Beowulf & Sir Gawain
Before recorded literature existed, heroes dominated spoken tales of adventure. As the human race grew older and wiser the definition of a heroic individual evolved. Various qualities of a hero changed over time yet other details remain constant. Consequently, the main characters in works of literature set three centuries apart possess different as well as similar characteristics. An Anglo-Saxon epic, Beowulf, and a chivalric romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, contain men with parallel and distinctive features.A hero may not exist without physical combat. The reasons why the heroes of these two works fight are antitheses of each other. Beowulf’s first battles are fought in defense of a whole nation because the protagonist’s “duty was to go to the Danes’ great king. . .” to destroy the evil himself (Raffel 46). Beowulf later takes on a dragon which menaces his kingdom to protect his civilians. Therefore, the Anglo-Saxon hero foremost must defend others. Whereas Sir Gawain’s motivation is to stay loyal to his king. Chivalry requires him to defend Arthur’s honor. Consequently, Gawain volunteered to fight the Green Knight. The pivotal characters in both legends act differently. When Beowulf arrives at the court
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Sir Gawain, Green Knight, Heroes Anglo-Saxon, Christmas Eve, , King Hrothgar, Beowulf Gawain, Beowulf God, King Hrothgars, Sir Gawains, sir gawain, green knight, anglo-saxon hero, god faith, chivalric romance, king , raffel 46, borroff 146, similar characteristics, court judge,
Approximate Word count = 970
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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