Beowulf and Pride - Essay Example

 At the height of Beowulf’s triumph Hrothgar said the words that would also proclaim Beowulf’s own fall like a prophet who could see the future unfold. That fall would be the result of pride. With Grendel and his mother killed by the hero, one it is not hard to see why Beowulf reaps the praise and respect of the people around him. Hrothgar gives him all that and more. Hrothgar gives him many honors and gifts. He pours praise and riches unto Beowulf. At the same time Hrothgar knows that in spite of Beowulf’s youth and enormous power, he is mortal and human. He is thus prone too to the spiritual and psychological shortcomings that come with being human. That includes the possibility of becoming proud. In the end one can say that it was pride that led Beowulf to his death in that combat with the dragon. He has become old. As Hrothgar probably sees in advance, Beowulf’s pride keeps him from seeing his limitations. This being so, he goes to do battle with the dragon on his own at the end of his life. In so doing Beowulf gets killed. Hrothgar’s words therefore ring true. At the height of Beowulf’s success he knows that Beowulf is vulnerable too. He is vulnerable to becoming proud just like all human beings are. As Hrothgar cautions: “Ban, then, such baleful thoughts, Beowulf dearest, best of men, and the better part choose, profit eternal; and temper thy pride, warrior famous!” (“Beowulf”). This paper asserts therefore that as mortal and flawed, though Beowulf be the strongest and bravest warrior in all the land, he too is vulnerable to the weaknesses of all men, and in particular he is vulnerable to pride. Pride is the downfall of Beowulf (Stitt). It is important to see that Hrothgar is speaking from the point of view of experience and great wisdom. That wisdom is forged from his own past success and present misfortune of seeing his kingdom devastated by Grendel. He sees that Beowulf is truly remarkable. He is able to do what his best men cannot. Beowulf is able to slay the dragon and also his mother, with his own hands. He is able to do battle with Grendel without using any arms too. Such is his power and his abilities that he is able to do all of this. Moreover, Hrothgar sees that Beowulf is also very popular. His fame has spread very far. In the midst of all these Hrothgar knows that any mortal man will become proud (“Beowulf”; Stitt). When he gives out the warning to Beowulf he is not trying to diminish Beowulf’s success. He is trying to protect him in a way from his own weaknessses. Men can be blinded by their own success and can easily become proud. In modern life we see this all the time. The great actor who is able to generate blockbuster movies often becomes proud and difficult to work with, for example. Ordinary men with ordinary talents have this natural inclination to pride. What more Beowulf, with his superhuman strength and courage? Hrothgar seems to know that without spiritual maturity Beowulf is in trouble of becoming filled with hubris, and to imagine himself to be above the mortal fates of other men. Had he been more humble, he would have asked for help. Instead he chooses to do battle with the dragon on his own. Though he is able to succeed again, that battle takes his life too. Hrothgar, looking far into the future, cautions Beowulf to choose spiritual humility over pride. After all even Beowulf is only human. In the end some calamity, or old age, will take him too (“Beowulf”; Stitt). This is not to say that Beowulf is totally proud and blind to the spiritual and psychological aspects of his life. He too has a spiritual understanding of some kind. He understands for instance that his fate is not up to him when he goes to battle. His courage is also somewhat spiritual in this sense. He is courageous because he knows that if he was meant to die, he can die anytime. So whether he lives or dies in battle is not up to him. To fight the dragons is how he understands his life is for. On the other hand Hrothgar is also very wise when he sees that Beowulf cannot totally understand his own self. For instance he fights Grendel also because he wants to show the world that he can. This is evident from the way he chooses to do battle with Grendel alone and actively seeks out the kingdom and the dragon. One can argue that this is a form of pride already. He is too proud to back off from Grendel and Grendel’s mother. In the end too, when he is killed, one can argue that his battle with the dragon is about pride. True, he wants to save his people and to avenge the deaths of his people, but pride is mixed in there too. Human motivations are complex. Hrothgar must have seen this too (“Beowulf”; Stitt). The above discussion is one of several ways to understand the above passage on pride and on the wisdom of Hrothgar. As Wrothgar saw Beowulf can easily be undone by his hubris and pride. Hrothgar's warning is to choose the spiritual path. Stay humble and know that you will also fail in the future. On the other hand one can also say that the Hrothgar already saw even then that Beowulf is already proud. Who goes to battle with a dragon alone, when there are men to be had for support? One can say that Hrothgar sees that the fame and the success had already gone into Beowulf's head. This is not necessarily bad. After all Beowulf's success in slaying Grendel and the mother is partly because of the pride. The pride is in display when Beowulf chooses not to use any weapon against Grendel. He chooses to do battle with the dragon using only his strength instead. This is already pride. Lucky for Beowulf he has the strength and the bravery to match that pride. (“Beowulf”; Stitt). Meanwhile, Hrothgar sees that in the future that same pride may end up putting Beowulf in harm's way. Therefore, the way the passage was written is exactly to warn Beowulf about this. Some day his strength will wane, and he will not be as strong to be able to fight dragons on his own. His powers will wane and he may not be able to back up his courage with action. In the end this willl prove true. Therefore one can see that even at the height of Beowulf's power and success the seed of his defeat is already there. That seed was in the form of the pride that is in his heart (“Beowulf”; Stitt). Finally the warning against pride is also a warning and a reflection on human frailty. To be human is to be flawed and to be mortal, to eventually perish. Humans are flawed spiritually, and can be easily blinded by success. Success can blind people to their limitations. When one is beautiful and admired for example, one can be blind to beauty fading, to old age, and to disease. When one is strong and powerful one can become victim to pride. One can fail to see that strength will go away, and old age will wither one's body just like everyone else. People are flawed in this way. Hrothgar sees this in Beowulf, even as he himself was most likely proud too, in his day. He is wise enough to understand this. He is wise to warn Beowulf about what was in store for him (“Beowulf”; Stitt). Works Cited “Beowulf (Modern Translation)”. The Poetry Foundation. 2014. Web. 8 October 2014. Stitt, Michael. “The Transformation of the Heroic Beowulf”. English 477, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. n.d. Web. 8 October 2014 Read More