One of the themes of the poem is that man’s fortunes change, and he should celebrate but take care when fortune seems to turn his way because disaster may visit soon. One must not tempt the gods of irony. The Geats and Danes unwisely assume that victory is complete with the death of Grendel. For now, however, everything is celebration. Warriors who trembled and hid from Grendel boldly track his footprints to the lake where he apparently has died. Scholars delight in the account of the scop’s performance and his improvisation on the way back to Heorot. He tells the “great old stories” (869) in honor of Beowulf’s victory, including the tale of courageous Sigemund, whose killing of the dragon foreshadows Beowulf’s final battle and his death. The Beowulf poet thus subtly implies that all glory is fleeting and that death waits for all (1002 ff.). The scop’s account of Heremod appears to be in contrast to Sigemund and a reminder of what can happen when a king goes bad. All of this is part of a celebration.
Back at Heorot, Hrothgar’s praise of God, and only secondarily Beowulf, may seem intrusive in what is predominantly a heroic story. Some scholars feel that this passage indicates tampering or, at the very least, a genuflection by the poet or scribe who was ostensibly a Christian and probably educated by the Church. Beowulf’s response mentions the will of God but frankly recounts his own courage. His only regret is that he could not present the king with a complete ogre body as trophy. His account drips with irony rather than gore, depicting the struggle in terms of hospitality. He wanted to “welcome my enemy” (969) with a firm handshake but was granted only a “visitor’s token” (971), rather than a full corpse, when Grendel left “that dear gift” (973), his giant claw — a kind of macabre gratuity for services rendered.
