Nothing in life is free

Set against the coming of Christianity, this story tells about the hero Beowulf. In this wonderful movie Beowulf was described as a tragic hero. He protected the innocent and fought off the monstrous creature Grendel that sought to kill and destroy the land and its people. Beowulf was able to be a one-man army and an intelligent and resourceful individual. He is able to fight off the monstrous Grendel and gain more glory to his name; however it is his flaws of the desire for power and lust that will eventually get the best of him in the end.
The first sign of Beowulf showing heroic features is shown in the beginning of the story when he starts to brags about his triumphs over great and deadly sea monsters he faced during a swim race with warrior Brecar. If it weren’t for the monsters he encountered during the race he would have surly won he noted. Besides facing sea monsters he was faced with a seducing mermaid and he let lust get the best of him. This important information foreshadows his up and coming events in the movie being that because of his lack of man hood and just saying no, lust and greed will be the end of him.
When Beowulf encounters Grendel he is as noble as can be and literally fights with his bare body. He wanted nothing but honor for his conquering’s. And in a way it showed what a great hero he really was because he wasn’t doing it all for the money. His defeat of Grendel validates his reputation for bravery and establishes him fully as a hero.
After this fierce battle it leads to Beowulf’s entering of the watery lair of Grendel’s angered mother where a devils bargain awaits. Grendel’s mother is beyond beautiful and decides to make a deal with Beowulf instead of killing him. The deal was to bare her a child (because Beowulf killed her poor little Grendel) remain true to Grendel’s Mother and keep her in his heart and have the gold dragon horn kept within her watery graves he will be king of all and powerful then any man. As beautiful as she was he couldn’t resist her and the fact that he would soon be king helped confirm the deal. There his flaw shows how he let a woman get to him so easily and his greed for power got to him.
Fast-forward to the end, Beowulf starts to discover his true self, that all this time he still had a deep love for the queen Wealthow. He broke his promise with Grendel’s mother and as confirmation of the broken promise the golden dragon cup was returned to Beowulf. That’s when all chaos broke out. He kills his only son, the one conceived with Grendel’s mother, and cuts off most of his arm to save the lives of his beloved queen and other young lady that he currently at the time had a thing with. This brings him back to the true and brave heroic figure he was. In this scene he is reflected on how the responsibilities of a king, who must act for the good of the people and not just for his own glory are different from how he was when he was simply a heroic warrior.
In light of these heroic features, Beowulf’s moral status becomes more ambiguous at the stories end. He died with both honor and misery. Honor being that he basically killed him self to save the ones he loved and protect his kingdom. If he had not given-in during his younger years and let his flaws get the best of him he wouldn’t have to go through this tragic death and instead have continued on living a joyous life. Thus these are the reasons why Beowulf is described to be a tragic hero.