What Makes Beowulf An Epic Hero

An epic hero is someone who posses brave and noble traits within a story. Epic heroes are normally characters from ancient stories and are almost always the main character. With that being said, the main character in Beowulf is the perfect example. Beowulf is a warrior and prince who possesses certain traits that make him a hero to Anglo-Saxons and to readers that study his story today. According to an article by Rebecca Ray, there are seven main characteristics that make an epic hero. Noble birth, superhuman capabilities, vast traveler, unmatched warrior cultural legend, humility, battles supernatural foes are all traits or carried out actions by epic heroes. The main characteristics shown in the poem are his superhuman capabilities, Beowulf gives blatant examples of Beowulf having superhuman abilities, being a vast traveler, and battling supernatural foes which makes him an epic hero.

Beowulf is seen having superhuman capabilities by his superhuman strength and notoriety for being the strongest warrior in the world. His strength is shown in lines 739-748 where it says, “Grendel snatched at the first Geat he came to… and was instantly seized himself” (Beowulf 31). Beowulf is seen as having superhuman strength because out of all the victims of Grendel, he was the only one who could stop him. His characteristics that separate him from other mortals makes him a hero, along with the reason he was even in contact with Grendel in the first place.

Works Cited

2. “Epic Hero Definition & Examples | Characteristics of an Epic Hero.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/www.storyboardthat.com/articles/e/epic-hero/amp.

3. Jankowski, Connie. “Why Beowulf Is an Epic Hero.” Pen and the Pad, 10 Jan. 2019, penandthepad.com/beowulf-epic-hero-20967.html.