Beowulf

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the city of Metropolis.

The “ideal man” of past and present has to posses the quality of intelligence.

Beowulf shows great intelligence in his approach towards his battles. In his battle with

Grendel, Beowulf uses a soldier for a decoy to expose Grendel’s strengths:

Grendel snatched at the first Geat
He came to, ripped him apart, cut
His body to bits with powerful jaws,
Drank the blood from his veins and bolted
Him down, hands and feet; death
And Grendel’s great teeth came together,
Snapping life shut. The he stepped to another
Still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,
Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper
-And was instantly seized himself. . .(Raffel 314-323).
This passage shows us how Beowulf’s planning ahead led him to victory. By exposing the monster’s strengths as well as his tactics, Beowulf was able to counter-attack the monster and win. The second time when Beowulf shows us his intelligence is when he goes fights Grendel’s mother:

She welcomed him ...

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