When the movie first came out, the movie posters had a specific "tag" line that was underneath the title of the film. It read: " Pride is the Curse." What is pride? Explain how pride was the curse for both Hrothgar and Beowulf in the film?

The most comprehensive definition of pride goes back to Aristotle who defined hubris as "overweening pride," the pride of one who cannot admit any wrong, even when the wrong is so obvious to everyone around the character.  This hubris was found in characters of high status such as Hrothgar and Beowulf.  Hrothgar is shown to be a somewhat drunken man in this movie who is not willing to face his failure in dealing with Grendel.  Beowulf ultimately is shown as too prideful and he puts himself into a tempting position with Grendel's mother who is portrayed very differently in the movie than she was portrayed by the anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet who wrote the epic.