The journey of a hero, as Joseph Campbell describes, "is often is a type of adventure in which the hero has no idea what he is doing, but suddenly finds himself in a transformed realm . . . with the typical hero act--departure, fulfillment, return."
             Beowulf embarks on the journey of a typical hero beginning with a call and departure to an unknown land, not knowing what is his embarking upon, proceeded by various tests of his mettle that become progressively more difficult, and finally a return home with the knowledge of life that he has gained from the trials and incorporates them not only into his transformed self, but into the creation of the perfect community. However, Beowulf's journey becomes more than the archetypal journey, for he delves into a deeper realm of consciousness that exposes the counterforce of life-- "the power of the dark side." His journey transcends into a quest of revelation, that unlocks the counterposing forces of life that must be recognized and defeated. It is in conquering the dark forces that Beowulf can take the antithetical forces of life and join them harmoniously in his creation of a perfect community of balance and happiness.
             The journey of a hero begins with a person of undistinguished character who is called to a trial of identity and departs for his adventure. Beowulf commences his life-long journey as a man with little identity. "He had been misprised for long, the sons of the Geats seeing little in him and the lord of the Weather-Geats not willing to pay much in the way of honour on the mead benches. They firmly believed in his laziness--'the atheling was idle'!" (p.120) In the few trials that Beowulf had, he had lost. In his youth he engages in a silly bet involving a fight with the sea monster, Brecca. "The sea boiled with whelming waves of winter; in the water's power you [Beowulf] laboured seven nights: and then you lost y...