Beowulf's Mistakes

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In this passage, appearing in the last third of the epic, Beowulf, we see the shortcomings of our hero for the first time. While at first it seems Beowulf is praising himself for protecting his kingdom and keeping free from feuds, he also notes his greatest mistake, not leaving an heir to the throne. In this way, Beowulf fails as a king and becomes comparable to the other monsters of the poem. It is important to note, in studying Beowulf, the lesser-known definition of the word “monster” as “one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character.” Indeed, all the monsters of this poem deviate from the acceptable behaviors of Anglo-Saxon England and are defeated in order to protect social order. However, rather than being portrayed …show more content…
Although he is warned quite early on not to become a greedy king, he still fails to be a completely effective ruler either. Beowulf is obviously a good warrior, being strong, noble, and defeating every monster he encounters. He is also able to perform the social expectations of a warrior, exacting revenge when his king is killed, raising his king’s son instead of taking the throne, and knowing when and how to properly boast before battle. However, these actions fail him as a king. Although he is “generous” with his treasure and makes sure to reward his warriors, he chooses his colleagues poorly as they all leave him in battle. He also fails to leave an heir to the throne, despite the conflicts with neighboring countries that will continue after his death. One can assume that instead of finding a wife and procuring an heir, he was instead protecting the country in war and acting as a warrior as he is described in the last lines as “the keenest for fame” (III. 3179). In fact, some may argue that taking part in the battle at all was reckless as he knew very well it could leave his country without a ruler. It is telling that Beowulf’s final battle is against a dragon, a symbol for selfish and ineffective kings. This final battle can be seen as symbolically representing Beowulf’s battle against this image of a poor king and his own fight to be a grand ruler, but it is his own lack of foresight that weakens him as a …show more content…
While aspects of the society of the time are regarded as beneficial in the first two thirds of the poem, such as noble warriors, valuable treasure, strong weapons, and the necessity for revenge, these positive images break down entirely in the last third. Treasure is now portrayed as the last tragic remnants of a kingdom and is now cursed. Warriors now abandon their king in battle and are thus cast out of the kingdom. Beowulf’s sword snaps in battle; and through the story of king Hrethel whose son was killed in an accident and therefore could not be avenged, Beowulf tells how feuds fail to provide emotional and spiritual support for grief. The symbols that until now have been revered are now being cast in a darker light, suggesting that it is not Beowulf that the author dislikes, but rather the society in which he lives. Grendel, rather than a murderer, is a symbol of the shortcomings of succession and lineage; his mother, a symbol of the shortcomings of revenge and feuding. The bad kings and dragons are symbols of the breakdown of a treasure-based economy, and Beowulf himself is the tragic symbol of a hero who tries to defend the social standard and serve as a great warrior king, but is beaten by an over-demanding, unstable, and violent social system that even
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