In the epic poem Beowulf, the protagonist of the same name is first described to the reader as a valiant warrior. Beowulf is smart, super strong and skilled in combat. He exemplifies Germanic ideals and heroic codes including loyalty, courtesy and pride. Beowulf is everything a young man should be, despite his sometimes arrogant attitude. His image is enforced with tales of a high-stakes swimming match against Breca and the slaying of Grendel as well as Grendel’s mother. Establishing himself as a hero, Beowulf attains the fame he desires.
“When I was younger I had great triumphs… every[one] supported my resolve to come here to you .. because they all knew of my awesome strength (416-418).”
– Beowulf
Post fame, Beowulf is ready to transition into a more mature role. The narrative illustrates a fifty year gap in Beowulf’s life and upon return, the reader is introduced to a different man. Beowulf is often separated into two “acts” or the the two different phases of Beowulf’s life: young and old. While Beowulf has retained his strength and bravery from act one, he has transitioned into a wise and reliable king in act two.
The protagonist is now described as a selfless king who acts for the good of the people instead of for his own greatness as he may have when he was younger. He no longer seeks fame and the battles he does fight are carefully chosen. He rises to kingship after proving himself trustworthy, supporting a heir to a throne instead of rushing to power himself. He leads his nation well, and in turn he is completely praised.
Unfortunately, at the end of the epic the reader is left confused. An aged Beowulf dies upon the venomous bite of an enemy dragon. Beowulf retrogresses in maturity, his decision to fight the dragon rash and a way to proclaim greatness for a final time. Completely disregarding the security of his people, Beowulf reverts to his premature warrior ways. While the epic poem illustrates the perfect man as warrior and leader in different times of his life, the ending is ambiguous and the message of the story is left uncertain.
In this epic poem, Beowulf is a well-known warrior who is trying to look for glory and reputation. I agree with you that Beowulf is everything a young man should be. He is the biggest possible hero you can imagine because he is willing to do anything. Moreover, he is not afraid of death because of honor and glory. Beowulf comes rescue the Danes from the demon, Grendel who hates the smell of human happiness. Grendel is a demon of the dark, wherever he moves darkness surrounded him. Therefore,Beowulf must slay him. It is a trick designed by Beowulf, so he can come out to get his meat or thirsty of blood. After Beowulf defeated Grendel, he hold high prize ‘the bloody arm”. Grenendels mother is a demonic charcter in the poem. she is considered as a descendant of cain as similar to Genesis.. After killing Grendels mother, Beowulf reputation makes reach a high position in his return home. He Became the King and ruled for fifty years.
At the end, the old Beowulf full of strengh has to face the dragon in which he was mortally wounded. What I really like is that he gave everything on the battle field for his people and most importanly for himself. Basically, his pride leads him to his death for my opinion.
In her post Leo states that Beowulf went through metamorphosis from a selfish warrior whose main concern is to build his fame to a mature and thoughtful king who cares dearly about his people. She also argues that transformation was not full, since at the end of the story Beowulf prefers to fight the dragon. According to Leo, this undoes his transformation.
I agree with Leo that Beowulf transforms into a great king, but in my opinion his last decision to fight the dragon does not discount him as a great king.
When Beowulf decides to fight the dragon he follows a Germanic heroic code. Beowulf as a king and as a warrior always obeys the code. After Hygelac, king of the Geats, dies Beowulf does not agree to “be elevated over Heardred as his lord or to undertake the office of kingship.” This decision shows that even though the character has a great desire to earn fame which will make him immortal, he will not do anything which could be against the rules in order to achieve the goal. Instead he offers to protect the young prince Heardred. The king’s commitment is to protect his people, as well as, reward them with treasures. Therefore, he confronts the dragon not only because he is proud and fame-hungry but because as a noble king, he has a duty to save his people and gather the dragon’s treasures to avenge for lives of those who died.
Beowulf confronts the dragon because his people expect him to do it. He rules over the Geats because the nation asked him again to be their king after the death of Heardred from Swiss hand. The Geats crave Beowulf to be the ruler of their nation because he proved many times that he would go and risk his life to take care of others. The main character is aware of this obligation, “now I am old, but as king of the people I shall purse this fight for the glory of winning.(2513)” The presence of a dragon has who killed many Geats and destroyed the best of their buildings troubles the king deeply, “it threw the hero into deep anguish and darkened his mood.”(2327-28) Therefore, it seems logical that as a honorable king of his people Beowulf decides to take initiative and fight the monster.
I agree Beowulf is a unique epic, which is divided into two parts and took place at the hero’s youth and old age. As you point out, even though Beowulf became a wise, thoughtful king, he still “[reverted] to his premature warrior ways.” And, that led to his death eventually. However, while he was dying, he looked like being satisfied and even having hoped to die in this epic battle. Indeed, death in a battle is the most glorious way to finish a warrior’s life in many traditions worldwide. Even though Beowulf had known he would not win this battle as an old man, he still wanted to fight just for his glory; his spirit as a warrior awakened.