Beowulf is famous for being one of the greatest epic heroes to ever live. The three parts to his tale are all evidence of this: his volunteering to kill the troublesome Grendel for Hrothgar, immediately stepping forward to take care of Grendel's mother after she becomes a problem, and going after the murderous dragon to save his tribe. Any one of these would be enough to retire in the history books for eternity; but all three together, in addition to Beowulf 's exemplary character and superhuman strength, make him the ultimate model for a hero. Now, a legendary, near-perfect man deserves a happy ending right? That's what we would all think, but Beowulf 's heroic life only has a tragic ending, and for a few reasons.

The first thing that makes Beowulf 's death a tragedy is that is symbolizes the loss of a great person and force of good in an evil world. Any death rocks the community where it happened, and that affect only multiplies when that death was of a person of great significance to the people they knew. So when Beowulf-the greatly admired and loved protector  over the Geats-dies heroically to save them, it makes sense that it is the worst thing to happen to them in decades. "Then his warriors laid him in the middle of [the pyre], mourning a lord far-famed and beloved. On a height they kindled the hugest of all funeral fires; fumes of wood smoke billowed darkly up." (Lines 3141-3145).  This unadulterated grief for their leader shows just how valued Beowulf was to his people, and how much his death has aff ected them. Obviously Beowulf was important to the Geats, but he was also an exemplary human in general. "Thus Beowulf bore himself with valor; he was formidable in battle yet behaved with honor and took no advantage." (Lines 2177-2179). This is just further proof that Beowulf was always an honorable guy, largely because of his Christian principles, which are established in the very beginning of the story. If dying in one final act of self-sacrifice after leading a life of good isn't tragic, then what is?

The next thing about Beowulf 's death that gave it a sting was what it meant for his tribe, and the irony of that. Beowulf 's mission on his expeditions was always to protect people-protecting the Danes from Grendel and his mother, and then protecting the Geats from the dragon-so it's ironic that his death on the last mission would lead to the Geats' unavoidable doom. Beowulf was famous across the tribes to be an unbeatable ruler over the Geats, and it was this perspective that prevented the surrounding tribes from invading the Geats. And when the dragon started killing the Geats in its rampage, he knew he had to step in to stop the damage it was doing; but when this encounter ended with Beowulf 's death, it meant the invasion and destruction of the Geats. While we don't know exactly what did happen after Beowulf 's funeral, it is heavily foreshadowed that the end is nigh for the Geats, and they knew it, "She sang sorrowful, earnestly of fortune that she for herself days of harm fiercely dreaded of multitude of slaughter-feasts, terror of troops, rapine and bondage." (Lines 3153-3155). Irony in the face of sacrifice, making it basically for nothing, definitely makes this a tragic turn of events.

Another thing that makes Beowulf 's death heartbreaking is how unexpected it is in comparison to the other feats Beowulf faced throughout his life. Not to suggest that Beowulf 's death should come as a shock to the reader, as the narrator makes sure to foreshadow Beowulf 's death to no end, "Whichever one death fells must deem it a just judgment by God." (Lines 440-441). This line emphasizes that only God decides when everyone will die, and is not the only instance where the audience is led to the conclusion that Beowulf won't make it to the end of the book. Even as Beowulf is preparing for his final battle, it is mentioned that he is "indiff erent to death" (Line 1442), implying his grave end.

Despite all this, the Geats would have no way of knowing of the narrator 's antics, as they are not all-knowing concerning the events taking place like he is. So the Geats probably expected another heroic and miraculous victory from Beowulf, as he had done twice previously in the book. It was definitely doubted that Beowulf would live past his encounters with Grendel and his mother, especially since Hrothgar's group accompanying Beowulf left him in the lake while he was fighting Grendel's mother, assuming he was dead. Even when Beowulf was fighting Grendel himself, no one  thought he could do it, "None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again or get back to his native place and the people who reared him. They knew too well the way it was before, how often the Danes had fallen prey to death in the mead-hall." (Lines 691-696). But Beowulf proved them wrong time and time again, until the Geats and everyone else who heard of his accomplishments just accepted that Beowulf could handle pretty much anything. So when he didn't come back from his last expedition, it definitely came as a shock to Beowulf 's followers. This shock can be seen in Beowulf 's funeral arrangements, where his hardened soldiers mourned him openly and Geats sang of him in sorrow. This pure grief and anguish only make Beowulf 's already sad death an outright disaster.