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Beowulf, The Epic Hero

Beowulf: Friend or Foe

Today society is faced everyday with threats of danger, but unlike in the epic poem Beowulf the danger is not dragons and monsters. In this tale Beowulf, the hero, in order to protect his and King Hrothgar's kingdom must fight evil to the death. First he must face Grendel, a monster threatening the lives of Hrothgar's public, then due to the destruction of Grendel must face Grendel's mother. After this, surely Beowulf faces several adversaries, but in his declining years he is forced to battle a dragon, his ultimate demise. In the epic poem Beowulf the harmony of a civilization is dependent on the actions of an individual hero, Beowulf, but must be maintained by the community.
Although the epic hero, Beowulf, gains many victories, they are do not all have long-term advantages. In his battle against Grendel in Denmark, Beowulf's victory is not long lasting, merely temporary; he is soon haunted by yet another monster, Grendel's mother. Beowulf's work is never done, harmony is never permanent, "The victories of Beowulf are great ones, but they are temporary; the threat remains, and the entire poem is haunted by the vision of ultimate destruction" (Halverson 103). Throughout the poem, Beowulf acts as the defender of civilization, he must go out and defeat monsters and villains, live in harmony for a moment, then waits for the threat to return in another form. In order for the threat to be defeated permanently, a group stance must be taken. A single individual, in this case Beowulf, cannot handle the task of keeping societal peace, rather an entire community. Part of the down side to the epic hero is that Beowulf's victory will always be temporary because he is temporary, "'I've never known fear; as a youth I fought in endless battles. I am old, now, but I will fight again…" (Beowulf 68). Beowulf is a mortal and when he dies, society will fail.
Throughout the poem, society is kept safe through the sole actions of the hero, without them,...