The heroic ideas in Beowulf suggest that one must always seek glory in life by being courageous and exhibiting nobility in his/her actions. Additionally, ones legacy should remain even after death and it is important to boast for achievements (Merchant, 2017). The poem’s events also confirm that strength, courage, warriors’ loyalty and political knowledge and upholding of good reputation are essential societal aspects. These values also appear in Gilgamesh when he meets Enkidu and defeats him in a fight to exhibit courage and glory. He also discovers that ruling well for the remaining days will enable him to leave a good legacy because he finally realizes that the most vital aspect in life is to have lived and loved well.
Despite having great differences in the way they rule and relate to people, there are various gaps in illuminating the philosophies and world views of the Sumerian and Anglo-Saxon tales. For this research, three matters are to be inspected in some detail. The first one is to study the cultural context and the literary composition of the text itself in order to understand the Epics in its entirety. The second one is to shed some light on the relationship between social and supernatural concepts with its heroic values of both Sumerian and Anglo-Saxon poetry into a narrative and the final one is to link the beginning of hero’s journey and how their transformations determine their fateful ending as epic heroes.
1.4 Research Aim
The focal goal of this study is to compare and contrast the heroic values of the Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf, and how they possess many similar characteristics and yet differ greatly in terms of cultural viewpoints, motivation and transformations of each hero’s journey.
1.5 Research Questions
- How do Beowulf and Gilgamesh exhibit their leadership traits in their respective societies?
- How does heroism reflect in both Beowulf and Gilgamesh?
- When does the realization to change occur in Beowulf and Gilgamesh?
