The heroic ideal and heroic paradox in Beowulf

Beowulf

The titular character of the epic poem Beowulf exemplifies the paradoxical image of the heroic ideal as it pertains to the Anglo-Saxon culture of his time, because the greatness in battle that he achieves during his life is considered incomplete until he concludes it with a glorious, violent death. In line the heroic ideal, Beowulf seeks out challenge and danger in order to test hist mettle, and finds Grendel and his mother, who he almost easily defeats. These actions bring him great renown and even allow him to become king of his homeland, but while these feats of strength and courage demonstrate that he is mostly in line with the heroic ideal, he cannot be considered truly heroic until after his death, and thus the poem skips forward to end of his reign, when he finally is allowed a heroic death at the hands of a dragon that had been terrorizing the land. Examining Beowulf's stated intentions for seeking out Grendel and his reaction to his own impending death reveals how he intentionally embodies the heroic ideal and even recognizes some of the irony in the fact that this ideal will not be met until he faces his impending death, a death that he knows must come.

The first moment when it becomes clear that Beowulf is attempting to embody the Anglo-Saxon heroic ideal comes when he is confronted by one of Hrothgar's men, who questions him as to his intentions. While Beowulf is careful to respectfully honor Hrothgar, who he calls the "nation's shield" despite the fact that he is "stricken and helpless" in the face of Grendel's attacks, it is clear that Beowulf's interests lie primarily in finding some heroic deed that will serve as a suitable challenge (Heaney 11, 19). Beowulf says he is looking for "this threat, whatever it is, / this danger abroad in the dark nights, / this corpse-maker mongering death" in order to "settle the outcome in single combat" and so continue his long line of victories, such as the times he "battled and bound five beats, / raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea / slaughtered sea-brutes" (Heaney 21, 29). Although older diplomatic ties play a minor role in Beowulf's decision to aid Hrothgar, it is clear that he is doing so because he wants to live up to the heroic ideal by besting the most challenging foes until the inevitable point that he finds one he cannot defeat, and thus dies a hero's death, rather than to "follow up an old friendship," as Hrothgar states (Heaney 27). After his fight with Grendel is over, Beowulf states that he has "gone through a glorious endeavor," and only many lines later does he acknowledge the numerous people Grendel has killed; for Beowulf, the fight itself is more important than the context, because it is only in battle that he can prove himself and ultimately die an honorable death (Heaney 65).

Beowulf's demeanor prior to his fight with the dragon could not be more different from his initial giddy desire to battle Grendel, as he is well aware that he is finally facing his end. According to the narrator, "he was sad at heart, / unsettled yet ready; sensing his death," because although he is old and ready to die, only in old age, after the death of some of his friends and loved ones, does he realize that there may be something more to life than fighting and heroic deeds in battle (Heaney 165). Nevertheless, he is resolute in his decision to face the dragon in order to continue on towards his attainment of the paradoxical heroic ideal, even if he recognizes that this ideal may be the cause of unwarranted pain and suffering, and thus tells his men that "this fight is not yours, / nor is it up to any man except me / to measure his strength against the monster / or to prove his worth. I shall win the gold / by my courage, or else mortal combat / doom of battle, will bear your lord away" (Heaney 169, 171). Beowulf knows that his end is near, and thus he does not want assistance from his men, because he would rather they be safe than risk the possibility that their aid keeps him from dying altogether, or worse, allows him to die a peaceful, disgraceful death.

Beowulf is eventually aided by his kinsman Wiglaf, but this does not lessen the heroic nature of his death because the assistance he receives actually marks a kind of transference of the mantle of hero from Beowulf to Wiglaf. As the older hero Beowulf is on his way out after having completed the last of his great deeds, Wiglaf is only at the beginning of his life, and thus marks the transmission of the heroic ideal to the next generation. As he is finally dying, having suffered a mortal wound in his battle with the dragon, Beowulf is consoled by the fact that he has led a life according to the heroic ideal, not seeking out "quarrels" with other men, but rather dedicating his life to finding and fighting monsters so as to prove his worth (Heaney 185). In fact, one might argue that only in his final moments does Beowulf truly find any peace in his life, because only just before he dies is finally able to be contented that he has done everything he can in order to fulfill the ideal of the Anglo-Saxon hero, including passing that ideal on to his descendants while ensuring a noble death for himself.