Confidence is the "feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something"(dictionary.com). Self confidence, would be the belief that one can rely on themselves and their own abilities. Self confidence is widely acceptable and many people agree that it is a great trait to have, but to many having bountiful self confidence can lead to arrogance. Beowulf is the longest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem; The setting of the epic poem is in 5th century Scandinavia. Hrothgar, whose successful rule is symbolizes by a magnificent central mead-hall by the name of Heorot. For 12 years, a monster-like ogre named Grendel, who is a descendant of the biblical murderer Cain. Grendel menaced the tribe the Danes, raiding Heorot and killing the king's warriors.
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"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you." (William Jennings Bryan). Beowulf is a example of gaining confidence from having a record of successful experiences. Being the great warrior that Beowulf is known to be, he tells the thanes about past battles where he "Battled and bound five beast, raided a troll-nost and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes" (420-422) to show that he is worthy of fighting Grendel. Beowulf tells himself and the thanes of his awesome strength and how he will approach the battle against Grendel: “When it comes to fighting, I count myself As dangerous any day as Grendel. So it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield To mow him down, easily as I might. He has no ideas of the arts of war, of shield or sword-play, though he does possess A wild strength" (678-682). Beowulf is verbally exerting himself confidence by saying positive things about himself and telling the Danes how he will fight, to ramp himself up so he can win against fiend Grendel. This is common among people to fill their heads with positive experiences in hopes that that will have an affect on their performance, instead of saying negative things because if you set your mind to something, you can attain it. In the case …show more content…
After defeating Grendel's mom Beowful returns home and becomes king by protecting the people from villains from the sea: “The wide kingdom Reverted to Beowulf. He ruled it well For fifty winters, grew old and wise As warden of the land" (2208). Beowulf's confidence makes him a good leader, as king of the Geats.. Beowulf rules the kingdom well for fifty years, and he kept the people safe from danger. The Geats became confident in him that he would rule the kingdom well and he proved this over fifty years. Beowulf also brings the kingdom significant riches, his name and history of being a formidable opponent loomed over the heads of villains that thought to attack his kingdom, and brought about a long period of peace for his people. In Anglo saxon culture kings were regarded as great warriors, eloquent speakers, and capable of leading. Beowulf embodies all of these characters, he is known for being a great warrior, he battles and defeat many opponents throughout his life. When he speaks he inspires people to follow him, as shown through Wiglaf. He is a capable leader, because he leads his warriors in battles and instructs them whats the best thing to do. Also in every battle everyone is depending on him, they follow what he does, they put all of their trust in him. All of these Anglo saxon leadership characteristics all stem from one core value,
"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you." (William Jennings Bryan). Beowulf is a example of gaining confidence from having a record of successful experiences. Being the great warrior that Beowulf is known to be, he tells the thanes about past battles where he "Battled and bound five beast, raided a troll-nost and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brutes" (420-422) to show that he is worthy of fighting Grendel. Beowulf tells himself and the thanes of his awesome strength and how he will approach the battle against Grendel: “When it comes to fighting, I count myself As dangerous any day as Grendel. So it won’t be a cutting edge I’ll wield To mow him down, easily as I might. He has no ideas of the arts of war, of shield or sword-play, though he does possess A wild strength" (678-682). Beowulf is verbally exerting himself confidence by saying positive things about himself and telling the Danes how he will fight, to ramp himself up so he can win against fiend Grendel. This is common among people to fill their heads with positive experiences in hopes that that will have an affect on their performance, instead of saying negative things because if you set your mind to something, you can attain it. In the case …show more content…
After defeating Grendel's mom Beowful returns home and becomes king by protecting the people from villains from the sea: “The wide kingdom Reverted to Beowulf. He ruled it well For fifty winters, grew old and wise As warden of the land" (2208). Beowulf's confidence makes him a good leader, as king of the Geats.. Beowulf rules the kingdom well for fifty years, and he kept the people safe from danger. The Geats became confident in him that he would rule the kingdom well and he proved this over fifty years. Beowulf also brings the kingdom significant riches, his name and history of being a formidable opponent loomed over the heads of villains that thought to attack his kingdom, and brought about a long period of peace for his people. In Anglo saxon culture kings were regarded as great warriors, eloquent speakers, and capable of leading. Beowulf embodies all of these characters, he is known for being a great warrior, he battles and defeat many opponents throughout his life. When he speaks he inspires people to follow him, as shown through Wiglaf. He is a capable leader, because he leads his warriors in battles and instructs them whats the best thing to do. Also in every battle everyone is depending on him, they follow what he does, they put all of their trust in him. All of these Anglo saxon leadership characteristics all stem from one core value,