Beowulf: the Fragility of the Strong

By Chie Theresa Fujioka

(lines 1758-1768 2535-2540)
“O flower of warriors, beware of that trap.
Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part,
eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride.
For a brief while your strength is in bloom
but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow
illness or the sword to lay you low,
or a sudden fire or surge of water
or jabbing blade or javelin from the air
or repellant age. Your piercing eye
will dim and darken; and death will arrive,
dear warrior, to sweep you away.
…
I shall win the gold
by my courage, or else mortal combat,
doom of battle, will bear your lord away.”

Then he drew himself up beside his shield.
The fabled warrior in his warshirt and helmet
trusted in his own strength entirely…

Reading the entirety of Beowulf proved to be to great a temptation to resist. I was struck by the irony of Beowulf’s death. It seems that in that time, nobility was equated with pride and boasting was not considered shameful arrogance. Throughout the story, Beowulf took upon himself solely the task of vengeance upon whatever creature happened to be plaguing the land. Although he was obviously thoroughly capable of doing these things, his pride in challenging the dragon alone was his true “bane.” Not only did he lose his own life, irresponsibly he risked the future of his land and people.

Frequently, this great man would risk life to defeat an enemy. To me, it seems as if name and reputation was greater to the people of the time than the quick deliverance from an enemy. And, in my opinion, that is a stupid waste. In the first told struggle with Grendel, it was a blessing that he did not try to use his sword on the beast. And yet, Beowulf would not have escaped with his life when he fought Grendel’s mother if he had relied only on his strength. As a king, he was responsible to protect his people and keep them in peace, not to simply win fame. In his pride, he failed to recognize that if the whole of the warriors attacked the dragon, he might not die from it.

Hygelac’s words came true in this fight. Beowulf grew older, his sword failed him once again, and he was proved not as invincible as he may have wished. A “sudden fire” of the dragon’s breath scorched him and he was fatally wounded. Te author followed this with a pessimistic foretelling of the country’s future, all caused by Beowulf’s death. If he had been as great a king as it was insisted, surely he would have seen the strength in numbers, and not thrown his life away for the gold used to decorate his grave.

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