Some readers have concluded that Beowulf comes off as arrogant when it comes to his skills as a warrior. Do you agree, or is this acceptable behavior for someone of his status?
ENGL 201 | British Literature to 1800
Myra Seaman | Fall 2012
Some readers have concluded that Beowulf comes off as arrogant when it comes to his skills as a warrior. Do you agree, or is this acceptable behavior for someone of his status?
It’s definitely easy to conclude that Beowulf has a certain arrogance about his superior fighting skills, but considering he is able to prove his skills by slaying Grendel the first night, I’d almost say it’s acceptable. The nation under Hrothgar had given up on defeating the monster…yet Beowulf was not only brave enough to give it a go, he also succeeded in doing so. Maybe his arrogance is deserved…
Beowulf lives in a time of heroes, and he is celebrated as such. In my opinion, he’s confident rather than arrogant. He has demonstrated great strength and ability in his conquests, and has great renown. If he does come off as arrogant, it is just as much the fault of others as it is his, as they expect him to be able to defeat Grendel because of his past experiences. Ultimately, whether you believe him to be arrogant or simply confident, his belief in himself is what enables him to succeed.
I agree. I do not see Beowolf as arrogant. In a way it is a kind of war tactic. He did this to reassure the people good would win. He doesn’t really boast except for in the case where he said he would fight without his weapons and armor. I also see this as a way for him to keep himself more confident when going up against such a powerful bad group.I completely agree with your response and I don’t think I could state it ina more accurate way.
Consider, too, how the other people within the world of the narrative respond to Beowulf’s (and others’) boasting. Do they accept it? Reject it? Something else?
I think that it is most interesting to look at the way the other characters within the poem accept or challenge Beowulf and his way of speaking of himself rather than how we, as readers today understand his behavior. It is also important to note the way that the author portrays the other characters who surround Beowulf. In the poem, before Beowulf has had the chance to prove himself by fighting Grendel, Unferth, a man of Hrothgar’s kingdom, is one who does challenge Beowulf’s bravery and the claims he has made. Unferth is one of few with any negative feeling toward the warrior and it is made clear by the way the author paints Unferth that his doubt and his bitterness toward Beowulf is an unsavory character flaw and in ways makes him less honorable for it. Whether Beowulf is arrogant or not is not really the question. From a modern reader’s stand point, he is, very much so. The question is more so was is it acceptable for some of his status IN HIS TIME to act in such a manor. And I say yes, clearly it was, based solely upon the way the other characters received his actions and swallowed his words.
Beowulf does come off as arrogant, but during the time this story takes place, people would essentially worship strong and successful warriors. Because of the praise Beowulf receives from the people, he is almost destine to become somewhat conceited; however, I believe that Beowulf is not just arrogant, but mainly confident in himself. The battles he fights require a lot of self confidence and a lot of bravery, and self confidence can easily be seen as arrogance. It is acceptable to behavior for Beowulf to be arrogant or confident, because he is the only one that is capable of defeating something as strong as Grendel. He is the best and bravest warrior, and if he keeps the people out of danger, he should be able to act as conceited as he would like.
I believe that it was acceptable for Beowulf to act in this manner. For one, he actually accomplished achievements and showed more pride than arrogance in my opinion. During this time period, tales of heroes and their accomplishments were celebrated when they killed demons and monsters that terrorized the hero’s people. Beowulf actually had evidence to back up his accomplishments such as defeating Grendel and his mother since they both killed numerous amounts of people. Since Beowulf was the only one to kill enemies that took the lives of many, he became boastful of those accomplishments and declared any opponent as the loser no matter how strong or big they were.
It seems that characters and figures in epics such as the character of Beowulf are largely driven by a certain factor: duty. Beowulf travels to Hrothgar’s kingdom in order to fulfill a duty that he feels that he has to Hrothgar on account of their familial history with Beowulf’s father. Yes Beowulf is very capable of the amazing feats he preforms (such as fighting off Grendel and retaining a prize from the battle), but his arrogance toward these feats and abilities stems from his duty to his own reputation. Beowulf may references things like the time he “slew a tribe of giants” (70) to use his reputation as a means of proving his worth to Hrothgar as a protector and fighter. Just like when Beowulf quickly corrects the drunken (and false) tale Unferth retells that places Beowulf in a less than heroic light; Beowulf’s duty to his reputation compels him to stand up for what truly occurred. A man’s reputation, at this time, would greatly dictate what work he can find among other things, so protecting such a thing would not only be important but vital to his survival. This arrogance is accepted by the men around him, even seemingly encouraged at times with the men themselves building Beowulf up with his own stories. These men are instilling hope in him. Incidentally, much of the boasting that is done concerning Beowulf is from the mouths of others. Hrothgar, early on, states “he has thirty men’s strength, strong in battle, in his handgrip” (70). The other characters seem to take comfort in the tales and arrogance of Beowulf. Beowulf has a reputation, a reputation that he has and continues to back up with his actions, such as the initial encounter with Grendel. His boasting may not be a product of his own arrogance, but rather a product of his own lifestyle and the era he lives in.
