Beowulfs Superiority :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf, the great Geatish warrior, lives a very adventurous life filled with many voyages, battles, and victories. Through all of these events, he meets various people who are considered to be heroes like himself. These heroes, however, are unable to have the same abilities and characteristics of Beowulf. His great achievements cannot be matched by anything that they have done in their lives. Beowulf is a superior hero to Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf in the epic of Beowulf because he kills every monster that he fights, becomes a widely feared warrior and king, and dies in battle completing his final heroic act. Beowulf is superior to Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf because he kills every monster that he faces. When Herot was ravaged by Grendel and his mother, Hrothgar lacked both the strength and the courage to defend his people. Hrothgar was hindered by his old age and lacked the vitality of his youth that would have made him capable of slaying the monsters. However, when Beowulf grows old and becomes king, he is not affected by the factor of old age. Beowulf’s kingdom is attacked by a great dragon just like Hrothgars kingdom was attacked by Grendel. The difference is that Beowulf in his old age still had the strength and courage, unlike Hrothgar, to protect his kingdom. Unferth was considered to be the hero of Herot, but yet when monsters attacked the people that he was suppost to protect, he did nothing to stop it. Grendels reign of terror started many years before Beowulf came, so Unferth had plenty of time to at least make an attempt at stopping him. But because of Unferths lack o f action, Beowulf has to take on the task of slaying Grendel. By killing Grendel and his mother, Beowulf succeeds where Unferth has failed. Wiglaf and Beowulf both fought the dragon, but Beowulf is the one who actually killed it. Wiglaf was in full strength and was unhurt but all that he could do was stab the dragon. Beowulf, however, was badly wounded, but still managed to provide the fatal slice to kill the dragon. Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf all relied on Beowulf to kill the monsters that they could not kill themselves. This makes Beowulf superior to them because he obtained the strength, courage, and will that they all lacked. Beowulf is superior to Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf because he becomes a widely feared warrior and king.