Acknowledged as the greatest masterpiece of the Anglo-Saxton time period Beowulf's story tells of the journey of a hero. Translated by Burton Raffel, Beowulf is a heroic epic that tells of the trials and tribulations and the journey of the great Geat warrior Beowulf. .
The story of Beowulf tells of the life and death of the great Geat warrior Beowulf. The story is a heroic epic because it tells the story of a great hero. Heroic epics tell the story of a journey of a hero that goes through separation, initiation, and the return. The separation involves the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, and supernatural aid.
The initiation involves the crossing of the first threshold, which is stepping beyond bounds or into unknown circumstances. Also in the initiation self-purification takes place when the sense are cleansed and humbled. The return is when the hero must bring back restoring humanity, which is often refused.
The story of Beowulf is a classic example of a heroic epic. Beowulf goes through the separation, initiation, and the return home. Beowulf hears Hrothgars cries for help and goes by choice to battle the evil monster Grendel "Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror and quickly commanded a boat fitted out, Proclaiming that he"d go to that famous king, would sail across the sea to Hrothgar"(Beowulf 197-200). On the journey Beowulf is helped by a supernatural aid "Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy sword, hammered by giants, strong and blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons (1557-1560). The initiation of Beowulf is quite humble, Beowulf wants what is best for his people and he believes that fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good. After Beowulf's death the world goes back to being hectic, the feat of bringing back wisdom to humanity was refused by the death of Beowulf.
The character of Beowulf is the Anglo-Saxton ideal hero.