What Does Beowulf Cause Corruption

Good prevails over all known evil. Beowulf an epic poem follows the adventures of a hero who wishes to vanquish all evil. Through his constant battles,the hero, Beowulf becomes more prideful. Beowulf’s hubris leads to his downfall and shows the audience hubris can lead to corruption and can happen to everyone no matter their status. Beowulf’s victories cause him to become egotistical and lose his heroic qualities. In his first battle, Beowulf’s intentions were good and honest. Despite the monster,Grendel, not being his own, Beowulf was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of people. Without the thought of fame and glory in mind, Beowulf won the battle with ease.On the other hand, his attitude wavers in the second battle with Grendel’s mother. “Fame [comes] to the men who mean to win it,and care about nothing else!” indicates Beowulf is motivated by luxuries rather than to help those in …show more content…
Both Grendel and Beowulf underestimate their opponent and are overpowered. “Only to die,to wait for the end,” confirms Beowulf’s power surpasses Grendel’s (503). Grendel who was full of himself,overconfident of himself, withered in comparison to the power of the almighty Beowulf. He underestimated the strength of his opponent leading him to his ultimate demise. Likewise“Edgetho’s [famous] son stared at death” shows how underestimating the dragon granted Beowulf death(736-37). Both Beowulf and Grendel had been successful in defeating those who stood in their way. While both were good and bad respectively,they share a similar downfall making them human. The parallel between both characters emphasizes conceit causes one to make questionable decisions. As a result, the author sends the message that vanity can lead to one’s downfall. Vanity is a human trait that can prosper with victory,and without a force to put one back into place,it can lead to one's