Once he knew victory was certain now the only thing certain is death. Once he relished a battle now he wishes he didn't have to fight. Once he needed only his bare hands to defeat an enemy now he needs a pilfered sword and a large shield. Hygelac's sons are killed not by a brother, but by a brother tribe in the Swedes.īeowulf is not the warrior he used to be instead, he resembles the now-dead Hrothgar.
The scenario that Wealhtheow feared for her own sons happened to the Geats. Each man has his own dragon to fight (the monster of greed for the survivor and the actual dragon for Beowulf), even as they wait for death.Ī story imagined previously actually occurs, showing the predicting nature of stories. After the dragon arrives and attacks, Beowulf is shown, worrying about the usefulness of life when battles and death are waiting. The survivor speaks hauntingly about the uselessness of wealth when death is so near. The narrator reveals the similarity between the mighty Beowulf and the lowly survivor quite powerfully. This is the culmination of the darkness that began shortly after Grendel's defeat. Mead-halls are destroyed, brothers kill each other, and kings live in fear. All the respect that masters and servants held for each other is now gone, to be replaced by a desire for wealth and freedom from oppression by the higher classes (as seen in the motivation for the cup-stealing). Instead of peace between the lands, everyone is engaged in a Germanic-world war. How the world has changed over the fifty years of Beowulf's reign! All the old, great kings of long ago are now dead, as we learn from the tale of Hygelac's death. Having fought bravely through his life, he is now ready to face the dragon. He gained the great sword Naegling in one of the battles with the Swedes, and he has used it since that time. Then the Swedes came to attack, and Beowulf served Hygelac well. Hygelac's brothers accidentally killed each other, leaving their father to die of a broken heart. As they wait before charging into the cave, Beowulf, his mind heavy with the thought of death, recounts the history of the Geat royal family. So Beowulf ruled for fifty years peacefully until the dragon came.īeowulf and eleven of his thanes march to the cave of the dragon, as the slave who stole the cup shows them the way. The Swedes, however, betrayed Heardred and killed him, thus leaving Beowulf as the only heir. Beowulf refused it in favor of Hygelac's son Heardred. He sailed home, where Hygd offered him the throne. Hygelac died in the land of the Frisians, and Beowulf only barely escaped alive.
He recalls the sad events of Hygelac's death. Yet he fully realized that he is not the same young man who saved Heorot, and he has no desire to do battle. He manages to have a large shield made in preparation for the battle with the dragon. The horrible news causes him to wonder if he has done something to upset God. Now the dragon realizes that something is missing, and he goes on a rampage to find the cup.īeowulf learns of the threat through the message that one of his mead-halls has been destroyed. He slept in peace until the slave stole the cup as a plea for mercy from his lord. Eventually the dragon found the treasure, and he has guarded it for three hundred years. The last member of the race has a particularly moving speech in which he realizes that life is fleeting, compared to the permanent wealth. This dragon was guarding the treasure, which was left by an ancient civilization. A slave stole a cup from a fire-breathing dragon's treasure trove. In the fiftieth year of his reign, another monster has the Geats under attack. Hygelac has died in a distant land, leaving Beowulf to reign the Geats.
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