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As the good king he is, Beowulf has given his life not only to protect his people from the dragon but also to provide his people with enough wealth to take care of them after he is gone. The problem starts when a fugitive, apparently a runaway slave, stumbles across the When Grendel invades the hall, he knows that he strikes at the very heart of the Scyldings. What does a hero's death mean to Beowulf's people? He speaks of the mutability of time and the loss of the good men, heroes, and princes, who no longer have any use for the treasure. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. How utterly fascinating! Major Symbols in. From beginning to end, the tone of this section is one of death and doom. The dragon (Beowulf) - Wikipedia It opens with an account of a Danish king named Hrothgar, who was the one responsible for building a great hall (named Heorot), a hall which is now being terrorised by the monstrous Grendel. As Hrothgar warned, and as the Beowulf poet reminds us throughout the epic, all glory is fleeting. He believes that he has somehow offended God. Summary and Analysis Beowulf The dragon, like Grendel, only In the Septuagint, Job's monster is characterized as a draco, and identified with the devil. Lines 1888-2199. The final encounter, with the dragon years later, will prove the most difficult of all and although he is successful and overcomes the monster, he will pay the ultimate price: victory will come at the cost of his own life. On his return from Heorot, where he killed Grendel and Grendel's mother, Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules wisely for fifty years until a slave awakens and angers a dragon by stealing a jewelled cup from its lair. The scene includes extended flashbacks to the Geatish-Swedish wars, a detailed description of the dragon and the dragon-hoard, and ends with intricate funerary imagery. The unknown ancestor who buries the treasure, for example, behaves as mournfully as if he were actually burying his deceased kinsmenor, indeed, himself. Whose funerals are they? Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. In the previous section, the reader learns only that Beowulf came to the throne after Hygelacs death and ruled for fifty years. At least 50 years have passed. WebShare Cite. The gables are shaped like horns of the hart. In Heorot, Hrothgar celebrates his victories and rewards his thanes (warriors) with various treasures. McKinstry and commented: Soon, Beowulf'sown throne-hall becomes the target of the dragons fiery breath, and it is burned to the ground. In a parallel that cannot be missed, the dragon does the same, in a slightly different way, to Beowulf. Want 100 or more? Theres an excellent film called The Thirteenth Warrior, in which an exiled Islamic poet joins a band of Vikings to defeat what appears to be a Beowulfian monster attacking a hall. Hrethels grief at the accident is great, but because of the peculiar circumstances surrounding his sons death, Hrethel is locked in inaction. Lines 2200-2400 - CliffsNotes The thief steals a gem-covered goblet, arousing the wrath of the dragon. Hygelac is killed in battle. The second part passes rapidly over King Hygelacs subsequent death in a battle (of historical record), the death of his son, and Beowulfs succession to the kingship and his peaceful rule of 50 years. But now a fire-breathing dragon ravages his land and the doughty but aging Beowulf engages it. The dragon chanced upon the hoard and has been guarding it for the past three hundred years. The habit is so well known that examples are superfluous". Well, yes though for a while the chances of Beowulf triumphing are looking less and less likely. It also looks back to Greek and Roman epics like Homers Odyssey and Virgils Aeneid. WebThe dragon begins to vomit flames, burn houses, and kill everything in his path. Beowulf, despite his tendency to boast a bit (isnt that where we get kennings? There, the Danish princess Hildeburh was distressed by the fact that her son and her brother were at war, fighting on opposite sides, and that ultimately both were killed. The pattern is the establishment of the house of the Geats, the rescue of the house of Heorot by destroyng the house of Grendel, and the end of the house of the Geats with Beowulf. All the treasure that the dragon had was put on a ship with [27] The dragon's hoard is representative of a people lost and antique, which is juxtaposed against the Geatish people, whose history is new and fleeting. Beowulf: Sections 8-10 Flashcards | Quizlet Waking up to find the goblet stolen, the dragon bursts forth from the barrow to hunt the thief, scorching the earth as it travels. Well start with a brief summary ofBeowulfbefore proceeding to some textual analysis and critical reading. Nothing is permanent. Discount, Discount Code The ancient treasures in the hoard once belonged to a regional tribe of warriors who were killed in battle some 300 years previously. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. A great dragon lurks beneath the earth, jealously guarding its treasure, until one day a thief manages to infiltrate the barrow, or mound, where the treasure lies. Beowulf scholar Alexander writes that the dragon fight likely signifies Beowulf's (and by extension, society's) battle against evil. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. In the 2007 film version, the dragon is Grendel's younger half-brother as he's the son of the latter's mother and Beowulf whom he ironically ends up killing in the end of the movie. He ignores the vast treasure in the cave, instead choosing to carry the magnificent, huge head as symbolic of his victory over both ogres. Accessed 2 May 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. The poem actually begins with Scyld Sheffings funeral, and it ends with Beowulfs. Refine any search. In his last moments, Beowulf focuses more on his good qualities as a king than as a warrior. On Beowulf What happens to the dragon and its treasure?