been able to be defeated by many people who had tried to fight him before, but Beowulf was put

to the challenge and was victorious. He was able to rip Grendel’s arm off with nothing but his

bare hands. All of these quotes portray Beowulf’s strength that he uses to help the people, not

himself.

The second Anglo-Saxon value that Beowulf demonstrates throughout the poem is the

value of courage. “When we crossed the sea, my comrades / And I, I already knew that all / my

purpose was this: to win the good will / of your people or die in battle, presses / in Grendel’s

fierce grip. Let me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall welcome my death!” (Lines

364-369). In these lines, Beowulf is announcing the amount of bravery and courage it takes for

him to rise to the challenge of defeating Grendel. He realizes that he might not come out of this

battle alive, and he is okay with taking the dangerous outcomes he might have to endure

throughout this notorious fight. “Hrothgar, gray-haired and brave, sat happily / listening, the

famous ring-giver sure, / at last, that Grendel could be killed; he believed / in Beowulf’s bold

strength and the firmness of hi spirit” (Lines 340-343). Beowulf has made a good impression of

himself in front of King Hrothgar, and that is why King Hrothgar is putting all of his trust and

faith into Beowulf. He truly believes that Beowulf is strong and courageous enough to complete

the challenge that no other man has been able to achieve thus far, and that challenge is defeating

Grendel. “But fate let me / find its heart with my sword, hack myself / free; left it floating lifeless

in the sea” (Lines 288-291). These lines are describing the aftermath of the fight and Grende’s

body when Beowulf defeated him. Although Beowulf turned out to be victorious. It is still
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important to know how dangerous this fight was, and no regular man has the ability to be so

courageous to do what Beowulf has done.

The next Anglo-Saxon value portrayed by Beowulf is the value of loyalty. Loyalty is an

extremely prevalent value for Beowulf to have in order to argue his case of not only caring about

himself and his glory and fame. “Across the waves than I could, and I / had chosen to remain

close to his side. I remained near him for five long nights, / until a flood swept us apart” (Lines

275-278). Beowulf is determined to stay together with his warriors and leave no man behind. He

will do anything in his power to remain connected with the people he cares about, no matter what

dangerous circumstances that might put him in. “But within one heart / sorrow welled up: in a

man of worth / the claims of kinship cannot be denied” (Lines 749-751). Kinship and loyalty go

hand-in-hand with each other. Kinship is defined as sharing in a blood relationship or sharing the

same characteristics or origins. Being loyal in kinship means to not turn against those who are

related to one by blood or others who share close relations and deep connections. By not

breaking the bond of kinship, loyalty is not broken, but rather sustained. “My people have said,

the wisest, most knowing, most knowing / And best of them, that my duty was to go to the

Danes’ / great king, They have seen my strength for themselves, / have watched me rise from the

darkness of war, / dripping with enemies blood” (Lines 149-153). By always making sure to

keep the people safe, he is remaining loyal to them while also gaining loyalty from his people.

By always making sure to stick with his people and uphold loyalty and respect, Beowulf is seen

as more selfless than selfish.

The fourth and final Anglo-Saxon value that Beowulf demonstrates throughout the poem

is the value of fame and glory. Now this value can come off as selfish at times, but it is

something that must be worked hard for and rightfully earned. “What man, / anywhere under
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Heaven’s high arch, has fought / in such darkness, endured more misery, or been harder /

pressed? Yet I survived the sea, smashed / the monsters’ hot jaws, swam home from my journey”

(Lines 308-312). No other man has been capable or had the abilities to do what Beowulf does,

therefore he gains this title of fame and glory fairly because of his mighty qualities. “If weapons

were useless he’d use / his hands, the strength in his fingers. So fame / comes to the men who

mean to win it / and care about nothing else!” (Lines 609-612). Beowulf knows that you must

work to achieve fame and glory, and that it is not just something that can be easily earned by

anybody. That is why he makes sure to put together all four of the Anglo-Saxon values in order

to help out the people that are in danger, as well as help him gain the fame and glory that is very

much deserved.

The four Anglo-Saxon values, which are strength, courage, loyalty, and fame and glory,

are all portrayed by Beowulf throughout the entire poem of Beowulf, and it helps view Beowulf

to be more selfless rather than selfish. Beowulf demonstrates his almighty powers in the value of

strength. In the value of courage, he demonstrates his great amounts of wisdom and bravery. In

the value of loyalty he shows his charisma and deep bonds with his people and warriors, the ones

he wants to protect. Finally, he shows his well-deserved success and achievements through the

value of fame and glory. All four of these Anglo-Saxon values are what helped shaped Beowulf

into the great warrior he turned out to be. However, these values do have the ability to corrupt

someone if they misuse them and only care to benefit themselves with them. Therefore, that is

what sets Beowulf apart from the other characters in the poem who would seem more selfish

than selfless.
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Work Cited

Raffel, Burton, and Seamus Heaney, translators. Beowulf. Pearson Education, Inc., 2012.