Pride In Beowulf

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In the story of Beowulf 's great feat he comes to a point of fate as everyone does. As much as he achieves in his life, he doesn 't achieve immortality. Beowulf knows he will have to leave sometime but King Hrothgar gives him critical words of wisdom while he was in his prime. Hrothgar has lived the life of a great warrior himself. Now as an old king, it seems as if he becomes Beowulf 's mentor and Beowulf is his protector. Their relationship presents a good example of a trade-off. If Beowulf is so great and is praised heavily, why would he need Hrothgar 's advice? In the land of the Danes, where King Hrothgar ruled, there had been a night marauder. The monster would bring evil throughout the hall and even kill. King Hrothgar of old age knew …show more content…
From the accomplishments thereof from Beowulf, it’s easy to brag, boast, and take pride in the great things you’ve done. Pride is a good thing but it can also have many negative effects because along with joys comes the downside. It’s almost as symbolical as the saying what makes you laugh can make you cry. After the fight with Grendel’s mother everyone in the hall praised Beowulf as if he was a god. Further into the speech Hrothgar goes on to say, “Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly" (Beowulf 78; ll.1760-1763). At this point in the story I think Beowulf’s ego is boosted to make him respond to such enemies and with great confidence. It’s not like he waits for them to approach him, he goes after Grendel’s mother in her home territory. He displayed a lot of bravery and courage doing that. Too much pride can be a problem for the warrior because he may get a sense of arrogance and believe he 's too confident to be defeated. The only good thing I can say about the efforts of Beowulf is that he 's a great leader and he actually defines what a hero …show more content…
When I say that it’s very obvious, I’m saying it in the context that everyone knows the concept is ineluctable. King Hrothgar is a living testimony of this piece of advice he gives. In the speech he refers to Beowulf as a “flower of warriors” (Beowulf 78; ll.1758). He metaphorically compares the life of Beowulf, the great warrior, to a flower. The life cycle of a plant or flower is obviously shorter than the life of a human but it’s very similar. The flower will sprout up out the ground young and small in the beginning then it will eventually grow to bloom if all the circumstances play out to in its favor. Just as humans we will be born young and grow to be the person we set out to be. As time continues, both life cycles are subject to death. Upon that stage of death, there will many things you can’t do or won’t do as you did in your prime. This is the ultimate analyst of the speech Hrothgar gives because the focus will always point back to this subject, it’s inevitable. The wise Hrothgar once was in the shoes of Beowulf. In his younger days he protected Beowulf’s father. Then he later becomes leader of a great nation. After 50 years of the high royal position, he is tested by Grendel. Hrothgar is wise and doesn’t rise to the occasion himself but Beowulf offers to do the job. Grendel probably would have defeated Hrothgar

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