Sample Close Reading Beowulf 3137-3155

Beowulf's funeral makes an ambiguous statement about the meaning of his life and death. When Beowulf dies, his thanes build a funeral pyre "hung with helmets, heavy war-shields/and shining armor, just as he had ordered" (3139-40). One last time treasure represents respect for the leader. His body is thrown to the fire "and flames wrought havoc in the hot bone-house,/burning it to the core" (3147-8). The source of the hero's strength and renown is easily destroyed. One last unnamed "Geat woman" (3150) sings a lamentation, not for Beowulf, but for "her nation invaded,/enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles,/slavery and abasement" (3153-55). The king's death leaves his people open to all the attacks and humiliations most feared in Anglo-Saxon warrior society.  This funeral, unlike the one which opens the poem is not a simple celebration of the warrior ethos.