Boasting In Beowulf

Like a lonely hunter; Beowulf thrives for the feeling of capturing his prey; honor. Beowulf, before his last hunt for glory and fame says: “’I’ve never known fear, as a youth I fought/ In endless battles. I am old, now, / But I will fight again, seek fame still…’” (lines 623-626). At an old age Beowulf still dreams of gaining honor and fame even at the cost of his own life. Even after becoming a king, Beowulf felt the urge to prove that he was truly worthy of the title and worthiness to his people, while unknowingly generating respect and honor in the process. Beowulf’s seek for fame and glory brought him a great honor, the honor of being king to people who adored him for his willingness to prove himself to anyone who may question his

Throughout the story, Beowulf’s boasts resemble nothing less than a symbol of his arrogance. “…sailors have brought us stories of Herot, the best of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the moon hangs in skies the sun had lit, light and life fleeing together. My people have said, the wisest, most knowing and best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’ Great king. They have seen my strength for themselves, have watched me rise from the darkness of war, dripping with my enemies’ blood. I drove five great giants into chains, chased all of that race from the earth. I swam in the blackness of night, hunting monsters out of the ocean, and killing them one by one; death was my errand and the fate they had earned. Now Grendel and I are called together, and I’ve come…I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I. My lord

Beowulf carries himself as very prideful. But, it is not a bad kind of pride. He has a strong positive self-esteem that drives his quest towards fame. Beowulf very

In the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf, the stupendous hero’s many great deeds often appear to be for other’s benefit, yet Beowulf’s final conquest exposes his lust for glory and fame, thereby showing his lack of concern for anything else. This lust for immense glory and fame feeds his ego and causes his death and the imminent downfall of his great people the Geats.

The poem of Beowulf follows the Geat warrior Beowulf as he saves the Danish nation and eventually leads his own. Written after 597 AD, the story was told during a period when Catholics sent missionaries to the Vikings, offering a unique view of the warrior culture, where fame was the ultimate goal of one’s life. The growing Christian movement brought about Beowulf, a Christian view of a pagan past, and while it seems as though the poem glorified Beowulf’s achievements, the poet included some passages that conflict with the warrior culture at the time, indicating a cultural shift. The poet praised Beowulf’s ability as a thane but criticized Beowulf’s inability to give up his quest for glory, causing the reader to question whether fame and glory truly fulfils one’s life.

Clearly boasting of his prowess in battle, as it is the fortunes of war that allowed him to build Heorot in the first place, Hrothgar builds “the greatest house / in the world” (145-6). Everyone else is perfecting fine with boasting, yet it is boasting that attracts Grendel’s wrath. There was a demon lurking that “nursed a hard grievance” and this singular display of glory spelled ruin for his entire kingdom (87). Hrothgar learns from this and instructs Beowulf to “not give way to pride” (1760). Yet, even so Beowulf was “too proud” and had “scant regard / for the dragon as a threat” (2345, 2347-8). The fame he won in his past battles blinded him to his fading strength, the emphasis put on glory led to the pride that killed him, once again illustrating that a society focused on honor earned through fighting is dangerous for its

The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf touches on the vice of pride, and is instilled in the main character, Beowulf, the great and mighty warrior. His boasting and arrogance when first dropping anchor at Heorot transitions throughout the poem, and, in contrast with his ideal kingsmanship, motivates him to accomplish and overcome the many challenges he faces as an epic hero. The contrast of his absent humility in the rise and fall of the story help promote the progression of the story, through its different purposes. Beowulf, when first landing upon Hrothgar’s kingdom, boasts, which does not go unchallenged, so that he might gain the trust of the Danes, but when knowingly facing his last battle, uses bragging to comfort and brace himself for his ultimate demise.

Beowulf is humbled after fighting Grendel. Before fighting Grendel Beowulf was over confident and cocky. He believed that he was the greatest and did not realize the extent of the challenge of fighting Grendel. Although Beowulf won the battle he did not kill him in the mead hall as he had intended. Before Beowulf fought Grendel he thought that he could “alone… purge all evil from [the] hall… /[and is so great that he needed] no weapons and [feared] none.” (431-434). During the fight no matter how “hard… [Beowulf] held him he still pulled free” (928). “Grendel escaped,/ But wounded as he was he could flee to his den” (819-820). Beowulf did not have the skill set to kill Grendel as he first predicted, he seriously injured him but did not kill him in the mead hall. Beowulf learned that not everything is as easy as it may seem. The result of the fight humbled Beowulf. Fighting Grendel gave Beowulf perspective and taught him not to act egotistical, and to never underestimate your opponent. The lesson Beowulf learns is reflected in his actions throughout the rest of the story. When praised for his accomplishments, Beowulf did not boast or act superior, he accepted his loses and celebrated his wins among the rest of the Danes.

