What happens to the dragon's hoard? - eNotes.com But this action has consequences, and is in fact merely the prologue to a bigger conflict that must take place: that between Beowulf and Grendels mother. It is worth noting, though, that in many of the translations I have read (particularly the ones from the 19th century) the translators refer to the treasure as having been owned by only a single people: the people who died out and left the man who put it into the cave which eventually was guarded by the dragon. Time passes, and Hygelac dies in battle with the Franks. The ancient treasures in the hoard once belonged to a regional tribe of warriors; almost the entire tribe was killed in battle some 300 years previously. One is high and bright and full of song and joy, towering as the Scyldings' greatest achievement. [35] Conversely, Kemp Malone writes in "The Kenning in Beowulf" that Beowulf's fight with the dragon receives much critical attention, but that commentators fail to note that "the dragon was no fighter. He wants his people to have the treasure, noting that his death will not be in vain if his people can profit from the fruits of his death. The throne comes to Beowulf, who Ongentheow Scylfings' (Swedes') king killed by Hygelac's warriors Wulf and Eofor. Once the dragon found out that a piece of his treasure was missing, he left his shelter where his treasures were and flew out over the land, burning things as he rested. Ive read Beowulf many times over the years (was introduced to the Old-English version back in High School) and youve provided an excellent summary. The hero takes it upon himself to save the kingdom at immense personal risk to himself. 98-100. Like Beowulf, the dragon uses its strength to accrue a huge mound of treasure, but in the end all the treasure does is bring about its death. The treasure also brings about Beowulfs death. Possibly the poems Christian narrator sees greed for treasure as a kind of spiritual death, suffered by pagans who value treasure over Heaven. Beowulf also takes pains to protect his fame even in death through the creation of his barrow. [2] Nonetheless, comparative contemporary narratives did not have the complexity and distinctive elements written into Beowulf's dragon scene. Sometimes God and wyrd are virtually interchangeable in the poem, possibly the result of Christian substitution. I cannot however find any strong evidence to support Frederick Rebsamen's assertion that "the old curse will probably punish the Geats since they left much of the treasure undestroyed in the burial mound.". He tells them that they will not have the treasure, because they have disgraced themselves. "[13], A study of German and Norse texts reveals three typical narratives for the dragonslayer: a fight for the treasure, a battle to save the slayer's people, or a fight to free a woman. There are more than 85 translations of Beowulf, and each one is slightly biased in its interpretation. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. [37] Raymond Wilson Chambers, in his Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem with a Discussion of the Stories of Offa and Finn, says that Beowulf's dragon acts like "the typical dragon of Old English proverbial lore" because he guards treasure. What this tells us, I think, is how deep-rooted is the human need for the idea of the stranger who rides (all right, comes by boat) into town, deals with the monster/fear/rich landowner/evil bandit who is terrorising the townfolk and rides out again. Contact us Both monsters have now been slain, and Beowulf is a hero. The passing of time brings changes to the lives of the Geats as it does to everyone. McKinstry and commented: 361-62.) Not just Beowulf's own life is at stake. Although he has been given a strong sword (named Hrunting) by Unferth (a man who had previously doubted Beowulf the sword is given as a token of friendship), Beowulf finds this sword useless against Grendels mother. Tolkiens take on it. On Beowulf What happens to the dragon and its treasure? It seems logical that the "noble" race who originally mined the gold and created the treasure could not be the race which wasted away and left only this man. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Teachers and parents! "[44], In From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy, Matthew Dickerson and David O'Hara argue that the Beowulf poet added the figure of the dragon to "the potthat is ladled out of by most modern fantasy writers"; they argued that both numerous works with villainous dragons, as well as literature with benign dragons like the My Father's Dragon books and the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, were influenced by Beowulf's dragon. Dickerson and O'Hara further elaborated that through its dragon, Beowulf turned the "notion of having a monstrous evil (and not mere human foes) as the enemy" into "a hallmark of modern fantasy" present in C. S. Lewis' Narnia books, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books, and the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen Donaldson. Beowulf is from a different kingdom the