When Beowulf came back to Heorot after he had defeated Grendel’s mother, Hrothgar praises Beowulf and speaks to him. In this section, Hrothgar warns Beowulf against pride. This long speech is also often referred to as “Hrothgar’s sermon,” O flower of warriors, beware of that trap. Choose, dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. (1758-1760) Hrothgar is calling Beowulf "flower of warriors", which implies the finiteness of human.
In this section, the narrator tells a story about Great Queen Modthryth. Modthryth is a vicious queen who killed many innocent people who imagined offended her. However, once she married the King Offa (the king of Angles), she wasn't as harsh as before. The Offa who is mentioned here was the pre-migration ancestor of his 8th century. It tells us something of the times in which the poem was composed. Finally, Beowulf and his men return to the king Hygelack bearing a large amount of treasures. Hyeglack welcomes Beowulf home with mead. And Beowulf explains of the battle with Grendel and his mother, not skipping out of the intensity of the fights.
"At night there, something uncanny happens: the water burns (line 1366).'' This quotation describes the bizarre lake in which Grendel's mother lives. Fire and water, normally these two elements cannot be compatible because these images show the opposites of nature. They do not mix. So, this is a weird situation. We've already read a story about Finn before, sung by a minstrel of Hrothgar at the banquet celebrating the killing of Grendel. In the poem, the fire was symbolized as the "glutton element". ― "The glutton element flamed and consumed the dead of both sides. (line 1125)"
At the banquet celebrating the killing of Grendel, a poet of Hrothgar starts to perform a saga of the Frisian King Finn. And this poem is actually closely related to Hrothgar and his surrounding people. The story of conflict between the Danes and Frisians, Finnsburg episode, is a good device to give readers a foreshadow. Hildeburh is a Danish princess married to the Frisian King Finn for the sake of the peace of the two countries. I was a little confused about this phrase though, "Hildeburh had little cause to credit the Jutes (line 1070).
One of the best literary devices the author of Beowulf uses is the use of episodes and digressions. A "digression" is when a writer deviates from his/her original story and includes part or all of another story. In here, the song of Sigemund and information about Heremod are examples of a digression. A Danish bard sings Beowulf’s story to honor him and also recites the story of Sigemund, a great hero who killed a terrible dragon. The bard also contrasts Beowulf with, Heremod, an evil Danish king who turned against his own people. “Sigemund’s name was known everywhere. / He was utterly valiant and venturesome, / a fence round his fighters and flourished therefore (line 897-898)".