Moral Ethics In Beowulf

The Decline of Moral Ethics “Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low… Your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away” (Heaney 1758–1768). In this sermon by Hrothgar towards Beowulf, he warns having power and fortune distracts from looming dangers. Strength fades as time passes and enemies become overwhelming to defeat. In the epic Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf endures a decline in the battles from Anglo-Saxon warrior traditions and physical condition. Beowulf’s first fight with Grendel follows warrior traditions …show more content…
Beowulf faces the struggle of an underwater mere, where Grendel’s mother resides. The sword Beowulf uses against Grendel’s mother proves useless; it did not penetrate through the skin and bone. His sword provided by Unferth fails him. “But he soon found his battle-torch extinguished: the shining blade refused to bite. It spared her and failed the man in need” (Heaney 1522-1525). Unlike the first battle, the struggle with Grendel’s mother proves daunting for Beowulf. Grendel’s mother grabs Beowulf by his armor and slams him to the ground. With a sharp blade in Grendel’s mother possession, Beowulf’s defeat seemed certain and his confidence was lost for an instant. Beowulf strength proved useless and had to rely on the giant’s sword he found nearby. “Then he saw a blade that boded well, a sword in her armoury, an ancient heirloom from the days of the giants, an ideal weapon, one that any warrior would envy (Heaney 1557-1560)” Beowulf uses the sword to decapitate Grendel’s mother, which transgresses his of use of pure strength over weaponry. He used his strength against Grendel, but relies on a sword to kill his mother. Beowulf’s strength begins to let him …show more content…
In the epic Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, Beowulf suffers a decline from the battle with Grendel to the dragon in warrior culture and physical condition. Beowulf defeats Grendel with ease and utilized his pure strength. The second battle with Grendel’s mother nearly resulted in the death of Beowulf and resorted to a weapon, which shows a decline in his strength and confidence. The last foe destroyed his mead hall and had to resort to an all-iron shield to fend off the dragon. Wiglaf came to Beowulf’s aid after his weaponry failed and died as a result of poison. Beowulf’s narcissism of strength and old age lead to his death, as he failed to heed Hrothgar’s words of wisdom and paid the ultimate