Beowulf
“O flower of warriors, beware of the trap. Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness or the sword to lay you low, or a sudden fire or surge of water or jabbing blade or javelin from their air or repellent age. Your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away.” 1758
Although Beowulf has served his people well and has been a warrior, he is eventually going to die. In this passage, Hrothgar is giving a speech to Beowulf while they are celebrating him after he has defeated Grendel’s mother. Hrothgar is explaining to him that although he is a hero and saved many of their lives, he should not get too full of himself. After all, death is unavoidable and his strength is eventually going to fade or he is going to be killed. Rather, Hrothgar believes that Beowulf should cherish the eternal awards he has received, such as knowing that he is the reason that the people of Danes are now safe. Beowulf tends to be a bit cocky. For example, he insisted on battling Grendel without any armor or weapons. He did that because he believes that his ability of strength and power are good enough. Beowulf refuses to accept the fact that he will not always be the hero.
Furthermore, the writer uses imagery in this passage. He says that Beowulf is the flower of warriors. I believe by that he means that he is the prime example of how warriors, like himself, bloom but eventually die. He is a flower now, strong and healthy, but he will not always be a warrior. Also, there is foreshadowing in this passage, Beowulf is eventually killed, referring back to when the writer says “or the sword to lay you low”.