Beowulf: Does He Fall to Pride

Beowulf: His Reign as King

After reading this epic poem of a warrior's journey and eventual rise to king, there are multiple points that can be charged against Beowulf. One would be that Beowulf had too much pride, the second being that Beowulf decided to go into battle with the dragon when he sensed his own death and the third, the decision to go into that battle alone. This could be summed up to saying, the behaviors that made Beowulf a great warrior, cost him when he became king. To the contrary though, those behaviors not only helped Beowulf but also made him a great king.

It is important to distinguish good pride from the bad kind of pride. On page 117, Hrothgar starts a speech to which he attributes Beowulf with being

" A protector of his people, pledged to uphold truth and justice and to respect tradition, is entitled to affirm that this man was born to distinction. Beowulf, my friend, your fame has gone far and wide, you are known everywhere. In all things you are even-tempered, prudent and resolute," (1700-1707).

Hrothgar contrasts Heremod's behavior by stating

"Heremod was different, the way he behaved to Ecgwala's sons. His rise in the world brought little joy to the Danish people, only death and destruction. He vented his rage on men he caroused with, killed his own comrades, a pariah king who cut himself off from his own kind, even though Almighty God had made him eminent and powerful and marked him from the start for a happy life." (1709-1718).

Hrothgar warns Beowulf (1760), not to give in to pride. Beowulf is blessed with awesome strength as Heremod was "eminent and powerful," (1717). Strength fades and death is inevitable so it is important to remain thankful for power, faithful to your God and generous to your people. Beowulf only exhibits the good form of pride, through every one of his battles even when he is getting praise from kings and fellow warriors, Beowulf never entered battle without thinking death could not occur and without giving thanks to God with these quotes giving a clear picture of that;

"Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgment by God, 440-441), Fat goes as fate must, (455), And may the Divine Lord in His Wisdom grant the glory of victory to whichever side he sees fit, (685-688), holy God decided the victory, (1554-1555), if God had not helped me, the outcome would be quick and fatal," (1657-1658).

After reading Hrothgar's speech, good pride could be summed up to saying it is a measure of one's success and their individual manifestation of greatness in a positive way. Heremod was the example of the bad pride. Beowulf is an example of good pride.

When Beowulf entered into a fight with the dragon, he did so despite sensing his own death and if he died he