Beowulf-Pride

A detailed Summary of Beowulf-Pride

The epic poem Beowulf was written around the mid 700's neither an exact date nor an author is known. Beowulf becomes famous by defeating horrible monsters, such as Grendel and Grendel's mother. Beowulf has pride in himself and in his battles. Before he leaves for his homeland, Hrothgar warns Beowulf about the dangers that are involved with pride. Beowulf does not heed Hrothgar's advice and dies for fame and fortune, the two most important priorities in his life.

When Beowulf sets out to slay the dragon he becomes more concerned with his pride and fame than the consideration that he might die. However, he does have some foreboding that he may die in the battle. Before Beowulf sets out to slay the dragon Hrothgar warns him about his pride and tells him that he needs to get his priorities straight. Hrothgar says, "Push away pride! Your strength, your power,/ Are yours for how many years? Soon/ You'll return them where they came from, sickness/ or a swords edge" (1761-1764). If Beowulf does not choose internal happiness and he chooses his pride, his pride does not last forever; when death comes he will not be a

Beowulf's other reason for wanted to defeat the dragon is so that he can take the dragons treasure and gain wealth and by doing this he also gains more power. He does not want his men to share the treasure which is probably another reason why he wants to face the dragon alone. Before facing the dragon he boasts "And this dragon's treasure, his gold/ And everything hidden in that tower, will be mine/ Or war will sweep me to a bitter death" (2535-2537)! Beowulf thinks that if he does not have the treasure all to himself or does not retrieve the treasure he will die unhappy. Hrothgar warns Beowulf about not keeping the treasure for himself and saying that he should share it with his men. Finally, as Beowulf is dying he requests that he be brought various treasures in order for him to die a happy death. "Bring me ancient silver, precious/ Jewels, shining armor and gems,/ Before I die. Death will be softer,/" (2747-2749). Again Beowulf is not heeding Hrothgar's advice. Jewels and treasure are more important to Beowulf than religious words or the thought of life after death.

When Beowulf dies, he dies alone, with

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Approximate Word count = 758
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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