Does Beowulf Have a Happy Ending?

When I first studied Beowulf in High School, I did not understand why there would be this whole epic poem about a dude who goes and gets himself killed in the end. I have done a lot of reading since I last encountered Beowulf and I think I have a better understanding of the choices the author / authors of Beowulf made in their epic. As my philosophy professor, Dr. Reichard, would say: "Everyone dies at the end of their story."

Still, even with this unpleasant truth in hand, one is left to wonder why the text does not end after Grendel and his mother have been killed: the two creatures who terrorize the Danes for the most part of the text. Typically epic quest poems end at the resolution of the main conflict: The Odyssey ends when there is peace in Ithaca, not when Odysseus dies.

That being said, if we look back at the cultural concerns of the narrator and the characters of Beowulf, it makes sense that we are present for our hero's death. One of the most important characteristics in Beowulf's culture is that a warrior should die a valiant death in battle. Despite the fact that all his troops turned and ran when it came time to face the dragon, Beowulf fought on until his death, with only a shield in hand. In this sense, Beowulf does get the ending that suits him.



Furthermore, Beowulf's demise is anticipated by Hrothgar's long warning regarding the dangers of pride following Beowulf's earlier victory. The fact that Beowulf faces his final foe full of pride indicates that perhaps avoiding hubris is one of the crucial lessons of Beowulf, in that a great person can accomplish many things but will fail as soon as they believe themselves greater than they really are. This seems to coincide with the Christian cultural beliefs than the corresponding Nordic culture, which might mean that Beowulf's battle with the dragon was added to the original text. If so, Beowulf doesn't really get the happy ending, but we all get a neat lesson about being too full of ourselves!