If you already knew the full story of Beowulf then you are probably aware that the cause of his death was when he fought against the dragon. He literally got struck by the fierce raging creature where he got fatally poisoned and died.
But if we are going to dive deeper and dissect every part of the story, there were more other reasons that led him into his final resting place.
It all started when Beowulf faced the monster “Grendel” that was terrorizing the king Hrothgar’s kingdom. This was a monster that no one, even the king himself, was no match against it. Thus, everyone was always at the constant peak of their fears particularly during the night which was the time that the monster enjoyed terrorizing them.
But through Beowulf’s appearance, he faced Grendel without fear. He displayed his pure strength and bravery right in front of the king and many of his men around. So he ends up defeating the monster which provided a huge boost to his growing inflated ego.
After being finished dealing with Grendel, Beowulf was not yet satisfied where he wanted to slay the monster’s mother next. You have to keep in mind that Grendel’s mother was not the one who challenged Beowulf. She actually attacked the “Hall of Hearot” for a reason which was to seek revenge for his murdered son. This was the reason why she killed the people she found at that place and she was done.
After her revenge, Grendel’s mother went back to her dwelling place with no intention of initiating further attacks against the kingdom of Hearot. So at this point, there was no longer any reason to confront her back.
However, Beowulf was the one who sought out the conflict. He wanted to slay the second beast to gain more fame and feed his overflowing ego. His reason for going after Grendel’s mother was to protect Hrothgar’s kingdom, but deep inside, he actually did it for his selfish motives.
Beowulf had defeated Grendel's mother and gained so much glory and fame that he had succeeded the throne to the kingdom. However, as a king, he has already grown old which means that his body has weakened.
But during the time of his reign, a mighty dragon has suddenly emerged and terrorized his kingdom. In the story books, somebody from his kingdom had stolen the dragon’s treasure. While in the 2007 Beowulf animated movie, the dragon was Beowulf’s secret son from Grendel's mother.
Beowulf has the option to let his army deal with the dragon but with so much ego, he wanted to face the creature to display his warrior strength and unmatched skill in battle. And, to attain more of his continued fame and glory. The only problem was that he was no longer at the young age where he was somewhere around 70 years old at that time.
The mighty old king did manage to defeat the dragon. However, he got fatally wounded during the battle. The dragon actually injected a deadly poison into the old king’s veins which resulted in his own death.
As you realized, Beowulf’s main cause of his death was not from the fatal poison injected by the dragon into his veins. It was actually no other than his past and prideful boasts.
As a king, he’s got an army which he can utilize to defeat or drive the dragon away. They may not have incredible strength and unequaled skill in battle like Beowulf, but as the king, he can devise a clever strategy for slaying the creature.
However, Beowulf thought that he was still at the same age as his younger days especially at a situation when there was an opportunity for him to show-off. So when the dragon had suddenly emerged, he wanted to fight and face the dragon all by himself alone.
If only he was at his youthful age then he can probably slay the dragon creature with so much ease just like how he handled Grendel. But the reality was not, Beowulf was quite an old man and his body failed him to perform the necessary movements to deliver his finishing blows.
But if we are going to dive deeper and dissect every part of the story, there were more other reasons that led him into his final resting place.
The Start of Beowulf’s Ego
It all started when Beowulf faced the monster “Grendel” that was terrorizing the king Hrothgar’s kingdom. This was a monster that no one, even the king himself, was no match against it. Thus, everyone was always at the constant peak of their fears particularly during the night which was the time that the monster enjoyed terrorizing them.
But through Beowulf’s appearance, he faced Grendel without fear. He displayed his pure strength and bravery right in front of the king and many of his men around. So he ends up defeating the monster which provided a huge boost to his growing inflated ego.
After being finished dealing with Grendel, Beowulf was not yet satisfied where he wanted to slay the monster’s mother next. You have to keep in mind that Grendel’s mother was not the one who challenged Beowulf. She actually attacked the “Hall of Hearot” for a reason which was to seek revenge for his murdered son. This was the reason why she killed the people she found at that place and she was done.
After her revenge, Grendel’s mother went back to her dwelling place with no intention of initiating further attacks against the kingdom of Hearot. So at this point, there was no longer any reason to confront her back.
However, Beowulf was the one who sought out the conflict. He wanted to slay the second beast to gain more fame and feed his overflowing ego. His reason for going after Grendel’s mother was to protect Hrothgar’s kingdom, but deep inside, he actually did it for his selfish motives.
Beowulf had defeated Grendel's mother and gained so much glory and fame that he had succeeded the throne to the kingdom. However, as a king, he has already grown old which means that his body has weakened.
But during the time of his reign, a mighty dragon has suddenly emerged and terrorized his kingdom. In the story books, somebody from his kingdom had stolen the dragon’s treasure. While in the 2007 Beowulf animated movie, the dragon was Beowulf’s secret son from Grendel's mother.
Beowulf has the option to let his army deal with the dragon but with so much ego, he wanted to face the creature to display his warrior strength and unmatched skill in battle. And, to attain more of his continued fame and glory. The only problem was that he was no longer at the young age where he was somewhere around 70 years old at that time.
The mighty old king did manage to defeat the dragon. However, he got fatally wounded during the battle. The dragon actually injected a deadly poison into the old king’s veins which resulted in his own death.
Beowulf was Blinded by his Past and Prideful Boasts
As you realized, Beowulf’s main cause of his death was not from the fatal poison injected by the dragon into his veins. It was actually no other than his past and prideful boasts.
As a king, he’s got an army which he can utilize to defeat or drive the dragon away. They may not have incredible strength and unequaled skill in battle like Beowulf, but as the king, he can devise a clever strategy for slaying the creature.
However, Beowulf thought that he was still at the same age as his younger days especially at a situation when there was an opportunity for him to show-off. So when the dragon had suddenly emerged, he wanted to fight and face the dragon all by himself alone.
If only he was at his youthful age then he can probably slay the dragon creature with so much ease just like how he handled Grendel. But the reality was not, Beowulf was quite an old man and his body failed him to perform the necessary movements to deliver his finishing blows.
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