Beowulf: A hero

            A hero fears neither death nor destruction of his own being, but instead risks all that he is for what he believes to be right, moral, and just. The poem took place during the Anglo-Saxon era when heroic deeds and loyalty to one's leader were traits of a person that lived on forever. Beowulf is an epic and tells the story of a legendary hero, conquering all obstacles as though he was immortal. Up until the end of Beowulf's life he was constantly looking to be the hero. However, his mortality is exposed by his death. Heroes all share the characteristic of their willingness to die in their attempt to accomplish their heroic act, thus making the act in itself heroic. Throughout the epic, Beowulf in many ways exhibited all the qualities and characteristics needed to be a true hero.
             Many Old English poems glorified a real or imaginary hero, and tried to teach the values of bravery. Beowulf was written during the Anglo-Saxon period of English literature. The Anglo-Saxon period was a time of fierce battles in which human .
             strength was measured by the ability to control the reaction to fate through evil and courage. Beowulf was written in Old English as an epic poem. This era described a real or imaginary hero and tried to teach the values of bravery. Beowulf was passed on from person to person. The author exaggerates on the character of Beowulf; the story is a fantasy. It is hard to believe that the character of Beowulf would be able to kill a monster like Grendel with his bare hands. Beowulf possesses many superhuman abilities, such as the amazing power to hold his breath under water for an unlimited period of time. It is easy to feel that these characteristics separate from the realistic nature of the story, and give the impression that Beowulf is more like a myth than a man. In the epic Beowulf, he's portrayed as almost inhuman, but he clearly fulfilled his role as a true hero. The only question that exists was whether he was indeed a man or merely a myth?.