nearby Geatland, in modern-day Sweden so we have one of the classic tropes of adventure narratives, that of the hero leaving home to go and vanquish some foe in a foreign land. Beowulf and his men spend the night at Heorot and wait for Grendel to turn up. Now, ready to face one last adversary, Beowulf gathers eleven men to investigate the area. One thing that the basic overarching story or plot summary ofBeowulf makes clear is just how formative and archetypal it is, not just in heroic English literature, but in fantasy literature, too. Complete your free account to request a guide. After the dragon is killed, Beowulf tells Wiglaf to look for the dragon's treasure and to bring it to him. A lone Geat fugitive, apparently a servant or slave escaping a cruel master, has stolen a single flagon from the hoard, outraging the dragon and inciting him to vengeance. The dragon's barrow holds wealth in abundance, yet the wealth is of no use to anyone. When the dragon wounds Beowulf fatally, Wiglaf attacks it with his sword, and Beowulf kills it with his dagger. WebIronically, Beowulf dies thinking that the treasure he has won will benefit his people; instead, the Geats burn or bury all of it with Beowulf. Everyone is dead. 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. 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. The producers showed some respect for scholarship by including authentic details, for instance the rituals surrounding the ship burial of a Viking chief. more important to honor Beowulf than to be concerned w/ worldly treasures; buried w/ Beowulf Created by: jjordan93 Now I have given my old life/for this treasure hoard; fulfill henceforth/the people's needs; I may stay here no longer. The problem starts when a fugitive, apparently a runaway slave, stumbles across the dragon's treasure-trove. [36] In his 1935 work Beowulf and the Seventh Century, Ritchie Girvan writes that Beowulf should be seen as having some degree of historical accuracy despite the presence of a dragon in it; he argues that "Tales of dragons as well as a belief in dragons survived till recent times, and the popular mind is apt to accept with credulity stories of water-monsters. To everyone's alarm, however, a terrifying dragon begins to stalk the countryside at night, destroying homes including Beowulf's great hall with his fiery breath. Ruler's favor God's preference. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! from your Reading List will also remove any But this much constitutes a reasonably complete summary of the plot ofBeowulf. Raiding at night, the dragon reminds the reader of Grendel, the monster who haunted Hrothgar in his old age and changed the Scylding king's fortunes. Always conscious of weapons and tactics, Beowulf prepares by ordering a new shield, made of iron, since the dragon-fire would make short sparks of his usual linden-wood. This is why it is odd that the story of the poem is generally thought of as Beowulf versus Grendel. funnily enough with a podcast i was listening to yesterday made by a music blogger, who did a 20 minute podcast on the 12 bar blues https://goodmusicspeaks.wordpress.com/good-music-speaks-podcast-3/. WebHe tells Wiglaf to look after the Geats when he is gone. It is set in Denmark, has a Swedish hero, and when read in the original Anglo-Saxon seems almost more German than English. Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs Renews May 8, 2023 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. They discover the thief who stole the dragons goblet and press him to take them to the barrow. The ancient treasures in the hoard once belonged to a regional tribe of warriors; almost the entire tribe was killed in battle some 300 years previously. [5] Moreover, the dragon is vanquished through Wiglaf's actions: although Beowulf dies fighting the dragon, the dragon dies at the hand of the companion. The parallel in the story lies with the similarity to Beowulf's hero Sigemund and his companion: Wiglaf is a younger companion to Beowulf and, in his courage, shows himself to be Beowulf's successor. WebSomeone accidentally took his treasure Beowulf worries that which of the following is the reason for the dragon's attacks: He offended God How does Beowulf feel as he PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. In his death-speech, Beowulf nominates Wiglaf as his heir and asks for a monument to be built for him on the shoreline. The circumstances surrounding and leading up to Beowulfs confrontation with the dragon prepare us for a climactic spectacle. You'll also receive an email with the link. Refine any search. Despite the odds being stacked against him, he manages to overcome the monster, to borrow Christopher Bookers phrase for this type of narrative. The earnings of earlmen to earth they entrusted, The gold to the dust, where yet it remaineth. In a parallel that cannot be missed, the dragon does the same, in a slightly different way, to Beowulf. Instead, he acted as protector and guardian to the prince and supported his rule. The foreshadowing is even more specific immediately after Beowulf orders his new shield; the poet