to do with the comfort of the hobbit. The horrible slaughters carried out by the monster Grendel against the people of the kingdom are recounted, and Beowulf steps forward to follow the romantic destiny set out for him. There is no fear or doubt in this romantic hero as he offers to fight the monster:
Then Beowulf spoke: . . . "Fame-winning deeds/ have come early to my hands. . . ./ These men [who urged me to come fight Grendel] knew well the weight of my hands./ Had they not seen me come home from fights/ where I had bound five Giants---their blood was upon me---/cleaned out a nest of them? Had I not crushed on the wave/ sea-serpents by night in narrow struggle,/ broken the beasts?" (Beowulf 64).
Beowulf immediately demonstrates all of the attributes of the romantic hero: courage, skill in battle, a sense of responsibility and loyalty to the community, a willi
...