The Germanic heroic epic Beowulf, titled after the lead character, tells the story of a man who defines the meaning of hero. The character of Beowulf exemplifies the traits of the perfect hero by combining both courage and honor. The poem explores his heroism in two separate phases, his youth and his age, and also through three separate and increasingly difficult conflicts with Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. Although we can view these three encounters as Beowulf’s duty to fulfill his role as a hero, there is a clearer division between Beowulf's youthful heroism as an indomitable warrior and his mature heroism as a reliable king. These two phases of his life, separated by fifty years, illustrates how Beowulf makes the tran
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