Pride Will be the Death of Him People deal with fighting evil in a more intelligent way as they mature and as the degree of evil increases. This progression is illustrated in the epic poem Beowulf as the epic hero, Beowulf, constantly duals the hands of evil in three major fights until his heroic death. Beowulf is talking to the people of Herot when he says, “I have heard moreover that the monster scorns/ in his reckless way to use weapons;/ therefore, to heighten Hygelac's fame/ and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce/ sword and the shelter of the broad shield,/ the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand/ is how it will be, a life-and-death/ fight with the fiend" (Heaney 433-440). Beowulf states this saying he will fight Grendel, a Giant, with his bare hands because it is only fair as Grendel does not use any weapons. This shows his youthful pride and arrogance getting in the way of fighting evil in an intelligent way. …show more content…
Reminiscing about the fight fought against Grendel’s mother, Beowulf says he fought her using an enchanted sword that disintegrated after one fatal strike. This shows how Beowulf has developed his way of dealing with evil, as this time he actually uses a weapon to kill his