HEROIC CODES 2
Heroic codes
Beowulf clearly displays what a hero is supposed to do and the characters a hero should
have in order to be exceptional from the rest. During his time, Beowulf had portrayed courage in
his encounter with Breca. Moreover, there is courage on how he fought and killed sea monsters
which previously no one had ever done so. Also, Beowulf shows how a hero dislikes
humiliation. During his youthful years he was defeated by Breca and also humiliated by Unferth.
This provoked him to challenge Breca and this helped him set a great record that discouraged
Unferth. Moreover, Beowulf is a sturdy and courageous person and this was displayed during his
fight with Grendel (Cherniss, 2018). Grendel was one of the strongest men during his lifetime,
but the strength portrayed by Beowulf astounded him leading to his unimaginable defeat. Also,
Beowulf demonstrated his unbelievable pride when he prepared to fight the dragon. He boasted
on how he would come to grips with the dragon the same way he did with Grendel.
On the other hand, the Sophoclean tragic hero was explained by Aristotle. The theory
explains the downfall of a hero and how it brings fear to audience. Oedipus serves as the perfect
example of a downfall of a hero. As a character, it is apparent that he portrays hubris in an
extraordinary manner (Qi, & Zhang, 2018). Oedipus was one character that did not want to listen
to what other wisemen like Tiresias could say to him. Due to his unwillingness to listen to others,
he unfortunately became blind to the truth about the killing of his father. Later on, Oedipus had a
bad end following a tragedy that struck him. He is seen as a character that scuffled upon his fate
following his unexpected downfall that sent audience into fear.
In a nutshell, Beowulf demonstrated heroic codes such as courage, dislike of humiliation,
strength and pride. On the other hand, sophoclean tragic hero explains the downfall of a hero.

+13062052269

info@desklib.com

Assignment | Order to be exceptional from the rest

Contribute Materials

Related Documents

Analysis of Literary Texts