Subjects:
The epic hero, Beowulf the Geat, shows many of qualities of a born leader. In this epic poem wrote by an unknown author he gains the loyalty and devotion of his men and defends good from evil. He is portrayed as almost invincible, having the strength of many men, being benevolently boastful, showing great amounts of courage in battle, and unsurpassed in intelligence. To be a good leader a person must inspire confidence, and demonstrate compassion. Whether Beowulf was encouraging troops, relinquishing jealous rages, or fighting monsters he always thought of the good of the people he was defending, not himself.
An example of leadership is portrayed when Unferth (A Dane warrior), full of Mead and talking with a drunk tongue insults Beowulf many times. Beowulf replies to the insults by saying:
“Ah! Unferth, my friend, your face is hot with ale, and your tongue has tried to tell us
about the doings about Brecca’s doings” (261-65).
. . .
The hero and leader now played by Wiglaf rushes in to his lord in his time of need to help kill the dragon and tend to the dying ring-giver who requests all the gold be divided amongst all his people. Beowulf of the Geats was a man that possessed all these. that even though Unferth tried to quarrel with him, Beowulf kept a calm attitude towards the intoxicated warrior, even calling him his friend after being struck with remarks about his pride.
In order for to be a leader or king, one must possess leadership, inspire confidence, demonstrate compassion, and against all odds, fight for good. Assuring such a fate upon ones self can only make the defenseless followers feel secure that the leader will succeed in the quest. This good deed can come back in the most mysterious ways, for example in the king of the Geat’s last battle with a dragon (who he fights because of a thief stealing a jeweled cup from it) he is defenseless left with a sword broken in two and a melted shield, and all the soldiers have fled but one. In the end, Unferth was made to look weak and jealous of Beowulf in front of others. The one soldier left from his band of eleven warriors is Wiglaf (A Geat warrior) who we see as our scop writes
‘Remembering everything his lord and cousin had given him, armor and gold and the great
estates Wextans’s family enjoyed, Wiglaf’s mind was made up; he raised his yellow shield
and drew his sword…’(755-60).
A good leader not only wins battles but he divides the glory amongst the army of whom he led.
Beowulf prides himself knowing the great feats he has preformed and gives boast to the men who came with him. This epic tells that Beowulf was indeed a great king until his death when he defended his land from evil and killed the mighty dragon. In this epic poem, Beowulf showed all the qualities that made him not only a good hero, but also a great leader. He demonstrated these qualities many times during the course of this story.
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