Beowulf’s fame and glory is essential to him much like it is to the rest of the Norse culture. When Beowulf first appears to Hrothgar he makes an effort to brag regarding his achievements as a warrior and claims “‘They had seen me bolstered in the blood of enemies / when I battled and bound five beasts, / raided a troll-nest and in the

Beowulf starts boasting as soon as he is introduced to the King Hrothgar. Beowulf tells him, "... every elder and experience councilman / among my people supported my resolve / to come here to you, King Hrothgar / because all knew of my awesome strength" (Beowulf 415-18). His boasting grants him an opportunity to battle Grendel. Later on, after he actually fights Grendel he proudly hangs Grendel's' arm in the wall to prove just how great he is. "Clear proof of this Could be seen in the hand the hero displayed High up near the roof: the whole of Grendel’s Shoulder and arm, his awesome grasp" (Beowulf 832-35), this is an example of symbolic boasting because it represents one of his greatest accomplishments. Beowulf makes many boast, time after time he boast about all his glories. He slowly starts to get more and more prideful till his very end.

“Where is the glory in doing something that others have done” (Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief). A quote befitting of the character Beowulf who slew the abomination known as Grendel to save the people of Heorot, then killing his vengeful mother using the sword Hrunting and finally as his last legendary exploit he brought down a mighty dragon to save his kingdom, the most prominent definition of an epic hero and the epitome of what the ideal Scandinavian hero is. On the surface, this may seem like Beowulf is a selfless hero willing to go to great lengths to save the people around him but after deeper analysis of the story, it may be that Beowulf’s pride and search for glory is what truly drives him.

On the contrary, people might describe Beowulf as pompous and conceited because of his long speeches of pride. Yes, these speeches do stroke his ego, but his egotistical mindset is no match for 3 monsters, his ego did not beat those monsters he did. His pride comes from a place of fear and weakness and in order to show the people that he has proof of strength, he must show them through pride. These long speeches of pride do not make him stronger, they only make him more right, “no strength is a match for mine” he said while describing his “battle” with Brecca (267). When Beowulf arrives he is an outsider who has come to save them, and only cares about the betterment of people. This kind of thinking is what drives the plot forward, Beowulf's ability to block out the things that make him weak (everybody drowning in his debt) is very powerful, filtering the comments to aid him instead of go to far and make him weak.

Beowulf’s most seen quality in this epic is his confidence. The scene that most directly shows his confidence is his famous boast. “So, every elder and experienced councilman/ among my people supported my resolve/ to come here to you, King Hrothgar, / because all knew of my awesome strength. / They had seen me boltered in the blood of enemies/ when I battled and bound five beasts, / raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea/ slaughtered sea-brutes…” (Heaney lines 415-422). Beowulf’s boast is said publically, which shows an inspirational sense of confidence to defeat Grendel. The boast also demonstrates Beowulf’s courage and brave characteristics that makes him appear very heroic. Furthermore, Beowulf’s promise to kill Grendel to the Danes is a confident and risky thing to do, but Beowulf is able to pull it off. In Forbes article, it states that good leaders need to “deliver on [their] promises. Which our hero does that very night, killing the beast by ripping him apart ‘The monster’s whole/ body was in pain, a tremendous wound/ appeared on his shoulder’” (Forbes).

Perhaps the best criticism of Beowulf comes from the mouth of the son of Ecglaf, Unferth. He says: “Are you the same Beowulf who challenged Breca to a swimming match on the open sea? There out of pride you both tested sea-ways, through foolish boasting risked lives on the deep. None could dissuade you, fiend nor foe, keep either of you from that hapless trip, when you two went swimming out of the bay…”(Beowulf p79) But in response to Unferth’s accusations, Beowulf once again proclaims the great deeds he has done. In fact, it appears that he is always looking for an opportunity to boast about the numerous monsters and enemies that he has slaughtered.

Not only is Beowulf extremely courageous but he is the mold that hero's model themselves after he is noble, true to his word and his unquestionable trust in his skills. When Beowulf gets to Heorot and they begin to feast, Unfearth goes up to Beowulf, and questions the race that he and Brecca had in the fierce open sea saying that no matter what he had done before that he would not be able to defeat Grendel because many great warriors had come before him and his fate would be no different; however, Beowulf has trust in his skills that God has graced him with just as he did when he raced Brecca in the open sea. By Beowulf saying this, he is letting Unfearth know that now as well as when he raced Brecca he is the best and will not be beaten. Beowulf then begins to challenge Unfearth's skills by saying if he was really as courageous as he has been saying he is, then Grendel wouldn't be