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Beowulf
12 October 2021
In Beowulf, the poet describes the characters of the epic poem as constantly facing
numerous dangers that are tangible or intangible. Indeed, the epic can be viewed as an ongoing
struggle of Nordic kingdoms and people for survival against great odds. Tangible dangers faced
by Beowulf and other characters include Grendel, Grendel’s mother, sea monsters and the
fire-breathing dragon. Intangible dangers include constant feuds between kingdoms and poor or
prideful decisions by kings and nobles. Both tangible and intangible dangers cause great
damage, death and suffering in the poem, and it contains multiple warnings for the reader.
Grendel is one of the three main tangible dangers of the poem, the others including his
mother, associated sea monsters and the dragon. Grendel is a monster, a “powerful demon, a
prowler through the dark,”(86) descended from Cain. He repeatedly attacks the royal hall of
Heorot in the kingdom of Denmark. King Hrothgar of the Danes is “numb with grief, but [gets]
no respite for one night [after Grendel’s first attack] merciless Grendel struck again with more
gruesome murders.” (134-136) Hrothgar is very well regarded, with a with a “mighty army”
(67) at his disposal, but “sad lays”(151) are sung about Hrothgar around the whole world after
his inability to stop Grendel’s attacks becomes apparent. However, Beowulf, the nephew and
chief thane of Hygelac, the king of Geatland, journeys to Denmark with his comrades in order to
attempt to slay Grendel. Even though Grendel is known to be very strong, Beowulf engages
Grendel in hand-to-hand combat when the latter breaks into Heorot, “renounc[ing] sword and
shelter of the broad shield”(437-438). Beowulf keeps Grendel “helplessly locked in a
handgrip.”(812-813) and strikes a fatal blow on Grendel’s shoulder, which causes his “sinews (to
be) split and the bone-lappings (to) burst.” (816-817). Beowulf rips Grendel’s arm out from his
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body and the demon flees in excruciating pain back to his lair, where “hell claim[s] him”(851).
After Grendel’s death becomes apparent to the Danes, they rejoice along with Beowulf and the
other thanes, to whom gifts are given to as a reward, as they believe they are free from the
danger of attacks from sub-human fiends. But the celebration is short since another dangerous
monster, Grendel’s mother, comes to seek revenge.
The night after Grendel’s death, his mother breaks into Heorot and takes Æschere, a
trusted advisor and companion of Hrothgar, back to her watery lair in the moors, where she
devours him. Beowulf, his Geat comrades and the Danes travel to the moors, where they have to
overcome other dangerous monsters lurking in the waters, one of which they kill, “a loathsome
catch [the] men gazed at in awe.” (1440-1441). Beowulf enters the moor and is immediately
dragged down by Grendel’s mother, who, as he finds out, is immune to his sword blows. It
should be noted that throughout the poem, Beowulf’s sword fails him against foes, such as
Grendel’s mother and the dragon, which becomes an intangible danger for him. Grendel’s mother
seems to be prevailing in their fight but Beowulf grabs one of her swords and strikes “a resolute
blow” (1565), decapitating the demoness. He also finds Grendel’s corpse and cuts its head off,
bearing it back to Heorot, to show proof that the danger of the evil fiends plaguing the Danes has
been vanquished.
The final tangible danger is the fire-breathing dragon, awakened and roused to anger
during the fiftieth year of Beowulf’s reign as King of the Geats, when an escaped thrall steals a
cup from the dragon’s jealously guarded hoard. The angry dragon wreaks havoc on Geatland’s
countryside, “belch[ing] out flames and burn[ing bright homesteads; there was a hot glow that
scared everyone, for the vile sky-winger would leave nothing alive in his wake.” (2312-2315).
Beowulf goes to fight the dragon, but his thanes all flee, excepting one named Wiglaf who aids
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Beowulf and chastises the cowardly thanes. Beowulf is aware of the dangers that he faces,
stating that “I shall win the [dragon’s] gold by my courage, or else mortal combat … will bear
your lord away.” (2535-2537). The dragon mortally wounds Beowulf “in a rush of flame and
clamp[s] sharp fangs into his neck”(2691-2692). His sword once again proving ineffective
against the dragon-monster, both Beowulf and Wiglaf stab the dragon, killing it. Beowulf is
mortally wounded and he dies with his people holding a glorious funeral for him.
In addition to the tangible dangers, the epic poem contains a number of themes involving
intangible dangers which are more subtle but equally important to the story. First, the poem is
woven together with various tales and flashbacks, many of which involve wars or feuds between
kingdoms which provide historical background in the poem. There is the feud between the Geats
and the Swedes/Shylfings; the war between the Geats and the Frisians and at the end of the
poem, the Geats believe that with their protector Beowulf gone, they predict “the nation invaded,
enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles, slavery and abasement.” (3153-3155). It seems that any
period of stability is limited and the danger of warfare and the horrors of an invasion, are just
around the corner.
Second, as a non-democratic society ruled by an absolute monarch, bad decisions by a
king pose major dangers to their kingdom. And there are also examples of kings who start off
well but are felled by a single bad decision or excessive pride. After Beowulf has defeated
Grendel’s mother, Hrothgar, as an experienced king, gives a cautionary lecture on the dangers of
power and pride. He uses the metaphor of a warrior who forgets that his success is due to God’s
countenance, goes against those traditions by succumbing to pride and coveting possessions, and
yet after he dies, “ancestral possessions and the goods he hoarded are inherited by another who
lets them go with a liberal hand”(1755-1757). He implores Beowulf to choose “the better part,
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eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride.”(1759-1760). The danger of overbearing pride and
arrogance by rulers are described many times in the epic poem, most notably in the case of
Haethcyn and Hygelac, the former of whom had arrogantly attacked the Swedes and kidnapped
the Swedish queen, the wife of Ongentheow, king of the Swedes, and was then slaughtered at
Ravenswood. Hygelac later conducts a raid on the Frisians in which he started “because of his
proud need to provoke a feud with the Frisians”(1206-1207) which was poorly executed and
caused him to die and fall “into Frankish hands. They took his breast-mail, also his neck-torque,
and punier warriors plundered the slain when the carnage ended; Geat corpses covered the field.”
(1210-1215). Both events are described as terribly unnecessary and ultimately, deeply damaging
to both the rulers and their people.
In contrast to the proud natures of these rulers, Beowulf himself is very humble, and it
appears that he followed Hrothgar’s advice, resisting these dangers and being humble as opposed
to prideful. Even after having defeated Grendel, amazing everyone, Beowulf humbly maintains
that his mighty strength is a “woundrous gif(t) God had showered on him: [Beowulf] relied for
help on the Lord of All, on His care and favour.”(1271-1273). Even when Beowulf is dying, after
Wiglaf brings a portion of the treasure back to him, he decides to leave it to his people stating, “I
give thanks that I behold this treasure in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people
so well endowed on the day I die.”(2796-2798). It is evident that even at the end of his life,
Beowulf never forgot that all his power and riches was a gift from God. In addition and in
contrast to many other rulers described in the poem, Beowulf never gave in to pride or arrogance,
instead he was prudent and retained his humility even though he had unmatched strength and
great riches.
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In conclusion, Beowulf describes a multitude of tangible and intangible dangers that
create risk for the various Scandinavian kingdoms and their inhabitants. As Beowulf had to battle
real monsters that damaged kingdoms, such as Grendel, his mother and the dragon, so did
impulsive and arrogant decisions by kings cause death and destruction to those same kingdoms.
The poem is subject to many interpretations but serves as a warning to the reader that kings and
their subjects need to always be on guard against tangible and intangible dangers.