Option 1: Does the poem Beowulf distinguish between the qualities that make a good king and those that make a good warrior? Identify the qualities of each, providing clear examples from the text

BEOWULF ASSIGNMENT.

Beowulf is an example of Anglo-Saxon literature. The literature is focused on its central character was known as Beowulf. The writing shows that Beowulf came from an extremely humble background and was thus looked down upon. However, Beowulf never lost hope but instead fought for his society and became a victorious warrior. Afterwards, king Hrothgar instructs Beowulf to help Geats as a warrior when he Leeds to many successes like against the evil Grendel. Hrothgar then becomes fond of him; hence, when the king Hrothgar dies, Beowulf takes over asking. The literature hence focuses on the characteristics of a good king and those of a good warrior.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD WARRIOR.

The poem says that a good warrior must protect his king at all times. This is especially shown in the literature when Wiglaf says that “As God is my witness, I would rather my body were robed in the same burning blaze as my gold-giver 's body than go back home bearing arms. That is unthinkable unless we have first slain the foe and defended the life of the prince of the Weather-Geats” (Beowulf 2650-2655). Here we can see to what extent the warriors were willing to ensure that their kings were safe. The poem also shows that a good warrior must be able to boast of his past achievements. The poem states that any warrior who can not boast of their achievements is incapable of convincing members of their society that they would be safe in the warrior’s hands. The poem also depicts warriors as people who are ever courageous and can be full of action. Therefore, the warriors would not show any sign of fear even when they are faced by a great or colossal opponent but would instead face the challenge without blinking even though the odds are against them.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD KING.

The poem also clearly shows the characteristics of a good king. The poem shows that a great king must always be wise and show some level of experience. This is precisely evident from what happened to Beowulf when he only carried a few men to war, thus showing significant levels of inexperience. From the text, it is even admitted that “Yet the prince of the rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague” (Beowulf 2345-2346).” When we look at the context, any king who had some level of experience would have carried many warriors when facing a dragon. Another quality of a good king, as depicted by the poem, is that good king delegates typically the duties of fighting for the community on his behalf to the warriors. At the same time, he stays and Leeds from behind. This is proved when Beowulf indicated the exact opposite when fighting the dragon hence ended up dying (Beowulf, 2347-2355).

WAS BEOWULF A GOOD KING, WARRIOR, BOTH OR NEITHER?

I, therefore, think that Beowulf was a bad king but a good warrior. This is precisely evident from how Beowulf shows bravery when facing different battles. Those kinds of bravery are only present with good warriors. Beowulf also came from being despised to fighting until he got recognition from king Hrothgar, showing how a good warrior he was. However, Beowulf was a bad king. This was shown by how he made poor decisions that later led to his demise. The decisions included carrying just a few men to war while facing the dragon. He was also not supposed to continue fighting but delegate the duties to the warriors and do just the decision making (Beowulf, 2347-2355).