The poem is not merely about Beowulf, no more than a funeral is only for the dead. In fact, Beowulf's name is more often referred to by the kenning, or poetic stand in of the words great leader, rather than his individual name.
Beowulf's funeral as a warrior is not an individually celebrated event, like a contemporary funeral. As he was a warrior for his people, his death is a collectively mourned experience in which the entire community participates, and in which warriors and leaders perform the symbolic, ceremonial acts, not only members of the immediate hero's family. Although Beowulf is extraordinary, he belongs to the community. His wife is given only a few sentences of description, not particularly flattering, while the poet treats in loving details the actions of the men who mourn the hero.
Despite the uniqueness of the man and the funeral, there is also a sense of following 'what is done,' as the men do not debate the best ways to mourn, merely act according to the decree of the leader and tradition. The mourners seem certain as to how they should behave and what symbolic 'tools' of memory they should use such as the physically extinguishing fire, and selecting the trappings that represent Beowulf's excellence in life, as requested, like his helmet.
Repetition, and a funeral like dirge is suggested by the circular motion and repetitive language of the rite, the cyclical nature of the ritualistic movement of the warrior, and the repetitive phrases...
This also echoes the nature of human existence, even that of a great man. The poem does not deny the inevitability of death and the circular nature of human existence. Rather the poet merely suggests that through the act of appropriate mourning, a man's memory may defy the danger that his memory may be forgotten. The dirge of the survivors commemorates Beowulf, just as the poet's act of memory also keeps the values and the person of the hero alive.
Two acts of memory thus occur at the end of the text -- the memory of the leaders of Beowulf, and the poet's recollection of the funeral, and what Beowulf represented to his community. Beowulf is thus extraordinary, yet he is also not important as an individual, but what he represents to a community of men, as spoken of in the articulated language of protection, greatness, wisdom, and mildness and the symbolic language of burning and keeping memory alive through repetition. The actions of not only Beowulf but also the significance attached to him during an older era give him importance as a figure. As unique as the time may have been, men die, and human life remains in a cyclical, inevitable progression to war and death. It is incumbent upon the listener to keep Beowulf alive in spirit, and fight against this cycle, even though the man himself may have passed into the great beyond. The poem that chronicles Beowulf's deeds must continue to be chanted, just as his memory was chanted after his death.