As T’Rese mentioned, heroes were celebrated in Beowulf’s time. This is proven by Hrothgar’s knowledge of Beowulf’s past and strength from lines 377-381. Beowulf has a reputation, and although he is boastful he upholds his reputation by defeating Grendel. It’s also worth noting that although boastful, Beowulf expresses respect and humility. He’s respectful of Hrothgar when asking permission from line 426-432 and shows humility when he mentions that Grendel could possibly kill him in lines 447-451 and suggests Wyrd’s ways in line 455. We can conclude that Beowulf is a believer in Wyrd and accepts that there is something larger than himself.
I would not use the word arrogant to describe Beowulf. He is a renowned hero that lives up to his name. He does not boast of feats he cannot achieve, but speaks of great accomplishments that he has already completed. From his birth he was meant for great things, being the son of Scyld his fame was already known. He was not born an arrogant child, but one with many duties and great deeds that he was destined to accomplish with his comrades by his side. From birth he was praised for what he was meant to become, so he was not arrogant just born to be a great hero.
It is extremely noticeable that Beowulf enjoys talking about himself in a positive manner on a regular basis. However, that fact alone doesn’t necessarily make a person arrogant. Beowulf has the ability to back up his statements with several accounts and examples of him being victorious and strong throughout his life, rather than just making empty claims. With that in mind, I personally don’t consider this to be arrogant. Instead, he is simply aware of how powerful he is and is not shy about telling others. Not only is he aware of his strengths, but the people he comes in contact with are aware and supportive as well. Hrothgar himself told Beowulf that he had “never entrusted to any man….except to [Beowulf] now.” this important task. Therefore, if someone of Hrothgar’s status has this amount of faith in you, wouldn’t you lean to be a little on the arrogant side?
Personally I believe that Beowulf is more confident then he is arrogant. Yes he boasts about what he has accomplished in the past and what he will accomplish in the future. But if you are someone who has accomplished this much wouldn’t you want to boast about it? If he was unsure about what he could accomplish it may create a weaker warrior; but by telling himself and others that he will be able to defeat Grendel. and he does then why not continue to be confident. Whenever Beowulf says he is going to do something and boasts about it always works out in his favor. However the more confident he gets the more arrogant he becomes. Beowulf is a hero during his time period, he has the right to be arrogant.
In my opinion, Beowulf was not being arrogant when he displayed his warrior skills. During a time of attack, I feel as though the leader of the people must show power and strength in order to gain respect. Not only does Beowulf have to protect the people of the kingdom but he must also gain their trust in the sense that he will protect them. If he did not show the people his battle skills, then they would not have trusted that he could kill the Grendel. The people only truly accept him as their leader because he has the skills to support his claims.
I would say that, to the modern reader, Beowulf does in fact seem arrogant. He boasts about his ability without a doubt to the outcome and, in the 21st century, this behavior is considered insolent and overbearing. I feel that for the time period and within the context of this poem, however, his boastfulness is more definitive of his ability and pride in that ability than an irresponsible assumption of Beowulf’s. He consistently backs up his claims throughout the text and never once falters in his bravery though his own life is at stake. I believe that most modern readers take this for arrogance though Beowulf is simply stating his ability.
The question being is it acceptable behavior, well is it acceptable behavior from our perspective or that or the era? Let’s consider this, Beowulf follows and mimics epics of the classical era, The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid. Epic tales of heroism, a trait which is valued at the time.
Is it vain or egotistical to want yourself to be a person “which sons of men should remember forever”?
Intrinsically, Beowulf’s claims to fame seem to be lyrical. Extrinsically, his boasts just reflect on the time’s admiration of these characteristics.
Is it acceptable behavior? I would say that’s for an individual to decide.
