A great man has died. And his name is Beowulf, our king, and a very close friend of mine. Beowulf was a brave man, the bravest of us all. A generous soul, that cared for others. A man whose fury and glory no man could ever match.…
4. What did Beowulf’s warriors do when Beowulf began to lose the battle? Who stayed?…
Wiglaf is a young Geatish warrior in Beowulf's procession who follows him to where he is determined to slay the beast. When all of Beowulf's men abandon him, he stays earnestly with his king. Wiglaf was the only one of the thanes who continued to be loyal to Beowulf. He accommodates perfectly to be a worthy successor and that he is willing to die in trying to kill the beast and to save his lord.…
Unfortunately, a thief angers a dragon by stealing from his stash of treasure and in return destroys Geatland homes. King Beowulf, now an old man decides to fight the dragon. Geatland’s warrior takes on his responsibility as king and protects his people. This task could not be done alone. Wiglaf joins Beowulf to face the dragon. Beowulf manages to defeat the dragon, but dies from a venomous wound. He orders Wiglaf to retrieve the dragon's treasure from the barrow. Beowulf thanks the Lord for blessing him with the treasure for his people. The king appoints Wiglaf to lead the Geats then dies. Troops build Beowulf’s Barrow after being instructed by Wiglaf.…
Beowulf shows that him and his men are seeking the prince. He also tells the Danish guard that his father Edgetho, was a famous soldier.…
Since Wiglaf is Beowulf's cousin I’d expect nothing less than what Wiglaf had done for Beowulf. I find it unfortunate that Wiglaf seems like he could be just as great as a king as Beowulf, but Wiglaf has no story like Beowulf's… I guess there can only be one great king. Wiglaf seems to have the same sense of justice as Beowulf’s, as shown on lines 853-857 “Too few of his warriors remembered/To come, when our lord faced death, alone./And now giving of swords, of golden/Rings and rich estates, is over/Ended for you…” Wiglaf confronts the thanes who fled since they ran they will not be rewarded. This shows that Wiglaf stays true to his beliefs as an Anglo Saxon. To elaborate Wiglaf scolded the thanes because they fled during battle, a thanes…
Wiglaf emphasizes on how a promise he makes is a promise he will keep with a speech "I remember the time that we took mead together, when we made promises to our prince in the beer-hall - he gave us these rings - that we would pay him back for his battle - gear, these helmets and hard swords, if such a need s this ever befell him…" (2633-2660) Wiglaf gives all the soldiers a speech but the soldiers are are making a run for it to save themselves but Wiglaf proves his loyalty by being the one who stays to help Beowulf and doesn't care if his life is at stake from a fire-breathing dragon. In fact WIglaf looks back on old times with Beowulf and refers to him as a "shepherd" (11) in his way stating that Beowulf has a great ability to lead and later Wiglaf makes it apparent that he would rather die next to Beowulf than flee like the other…
The Old English poem, Beowulf, is arguably the first writings that highlights the battle between man and dragon and portray a Scandinavian warrior who is destine to rule a kingdom. The age-old question of fighting for glory or fighting for riches is tested, as the story begins with a young warrior who battles his way to become king and in the end give his life for his kingdom. After a successful reign as king, the story leads the hero to a final battle with the fantastic dragon. The question, that has been put before the readers is one of motive for Beowulf’s battle of the dragon. It has been put upon us to decide if Beowulf was fighting the dragon for personal glory or for the protection and safety of his kingdom. In this writer’s…
Rather than send warriors to fight the dragon, Beowulf goes himself to fight the dragon. Taking sword and shield he engages the beast in combat. However, Beowulf runs into complications with this beast, “the iron Shield, and for a time it held, protected Beowulf as he’d planned; then it began to melt.” (720-722) Beowulf finds himself in defeat for the first time. Then Wiglaf, one of his kinsmen, comes to his aid and together they defeat the dragon. Yet, Beowulf is mortally wounded and is about to die. Before dying, he passes the throne to Wiglaf. Thus the hero dies in a heroic manner and with pride, after fighting a foe that once again threatened a people. Beowulf is not only a hero, but also an example to all warriors of what they should strive to…
In the literary work of Beowulf, it is imperative to analyze the relationships between characters and how those relationships function to create new meaning or a better understanding of the literature as a whole. In Beowulf, it can be said that the characters of Beowulf and Wiglaf share parallels that serve to show Wiglaf as becoming the next king, and not only the successor of the throne, but a sign of hope for the doomed society of the Geats. These similarities can be recognized especially well through the Anglo Saxon beliefs of what makes an exceptional warrior, as well as certain language chosen when describing the two characters. Furthermore, the two characters mirror each other in motifs of the story such as the father and son aspect, the coming of age to become king motif, and the importance of kinsmen in the society.…
In a like manner, my father and Wiglaf have a lot of things in common. The both of them was equally determined. When my mother and I told my father to keep fighting while he was on his death bed. The fact that my father knew he was dying he was determined to live as long as he could. In the same way, Wiglaf was determined to help Beowulf defeat the dragon. Wiglaf was very strong. He was strong enough to put his fear aside to help Beowulf fight. “Wiglaf’s mind was made up; re raised his yellow shield and drew his sword.” (Lines 720-722, Page 60). Likewise my father was also strong. In 2010 he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver he became strong. He was so strong that when he found out that he was dying and there was nothing else the…
1. Time and again, Beowulf’s warriors worked to defend their lord’s life, laying about them as best as they could with their ancestral blades.…
Today was the day I lost my son and the great Beowulf is to blame. I feel it. I feel the emptiness that comes when a mother loses her child. I hear my son calling out for me, wishing I was there to help. I feel the broken bones and the screams that my child, my sweet baby boy, made while Beowulf tore him from this world. I feel the anger, and the ferocity of a mother bear, but i have failed to protect my cub. I have traveled to the surface, far from the safety and comfort of my cave beneath the water, to kill beowulf. I have captured him and i will kill him. His puny blade does no damage to me, for i am too strong for him. I am winning, the life slowly draining from Beowulf’s body, until i remember my greatest weakness; I am the only one who…
When Beowulf died, after the fight with the firedrake, Wiglaf was appointed king. Wiglaf was still very young at the time, so he was extremely inexperienced. He began training to become the best king in history. During his first day of training, he said to himself, “I will be just like Beowulf.” He went through all of his training trying as hard as he could to become exactly like Beowulf. After he finished the training, Wiglaf was dedicated to ruling the same way Beowulf did. He did everything possible to keep the country at peace, and that was his primary goal. Soon after training, he had a statue of Beowulf built in front of the great hall of the country. Once the statue was complete, he held a large celebration in remembrance of Beowulf.…
Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorised by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns or servants, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair, at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares join him. Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but is mortally wounded. He is buried in a tumulus or burial mound, by the sea.…