Compare And Contrast Beowulf And George Washington

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After reading and analyzing William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Joseph Ellis’s article, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, and the epic, Beowulf, one can determine that George Washington possesses the traits a “good king”. George Washington’s behaviors and characteristics can be compared to those of Hrothgar, Duncan, and Beowulf. Throughout the texts, the authors illustrate how to differentiate a good king from a bad king through the characteristics of the leaders in the texts.
George Washington had a strong and positive connection with the people he ruled. Good Kings throughout literature, such as Hrothgar, Beowulf, and Duncan, were loved by their people.
In one of the earliest descriptions of King Hrothgar, …show more content…
Beowulf, for example, displays great military prowess. Beowulf displays so much military prowess, that he accomplishes military feats for nations other than his own. The military feats he accomplishes seem impossible for an average human to accomplish. George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and became the first president of the United States afterward. Similar to Beowulf, George Washington also accomplishes difficult military tasks. In a battle at Pittsburg, George Washington had two horses shot out underneath him and multiple close-calls with shrapnel and bullets (Ellis 120). Washington even willingly put himself in a risky and precarious position in order to survey the battlefield (Ellis 120). Despite these near-death events, Washington survived. It appears that Washington’s prowess benefited him similarly to the way “the fortunes of war favored Hrothgar” (Beowulf 64). Macbeth has military skill on an individual level, however, he lacks the ability to properly lead an army. Macbeth has ample time and warning of an incoming invasion, yet he chooses not to act until his defeat is imminent. A leader that cannot properly conduct an army lacks the qualifications to be a good leader.
Comparing the traits of Macbeth (a bad king) to the traits of George Washington (a h\good king) emphasizes how good a “king” George Washington is. Throughout, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth demonstrates
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