Hello there,
This week I’d like to discuss the significance of the Dragon scene within the poem. Christians view a dragon as a symbol of sin and death. It could be concluded that the dragon is almost the epitome of evil. This being said, could this be why the author decided that the dragon scene should be the last of the three conflicts-considering that is when Beowulf dies? Moreover, I feel like the dragon scene came and went quickly whereas the anecdotes of Grendel and Grendel’s mother were more drawn out. Could this be simply that the author was trying to develop Beowulf’s character in the first part of the poem?
This brings me to another point: Christian allusions in part one of the epic or the “Grendel stage” don’t mesh with the second part of the poem, or the “dragon stage.” For example, line 477 reads, “My household guard are on the wane, fate sweeps them away into Grendel’s clutches-but God can easily halt these raids and harrowing attacks!” Here, there is more emphasis on the Almighty being the ultimate decision maker when it comes to Beowulf’s death. Then later in the epic the dragon is seen as a symbol of wyrd, or fate. Starting on line 2419, the author writes, “He was sad at heart, unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. His fate hovered near, unknowable but certain it would soon claim his coffered soul, part life from limb.” The heavy emphasis upon fate here suggests a more pagan belief. Does this just have to do with the editors or is the author using the two to contrast each other? With that being said, is there a reason that the author chose the pagan approach (fate) when Beowulf finally meets his death?
Next, I was pondering if there was essentially an underlying theme dealing with the person who stole from the dragon. Meaning, would the dragon have unleashed its fury on the other people had its belongings not been taken? I feel like this theory parallels Grendel and his mother. It was said that Grendel was the “Lord’s outcast” and wasn’t welcome at Heort, so Grendel was being deprived of some sort of freedom causing him to lash out the way he did. Furthermore, Grendel’s mother’s only son was then taken from her causing her to seek revenge. Do you agree or disagree that the big message here is that humans create their own catastrophes?
Finally, I wonder about Beowulf’s motives when he sought a fight with the dragon. I’d like to believe that he was simply trying to right the wrongs of the dragon’s actions, but Beowulf’s proceedings cause me to think otherwise: line 2345 reads, “Yet the prince of the rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague. He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat, no dread at all of its courage or strength…” This makes me query if Beowulf fought the dragon as a type of final glory-after all, he did have a reputation to uphold. What do you think?
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Paige,
I enjoyed reading your very insightful blog, and will now attempt to give my view on some of the questions that you asked.
I think that Beowulf’s battle against the dragon was well-placed as his final combat against a beast. It seemed that the encounters increased in intensity, even though Beowulf was, at the same time, increasing in years. If the dragon had been, say, the first creature Beowulf faced, and he beat the beast, I would find the changed ending rather disappointing. Beowulf, in his youth, would have defeated a massive fire-breathing dragon, and then ended his life in battle with Grendel, a seemingly less-powerful, more humanlike being. It wouldn’t have done the hero service. Beowulf deserved to go out with a bang, so to speak, as he did in the original story, battling perhaps the most formidable creature imaginable.
Continuing with the topic of the dragon, I too found the description of Beowulf’s final battle with this creature to appear shorter than those he conducted with Grendel and Grendel’s mother. For me, it seemed that the whole story of Beowulf was leading up to this final, epic scene in which the hero would save his people from fiery destruction at the cost of his life. I expected the description to be lengthy and verbose, and to at least last longer than his previous, lesser battles. However, the fight was succinct—not exactly disappointing, but simply putting a vast number of things into a small number of lines. It served its purpose, and did not exhaust the reader. Instead, it leads one to want more, and thus mourn to a greater extent for Beowulf than one would have had the passage been drawn-out and tiring.
And so we come to your next point, about fate being mentioned to a greater degree in Beowulf’s fight with the dragon, seemingly replacing the excessive talk of God’s will leading up to and during the fights with Grendel and his mother. This distinction is clear; however, there is no way to be sure why it exists. In my opinion, the dragon scene is much more important than those with Grendel and his mother. It is where the story of one hero ends, and that of another (Wiglaf) begins, emphasizing the circular nature of the book, and letting the reader witness Beowulf finally attain everlasting glory. In the original, oral version of this legend, “wyrd” must have been emphasized more in this final battle, where fate truly does take its course and decides Beowulf’s destiny, for better or for worse. Perhaps the Christian authors of the written version of the story decided to let this slide, as a nod to earlier beliefs and as a way to retain the integrity of the story (since “wyrd” was so integral to the legend). And thus they only slipped in a few Christian references in the dragon battle, turning mostly to the earlier passages, which would be less harmed when tainted, to speak the name of God.
In your final paragraph, you question Beowulf’s motives for battling the dragon. Yes, his pride and ego were most likely in the hero’s mind as he made the decision to fight the beast, but you must keep one other thing in mind. In that time, princes were considered good rulers if they fought with and for the people, holding their title as a “warrior” even within the castle. When something threatened their domain, it was the royalty’s responsibility to stop it in its tracks. That is why Hrothgar was so ashamed of Grendel’s attacks, and why he was mildly viewed by the author as a weak ruler. It was Beowulf’s duty to attack the monster that was threatening his homeland—and he carried it out. Yes, pride was also on the line, but the foremost priority in the hero’s mind (in my opinion) must have been the many innocent people he was fighting to protect.
Once again, it was an intriguing blog!
Maggie N.
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