What are three examples of Beowulf's superhuman strength?
Beowulf "oozes" skill. His bravery, his combat skills, and his strength are evident in the way that he walks, carries himself, talks, and dresses. A good example of this occurs when Beowulf is on his way to see Hrothgar. A guard stops Beowulf in order to know Beowulf's purpose. I am sure that the guard is wary of Beowulf's abilities because he comments on the physical presence that is Beowulf.
"Nor have I seen
A mightier man-at-arms on this earth
Than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken,
He is truly noble. This is no mere
Hanger-on in a hero’s armour."
I can give a few specific examples of Beowulf's strength. The first is the fact that Beowulf rips off Grendel's arm. He does not cut it off. He rips it off with his bare...
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hands.
The monster's whole
body was in pain, a tremendous wound
appeared on his shoulder. Sinews split
and the bone-lappings burst. Beowulf was granted
the glory of winning; Grendel was driven
under the fen-banks, fatally hurt,
to his desolate lair.
Before Grendel's arm is brutally removed from his body, Grendel knows that he is in trouble. Remember that Grendel is said to be demon possessed in some way, and nobody has been able to beat him in combat. Grendel is likely confident that the outcome will be the same against Beowulf. Then Beowulf begins wrestling and grappling with Grendel, and Grendel realizes that Beowulf has skill and strength beyond any man that he has faced before.
The captain of evil discovered himself
in a handgrip harder than anything
he had ever encountered in any man
on the face of the earth. Every bone in his body
quailed and recoiled, but he could not escape.
He was desperate to flee to his den and hide
with the devil's litter, for in all his days
he had never been clamped or cornered like this.
The other example that I like about Beowulf's strength is the fact that he supposedly has the strength of 30 men.
"Who valuable gift-gems of the Geatmen carried
As peace-offering thither, that he thirty men’s grapple
Has in his hand, the hero-in-battle."
What details in lines 44–56 of Beowulf demonstrate Beowulf's superhuman strength?
The liege-kinsman worthy
Of Higelac minded his speech of the evening,
Stood he up straight and stoutly did seize him.
In these lines, Beowulf remembers the proud boast that he made at Heorot and seeks to make good on it. It was common for Anglo-Saxon warriors like Beowulf to boast about how great they were, about their extraordinary strength and bravery. But this wasn't enough to prove their manhood; they actually had to show that they were brave and strong in the face of adversity.
Beowulf, however, is no ordinary hero, as can be seen from the last line of the above excerpt. He doesn't just attack Grendel—he grabs him. By anyone's standards, this is a truly remarkable feat of almost superhuman strength. As one can imagine, the fearsome monster is completely taken aback by Beowulf's sheer strength and audacity. None of the other warriors he's encountered has ever put up such a fight. Grendel's previous encounters with Anglo-Saxon warriors were always so one-sided. So to face off against someone like Beowulf, a warrior possessed of superhuman strength, is a real shock to the system for this bloodthirsty monster.
In Part XII, "Grendel and Beowulf," Grendel is amazed at Beowulf's strength. After Grendel comes from the fens and enters the halls of Hrothgar, his horrid fingers tear the door apart. He comes with terrible intentions,
He minded to sunder from each of the thanemen
The life from his body, horrible demon,
But, Beowulf is more than a match for this monster, about whom fate has decreed that he will devour no more men. In lines 44-56 of this chapter, Beowulf grapples with Grendel after the monster has devoured a man, and
...no hand-grapple greater
In any man else had he ever encountered:
Fearful in spirit, faint-mooded waxed he,