Hrothgar's Pride In Beowulf

In literature, monsters are often used to symbolize characteristics in humans. In the poem Beowulf, monsters are used to symbolize destructive behavior in humans. In the case of Hrothgar and Beowulf, their pride causes them to become selfish. Pride often makes people lose focus of their priorities and that can make their selfishness get out of control, and lead to destructive behavior.

Hrothgar’s pride caused him to fail to protect his kingdom, and make his people vulnerable. His biggest accomplishment as King was the building of Heorot Hall. Heorot distracted him from his people and he was not able to protect them from Grendel. When Hrothgar came up with the idea of Heorot Hall he wanted something that was “meant to be a wonder of the world forever/…/ but not the common land or people’s lives” because he wanted something spectacular for him and his warriors (Heaney 67-72). The first night Grendel attacked,

Hrothgar did nothing to save his men, but “[sit] stricken and helpless/…/ bewildered and stunned…”(129-132). As King, Hrothgar was expected to save his people, but he did nothing and continued to party in Heorot every night with his warriors. While Grendel continued to attack Heorot no one was safe, “all were endangered; young and old”, and he continued his attack on Heorot for the next 12 years until Beowulf came and defeated him (159).
Beowulf’s success in battle caused him to become too prideful, and that lead to his downfall.

When Beowulf first meets Hrothgar, he tells him that his people supported his wish to come help with Grendel because “[they] knew of [his] awesome strength” (415). At the feast before his fight with Grendel, Beowulf boasts that he will be able to defeat him in one fight and without any weapons because “when it comes to fighting [he counts himself]/ as dangerous… as Grendel”(677-678). After Beowulf defeats Grendel, Hrothgar warns him to “not give way to pride/ for a brief while [his] strength is in bloom/ but it fades quickly”, but his warning to Beowulf to not let his pride control him is ignored (1760-1762). Fifty years later, Beowulf is King and goes to battle a dragon that is attacking his kingdom. When Beowulf goes to fight the dragon he goes alone because “[he] was too proud/ to line up with a large army”, and that would hurt his pride and credibility (2345). In defeating the dragon, he lost his life: something he could have kept if he had not fought

alone.
Hrothgar and Beowulf’s selfishness caused them both to lose things they valued. Overall, Hrothgar and Beowulf’s actions show how selfishness stems from pride, and how that selfishness can lead to destruction. Having pride can be a good thing, but having too much of it can cause many problems. Humans today continue to allow their pride to control their actions as they strive to be better than what they already are.