After Beowulf gives an account of the fight with Grendel’s mother, Heremod praises Beowulf’s character, then contrasts it to that of King Heremod. The Danish people were not happy under King Heremod’s reign. He took out his anger on his friends, killed them, and even isolated himself from his own kind. He became barbaric and no longer bestowed rings to honor the Danes. Nonetheless, God had made him to be notable, powerful, and chose him for a happy life. In the end, he was miserable for letting his people suffer so long.
Beowulf recounts the fight with Grendel’s mother and presents the sword-hilt to Hrothgar. Hrothgar then addresses Beowulf and imparts wisdom onto him. Furthermore, he contrasts Beowulf Heremod to demonstrate the dangers of
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Beowulf is too blinded by his past to realize he was no longer as strong and could not defeat the dragon: "Beowulf spoke, made a formal boast for the last time: 'I risked my life often when I was young. Now I am old, but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight for the glory of winning'" (2510-2514). Beowulf had an army and his warrior, Wiglaf willing to help him, but he scoffed at the idea of help. Beowulf seems to believe that his prosperity will last forever and his lack of judgement in this situation like, Heremod leads to his downfall. Beowulf, like Hrothgar, also defends the Danes from many creatures and believes he could defeat any creature, which ends in tragedy. Beowulf also ruled 50 years over the geats before facing the drepedidations of the dragon. Despite Beowulf’s confidence in his strength, he encounters setbacks that prove he is not immune from the the dangers of being powerful. For example, after the dragon had attacked him again, “ When he wielded a sword, no matter how blooded and hard-edged the blade his hand was too strong, the stroke he dealt… would ruin it. He could reap no advantage” ( 2684- 2687). Hrothgar believed that he could defeat any creature by himself without any limits. Similarly, Beowulf believes he can defeat the Dragon by himself, but he cannot. Consequently, Wiglaf gets past the flames and aids him when “He lunged at the enemy lower down so that his decorated sword sank into