bluntly reveals that the king is "to reach the end of his seafaring days, / his life in this world, together with the serpent" (242-43). Previous Did not Hrothgar warn him of this in the sermon? Purchasing Interesting post (!) May 1, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 . Beowulf Lines 22112515 Summary & Analysis Men must endure their going hence, as Shakespeare has it inKing Lear (a line borrowed for C. S. Lewiss tombstone). Waking up to find In this anecdote, the Beowulf poet seems to have given the pagan ethos a fairly sympathetic and even-handed treatment. And Grendel and his mother are evil in the Christian sense of the word: the author ofBeowulf tells us that they were spawned from Cain (the first murderer in the Bible) when he was cast out of Eden. Grave Goods: An archeological and anthropological term, grave goods merely describe any objects buried with a body. The chain-shirts can no longer protect their owners because the warriors will fight no more battles. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Queen Hygd offered Beowulf the throne after her husband (Hygelac) died, thinking that her young son (Heardred) was unable to protect the kingdom; Beowulf refused but served the young king faithfully. When Beowulf tracks her to the mere and ends up in her underwater cave, he has no more interest in the claw. Sometimes it can end up there. The central section is the killing of the monsters. The poem actually begins with Scyld Sheffings funeral, and it ends with Beowulfs. The unknown ancestor who buries the treasure, for example, behaves as mournfully as if he were actually burying his deceased kinsmenor, indeed, himself. He thus stands in contrast to the power-hungry usurper Hrothulf. The treasure is buried with the great warrior in his funeral barrow and, we are told, remains there still, a mighty horde of riches that is of absolutely no use to anybody. The habit is so well known that examples are superfluous". Beowulf could have become king sooner but was more loyal than ambitious. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Beowulf and Wiglaf (Lines 27112845). It begins to emerge nightly from its barrow to torment the countryside, still seething with rage at the theft. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. What qualities characterize Beowulf as a hero? Just as the dead warriors cannot use the treasure, neither can the dragon. Perhaps someone will (or has) written a history of the treasure and the barrow - it could make a very adventurous tale, in which Beowulf's battle with the dragon, and the reinternment of the treasure in his funeral mound (the gold having gone back into the earth for the third time) might be merely one short chapter. The dragon's treasure-trove poignantly represents the vanity of human wishes as well as the mutability of time. After Heardred's death, Beowulf did become king and ruled his people well for 50 years. Latest answer posted July 16, 2021 at 9:40:02 PM. If you consider everything we are told about the treasure, the people who originally hid it, the curse put on it, the people who uncovered and used it and eventually buried it again, and about the barrow itself, and the dragon, which, for some reason, decided to guard it (although I know that there are many legends in which dragons guard treasures), there is enough material to inspire a very interesting story. The problem is that Beowulf was a young man during those glorious battles. The dragon chanced upon the hoard and has been guarding it for the past three hundred years. Also, Beowulf is most commonly described as an epic poem; the label makes its main character, Beowulf, an epic-hero. | Interesting Literature, Pingback: Five Fascinating Facts about Jabberwocky | Interesting Literature, Pingback: Five Fascinating Facts about Geoffrey Chaucer | Interesting Literature, Reblogged this on beocorgi and commented: The survivor seems to realize that the treasure is meaningless without a community in which to circulate. If, in my first year at Reading University in 1964/65, we had studied Beowulf instead of extracts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (so dull!) Beowulf is the oldest extant heroic poem in English and the first to present a dragon slayer. WebIn Beowulf, some of the most important symbols are Hrothgar's mead-hall, Grendel's cave, Grendel's arm and head, and the dragon's treasure-trove. The cave also represents their heritage. Only one survivor, who is called the "keeper of the rings" (2244), lived to hide the treasures in the barrow. The Geats have a long feud with the Scylfings. This is, of course, because Anglo-Saxon (i.e. WebWhat happens with the dragon's treasure at the end of the story, and what could this symbolize? The poet has no reservations about giving away his ending. Indeed, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries many scholars endeavoured to show that the author of Beowulf had been influenced by these classical works, but, in summary, the truth appears to be far more interesting. CliffsNotes (including. Wed love to have you back! So, the warriors end up building Beowulf his funeral