Beowulf's body is taken to Hronesness, where his funeral pyre is burned and his funeral mound is constructed. The mound is filled with the treasure that Beowulf won from the dragon and all of the Geats gather around to lament the death of their lord. How old is the character Beowulf? Category: books and literature poetry. The text claims that he ruled for "fifty winters," which would make him fifty years older than he was after the battle with Grendel and Grendel's mother.
Is Beowulf older than the Bible? Who is the demon in Beowulf? Is Beowulf a Viking? What language is Beowulf? Is Beowulf a true story?
What age did Grendel die? How is Beowulf structured? Who trained Beowulf? Received Training From:. Is Grendel Beowulf's son? Who is Beowulf's son? Is the dragon Beowulf's son? Who was Grendel's father? Who killed Beowulf? What does Beowulf want to see before he dies? How old is Grendel? Beowulf strikes the dragon in the head with his great sword Naegling, but the sword snaps and breaks. The blow is fatal, and the writhing serpent withers. But no sooner has Beowulf triumphed than the wound on his neck begins to burn and swell.
He realizes that the dragon bite is venomous and that he is dying. Wiglaf descends into the barrow and quickly returns to Beowulf with an armload of treasure.
The old king, dying, thanks God for the treasure that he has won for his people. Whereas Beowulf is essentially invulnerable to Grendel and his mother, he is in danger from the beginning against the dragon. This poetic evocation of death as constituting movement from one realm to another—from the earthly realm to the spiritual one—reveals the influence of Christian ideology on the generally pagan Beowulf. That Beowulf should be so adamant in his desire to see the treasure before he dies has puzzled many readers.
It is important to remember that treasure objects often function as symbols of the transmission of values through generations or of bonds of kinship and loyalty. Beowulf recognizes this symbolic function when he reflects that he would pass on his armor to his own son if he had one.
His relief upon seeing the treasure demonstrates his desire to leave something to his people—a sort of surrogate offspring—when he dies.
He knows that, even though he has slain the dragon, his victory will feel hollow if there is no subsequent enactment of the ritual of reward and gift-giving. The combatants crash around the hall, rattling the walls and smashing the mead-benches. Grendel begins to shriek in pain and fear; the sound terrifies all who hear it. Fatally wounded, Grendel slinks back to his swampy home to die.
Back in the mead-hall, Beowulf holds up his gory trophy in triumph. He proudly hangs the arm high on the wall of Heorot as proof of his victory. The dragon was the guardian of a treasure hoard, which Sigemund won by slaying the dragon.
The bard also sings of, and contrasts Beowulf with, Heremod, an evil Danish king who turned against his own people. Hrothgar enters the mead-hall to see the trophy. He thanks God for finally granting him relief from Grendel. He then praises Beowulf, promises him lavish rewards, and says that he has adopted the warrior in his heart as a son. Order is restored in Heorot, and all the Danes begin to repair the great hall, which has been almost completely destroyed.
This narrative technique makes Beowulf seem even more godlike; he seems to be an unstoppable heroic force. Throughout the fight, Beowulf is treated as more than human.
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