Fifty years after Beowulf's battles with Grendel and his mother, the Geats are of a much lower caliber than the warlike heroes who accompanied him to Heorot. It is only to be expected that the years have enfeebled Beowulf himself, and he dies with honor, mortally wounded by the dragon which attacked his kingdom. Wiglaf also acquits himself well in the battle. The rest of the Geats, however, run ignominiously away into the woods, leaving the two heroes to fight against the dragon alone.

Wiglaf, therefore, condemns the Geats for their cowardice, but also makes the practical point that they are surrounded by enemies and are now in a vulnerable position. Their legendary king is dead, and they have just demonstrated that there are no other formidable warriors amongst them. The Franks and the Frisians will certainly attack them when they hear the news, and the Swedes also have a long-standing grudge upon which they are likely to act. The Germanic tribal code contains no place for weakness or compassion. The poet confirms that many of Wiglaf's predictions will come to pass, since this is an environment in which it is dangerous to be a hero, but even more fatal to be a coward.