Even in our own modern society we have those who either admire war stories or those who despise them. It’s probably best to set aside whither we agree with the perspective and just focus on how the story is told. What it boils down too by asking if it is acceptable behavior is to ask if it is moral, and truly “There is no such as a moral or immoral book.” (Oscar Wilde)
Beowulf is the heroic character in this epic poem. As Elizabeth stated previously, Beowulf feels he has a duty to his people. He travels to Hrothgar’s kingdom and openly declares that he will fight Grendel, even if that means losing his own life. As a reader I don’t view this declaration as arrogant, rather I find him sacrificing his life to better the innocent people who are living in fear. Beowulf is a confident warrior who ultimately trusts his life in G-ds hands. He never refers to himself as someone others should idolize or fear, even with all his strength and accomplishments. His faithful kinsmen have the upmost respect for him but still fear for his life when he is off battling Grendel’s mother. This shows that Beowulf’s men view him as an equal and understand that he too can be defeated. By proving himself as a brave warrior, Beowulf earned the respect of those around him.
I think that Beowulf has a right to this behavior because of his status. He is said to be a decedent of Thor a God, to protect his people, and his skills, I think give him this superior and right to arrogance.
I would not characterize Beowulf as arrogant, at least not in a negative way. Throughout stanzas 8 and 9, Beowulf boasts of his past battles confidently. I think this is to prove himself to Unferth and the other Scyldings that he indeed has the qualities to defeat Grendel. A man with less confidence in himself would have seemed foolish thinking he could slay a monster. Without some hint of arrogance from Beowulf it would be hard to trust him at such an important task as defeating Grendel. Beowulf has a lot of confidence in himself and that clearly defines him as the story’s hero. His boasting and assertiveness build up the hype leading up to his battle with Grendel and the battle confirms the strength of Beowulf’s confidence.
Lines 655-661 “I have never entrusted to any man…” This explains how important it was for Beowulf to prove himself worthy, even if that meant sounding arrogant or overly confident. He had to earn the trust of Healfdene’s son to guard the mead hall.
As stated by many above, context is important in this poem. Beowulf is an epic hero in an epic poem, though the boasts of his deeds my come off as sound arrogant and pigheaded he’s also the only one volunteering to go slay the monster that threatens the kingdom. If he were a meek and modest man no one would have faith in his ability to slay Grendel. More to the point his actions have always backed up his words to this point. In modern epics such as action movies the heroes are almost always arrogant and cocky, they believe they can save the day so the audience does too.
I view Beowulf as more self-confident than arrogant. While, yes, to the modern reader his boasts appear conceited and exaggerated, in the context of the poem he does not view himself as having any abilities that he does not actually possess. Arrogance, by definition, is having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities. Beowulf simply holds himself to a very high standard, which clearly benefits him, as he is able to defeat Grendel and Grendel’s mother. This is made even more clear when Beowulf is contrasted against the jealous Unferth, whose boasts are not justified.
I agree completely with almost everyone’s posts saying that Beowulf is almost allowed to be cocky or arrogant because of the skills he possesses. Although its not necessarily humble, he knows that there is no one else who can protect the townsmen and kill Grendel. Also the fact that the book is an epic, leads to the reader expecting the hero to have unnatural prowess and skills as a warrior. His confidence comes off as arrogance. Also, knowing that he possesses these skills, he would want to assume the position of the leader because he will then be able to attack Grendel the way that he thinks best without anyone going against his plan.
I do not think arrogant is the right word to describe Beowulf. Although he is boastful about his achievements and victories, he upholds his reputation after he defeats Grendel. Beowulf is not boastful, he merely lives in a time of heroes, and he is celebrated as one. Although he may come off as arrogant to readers today, during this time period, others would consider him a strong, brave warrior. The more fitting word I would use to describe Beowulf would be confident; he is confident in himself that he will defeat Grendel, and that he does. He lives up to his reputation of a hero by his achievements and conquers.
I feel as if Beowulf comes off more confident than arrogant. The fact that there is essentially no one else around that would be able to defeat Grendel kind of makes it necessary for him to be confident. If he doesn’t believe that he’s going to be the one to defeat Grendel then he has already lost. It is very easy to confuse confidence for arrogance, but in the terms or Beowulf, he could use all of the confidence in the world. Also, he clearly has the skills needed to back up anything he says. Just the fact that he is willing to confront Grendel without a weapon makes him seem cocky, but it is rather just confidence. Perhaps he hopes that the other men are looking towards him and feeding off of his confidence?
It’s easy for someone from our time period to misread Beowulf’s behavior as arrogance. Not only was it warranted for someone of his status to speak of his exploits, it was expected. Like giving a resume to a potential employer, Beowulf (and other heroes) had to tell what his skills were, his qualifications. No one in that scenario would have respected him otherwise.