THE HERO’S JOURNEY IN BEOWULF POEM

THE HERO’S JOURNEY IN BEOWULF POEM

      Just for a brief background, Beowulf is a poem dating from the 6th century by an unknown author. The text follows the already mentioned Beowulf, a human of unusual strength who goes through a journey towards the liberation of the Danish people against the attacks of the monster Grendel. During the narration, the poem's gets close to the “hero's journey”, described by Joseph Campbel, which passing by the odyssey until The Hobbit, is one of the most used plots in the literature.

      This approximation is observed at three crucial moments in the narrative; first, the life before the journey, Beowulf lived in Geartland and listen to stories about a creature that haunts the kingdom of Denmark, causing several deaths and widespread terror. At this point, he receives “the call” and embarks in order to bring freedom to Heorot’s people. King Hrothgar is like a mentor; having failed to rid his kingdom of the monster, now supports Beowulf on this mission. All this narrative until the moment Beowulf goes in search of the monster, works like a preparation for the story, a construction of his personality.

      The second moment is the adventure itself; at this point, the hero goes beyond the boundary of the “common world” by starting his battle. He kills Grendel with his own hands and bring an arm as a trophy, but his trial is not over, still he must face the mother of the creature looking for revenge. This time he uses a sword designed to kill giants, to reap the life of this creature. Thus, done his mission, the hero returns to his kingdom where years later he becomes king. In this part of the narrative, we have the trial of Beowulf and his establishment as a hero. Here is described his achievements and anxieties regarding his mission.

      In addition, the third and last moment, focuses on the post-adventure narrative. Beowulf, in his elderly, after fulfilling his call, lives the fruits of his deed, had received treasures and years after ruling the kingdom. However, as a last mission, he must face a dragon that ravages his kingdom. This time, armed with a sword and a shield, the hero goes into a battle and kills the dragon, but is fatally wounded. This is his latest adventure, in which he uses everything that he had learned before, during his ordeal, to complete this mission, and so he dies in honor becoming a hero who has his story told from generation to generation.

BIBlIOGRAPHY

ARENT, Margaret. The heroic pattern: old germanic helmets, Beowulf, and Grettis saga. In: POLOME, E. C. (org.). Old Norse Literature and Mythology. Austin: University of Texas press: Ithaca, 1993, p. 130 – 199

CAMPBELL, Joseph. The hero with a thousand faces. U.S.A. Pantheon Books, 1949

RAMALHO, Erik (trad.). Beowulf (edição bilíngue). Belo Horizonte: Tessitura, 2007