Examine the character of Beowulf. What can we infer about the Anglo-Saxon, masculine ideal/stereotype? Are these ideals still present in our...

The character of Beowulf is typical of heroic epic. He is, in many ways, the ideal hero, evolving from a modest young warrior with great potential to one who does great deeds and finally to a wise and powerful king. His first and most obvious characteristic is martial prowess which he demonstrates by engaging in athletic contests as a youth (the swimming challenge) and then by killing monsters as an adult. As well as being...

The character of Beowulf is typical of heroic epic. He is, in many ways, the ideal hero, evolving from a modest young warrior with great potential to one who does great deeds and finally to a wise and powerful king. His first and most obvious characteristic is martial prowess which he demonstrates by engaging in athletic contests as a youth (the swimming challenge) and then by killing monsters as an adult. As well as being strong and skilled in the arts of war, he is also of good moral character, acknowledging and fulfilling debts and obligations, and willing to risk or even sacrifice his own life when needed for the greater good (e.g. the fight against the dragon). He exists within a strongly hierarchical society and one that respects the bonds of kinship and hospitality, and he demonstrates the important value of loyalty.

This tradition of admiration of physical prowess, tribalism, and hierarchy is still present in the military and in team sports although technological advances do mean that the skilled engineer is now more valuable to the military than someone who can just lift heavy weights or shoot a bow accurately. Similarly, the loyalty to a small group defined by kinship and hospitality exchange is one that is admirable in some ways but in other ways can lead to narrow-mindedness and hostility to outsiders, not traits that are admirable or productive in a globalized and multicultural world.