Last summary of Beowulf. Whoooo!
So Beowulf is telling King Hygelac about his heroic deeds and successes. He describes the battles, the partying, and all the treasures. Being the nice warrior he is, he gives all the treasure to Hygelac. To add a cherry on top of the ice cream, Hygelac gives Beowulf more presents.
Now stay with me. The story fast forwards here. Hygelac dies in battle and his successor, Heardred, also dies. Beowulf then rules the Geats for fifty years. Then, one day, a dragon is woken by someone who steals a goblet from his treasure. Not a good idea. The poet interjects that the thief wasn't greedy he was just a poor slave running away from his harsh master. He then proceeds to tell his story. Back to the story, the dragon wakes up and sees the footprints of the slave. The dragon flies outside and blows fire while looking for the thief. Each night, the dragon wakes up, kills the Geats, and burns the land. Each day, he goes to hide in his barrow.
Beowulf is told that the throne room has been destroyed by the dragon. He thinks he must have somehow upset God. He begins to plan how to defeat the dragon. He orders an all-iron shield to be made so the dragon can't burn it. Sad moment: the narrator tells us that Beowulf will die in his battle with the dragon. Now we know the ending. The narrator goes on to tell a long story about how Beowulf became king and ruled with honor. Beowulf has beaten everyone but now is the time when he faces his most difficult enemy: the dragon.
With eleven other warriors, Beowulf goes to check out the dragon's attacks. He discovers why the dragon is actually mad. Beowulf forces the slave to join them in the battle There are now thirteen warriors (which is important to in books like The Hobbit). Beowulf and the warriors are led to the dragon by the slave. Beowulf becomes sad, feeling that death is upon him. Beowulf gives a long speech about what he's done in the past and how he has ruled. As the speech ends, he gives himself a last pat on the back, telling the men that he was very successful in his youth and he is fighting this dragon for the glory of winning. Beowulf then says he wishes he could fight the dragon bare handed like he did with Grendel but he realizes that the dragon would kill him quickly. Beowulf tells his men to stay at the top of the hill to observe rather than fight. He then goes into the barrow to fight the dragon. He yells at the dragon who comes out breathing fire.
The battle is pretty intense. Beowulf is on the verge of defeat and ten of his men run away to save their lives. Only one man, Wiglaf, stays, remembering how well Beowulf has treated him and his family. Wiglaf then lectures the other men and reminds them of how great Beowulf has been to them and they should remain loyal to such a good man. Wiglaf also says he would rather die being courageous than live knowing he ran away as a coward. Wiglaf runs to help Beowulf and reminds him of his great deeds. Inspired, Beowulf swings at the dragon. Unfortunately, the narrator tells us that Beowulf has problems with weapons like swords because he's too strong and they break. That sword broke. The dragon then bites Beowulf in the neck. Wiglaf then stabs the dragon in the stomach. Beowulf draws a knife and stabs it in the side. This kills it. The narrator praises the men for their bravery.
The dragon is dead, but Beowulf is getting worse. He realizes that his wound is poisoned. He sits down on the side of the barrow and Wiglaf washes the wound. Beowulf realizes that he's about to die and he has a few things to say. He tells Wiglaf that he would like to give his armor to his son but he doesn't have one. He talks about his peaceful reign of fifty years. He was honest and just and kows that God will approve of that. He asks Wiglaf to get some of the dragon's treasure so he can see it before he dies. He brings it back and washes Beowulf's wounds. He thanks God and orders Wiglaf to build a barrow for him on the coast after his body has been cremated. Beowulf gives his golden collar to Wiglaf then dies.
Ten of the warriors, the ones who ran away, come back and watch as Wiglaf tries to revive Beowulf with water, but he's dead. Wiglaf yells at the Geats for abandoning Beowulf. Wiglaf says that now that Beowulf is dead and his warriors are disgraced, they will be attacked by their neighbors and their nation will be destroyed and that the feud between the Swedes and Geats will be revived. Now that Beowulf is dead, they won't be afraid to attack the Geats. The messenger tells them to hurry and cremate Beowulf's body and put a large amount of treasure on it so it melts with his body.
The narrator tells us that no matter how brave, successful, or wonderful a man may be, nobody knows when he will die. Wiglaf then takes the Geats down in the dragon's barrow to see the treasure. They then begin Beowulf's funeral proceedings. At the end of the text, twelve warriors ride around his tomb singing about Beowulf's success and how amazing he was.
That's all, folks. Remember, I won't post until Sunday again, but it should be a pretty good one. Isn't the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"? Yeah, I think so. Excitement will be building.
Until then,
Cassy
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