pyre and burying the dragon's hoard with his ashes. Time always wins. As Beowulf fights Grendels mother, where are his companions, and what are they thinking? Beowulf describes the treasure as his final gift to his people, and passes on his kingship to Wiglaf, who is clearly the most deserving and competent of the Geats. All the treasure that the dragon had was put on a ship with As the author of this post writes, the morals, tropes, and figures create a bases for understanding many other English works that were to follow, so its interesting to see how relatively young Britain works with this tale and interprets its own history. This realization isnt exactly a Christian lesson in the transience of earthly things, since no alternative spiritual world is proposed; neither, however, does it reflect a greedy, purely materialistic lust for gold. Meanwhile, his kinsman Wiglaf scolds the other members of the troop for not going in to help, before coming to Beowulf's aid. This suggests that different cultures, in these old days of oral storytelling, utilised the same methods in very different works of literature, without having direct knowledge of each other. Beowulfs call for the dragon to face him on open ground has the same primal feel to it as his youthful decision to fight Grendel unarmed. He tells of the accidental killing of one of Hrethels sons by another and attempts to characterize the kings great grief. Interestingly, Beowulf's initial reaction is a feeling of guilt. If he dies, his people will be lost. Lines 2200-2400 - CliffsNotes The thief steals a gem-covered goblet, arousing the wrath of the dragon. Youve successfully purchased a group discount. (including. We're sorry, SparkNotes Plus isn't available in your country. Although the analogy might seem a little crude, the mechanics of the plot are not so far removed from, say, a James Bond or Indiana Jones film, or a fast-paced fantasy novel or superhero comic strip. Wiglaf kills the dragon halfway through the scene, Beowulf's death occurs "after two-thirds" of the scene,[32] and the dragon attacks Beowulf three times. This plot, as our brief summary of Beowulf above suggests,shares many of the typical elements of heroic narratives. | Interesting Literature, Five Fascinating Facts about Jabberwocky | Interesting Literature, Five Fascinating Facts about Geoffrey Chaucer | Interesting Literature, 10 Short Medieval Poems Everyone Should Read | Interesting Literature, What Happens in Beowulf? Hetware technically, the Chattuarii; here indistinguishable from Frisians; joined with Franks against Hygelac. This section moves us into the third part of the poem, which centers around the aged Beowulfs fight with the dragon. Can he still save the day, when everything he tries seems to be of no avail? Whose funerals are they? This is a great commentary on the story of Beowulf. It is possible, however, that I do not understand enough about the subtleties of the Anglo-Saxon writing, or the roles of the messenger, or the grieving woman, and so I have missed something which would indicate that these commentators are correct. In lines 2892-2897a, Wiglaf commands a messenger to go back to town, and give a report to the citizens who had not seen the battle with the dragon. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Beowulf is a classic overcoming the monster story. [39], In his 1936 lecture Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, J. R. R. Tolkien noted that the dragon and Grendel are "constantly referred to in language which is meant to recall the powers of darkness which Christian men felt themselves to be encompassed. A great post on one of my favorite works. Central Idea Essay: Honor Codes & Heroism. We can compare Beowulf, too, with the legend of King Arthur (which began to appear in written sources around the same time), specifically in terms of the magic sword which the hero of both stories uses in order to fulfil his quest. Beowulf hears that Grendel is killing Hrothgars men at Heorot and so our hero departs from home to go and help rid Heorot of this monster. Beowulf becomes king of the Geats and rules well for 50 years. The dragon fight ends Beowulf, while Tolkien uses the dragon motif (and the dragon's love for treasure) to trigger a chain of events in The Hobbit. on 50-99 accounts. "Cain's monstrous progeny in Beowulf: part I, Noachic tradition", "The Dragon-Lore of Middle-earth: Tolkien and Old English and Old Norse Tradition", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_dragon_(Beowulf)&oldid=1136193441, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 05:14. [42] As Beowulf dies from his fight with the dragon, despite defeating it, James Parker of The Atlantic writes that "There is no transcendence in Beowulf, and no redemption [] kill the dragonbut the dragon will get you anyway". The treasure also brings about Beowulfs death. Possibly the poems Christian narrator sees greed for treasure as a kind of spiritual death, suffered by pagans who value treasure over Heaven. The dragon hoards his treasure in a barrow, that is, a grave.
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