Today’s subject is Beowulf’s final battle with the Dragon.
Discussion Prompts
- In what ways does the Dragon differ in quality from Grendel
and Grendel’s mother?
- What is the overall mood of this final section of the poem,
and how does it shape our understanding of the first two sections?
- What think we of Wiglaf as a character?
- Lines 2347-2400 link Beowulf’s battle against the Dragon to
the Geats’ struggles against the Swedes. What does this tell us about the role
of myth and legend in early Scandinavian society?
- Examine lines 2757-66, 3047-62, and 3074-75. What do they
have in common, and why does it matter?
- What is significant about lines 2425-62?
- The Old English word for dragon is
wyrm, which also meant snake or serpent. How might this dual meaning
of the word affect our understanding of the poem as a whole?
- Finally, how do we respond to the lament with which the
poem ends (lines 3150-55)? Is it significant that the speaker of these lines is
a Geat woman? What is her attitude and how does it affect our experience of the
poem?
©Robert Whalen, 2023