Remember that bad guys and monsters hoard stuff instead of appreciating it:
"He had long lain in his lofty fastness,/ the steep stone-barrow, guarding his gold;/ but a path pierced it, known to no person/ save him who found it and followed it forward" (1948-1951).
What does the "stranger" seize? How does he seize it?
"Beowulf" is also about the end of an era, much like the story of King Arthur is about the end of an era. Early in the poem, the writer talks about the end of another era, some three-hundred years earlier. It also explains how the dragon came into possession of the goodies:
"Many such goblets had gone to the earth-house,/ legacies left by a lordly people./ In an earlier age someone unknown/ had cleverly covered those costly treasures" (1970-1973).
"That thane held the hoard for the lifetime allowed him,/ but gold could not gladden a man in mourning./ Newly-build near the breaking waves,/ a barrow stood at the base of a bluff,/ its entrance sculpted by secret arts. Earthward the warrior bore the hoard-worthy/ portion of plate, the golden craftwork./ The ringkeeper spoke these words as he went:
"'Hold now, Earth, what men may not,/ the hoard of the heroes, earth-gotten wealth/ when it first was won. War-death has felled them, an evil befalling each of my people./ The long-house is mirthless when men are lifeless./ I have none to wear sword, none to bear wine/ or polish the precious vessels and plates./ Gone are the brethren who braved many battles.. From the hard helmet the hand-wrought gilding/ drops in the dust. Asleep are the smiths/ who knew how to burnish the war-chief's mask/ or mend the mail-shirts mangled in battle./ Shields and mail-shirts molder with warriors/ and follow no foes to faraway fields./ No harp rejoices to herald the heroes, / no hand-fed hawk swoops in the hall, no stallion stamps in the keep's courtyard./ Death has undone many kindreds of men.'
"Stricken in spirit, he spoke of his sorrow/ as last of his line, drearily drifting/ through day and dark, until death's flood-tide stilled his heart" (1974-2003).
For how many years has the dragon held this treasure?
What does the dragon do to Beowulf's house?
Note how Beowulf thinks that he might have offended God: "There hero was heartsore;/ the wise man wondered what wrong he had wrought/ and how he transgressed against old law, / the Lord Everlasting, Ruler of All" (2053-2056).
God also gets credit when things go right. In the Middle Ages, and even today, in words spoken by our president and vice-president, God is always on the side of the righteous: "Fearless and forceful, he often had faced/ the straits of struggle blessed with success" (2071-2072).
Another motif that appears in Anglo-Saxon and Celtic mythology is the concept of fostering a boy-child to another warrior. This usually happens in multiples of 7--from the age of 7, to 14, to 21--critical ages.
Why does Hrethel suffer?
Who was Hathcyn?
How will Beowulf fight the dragon? What method of warfare will he use?
What will he wear? Why?
What do Beowulf's men do?
Know Wiglaf's lineage and his relationship with Aelfhere. Who was Aelfhere?
Know the lineage of Wiglaf's blade.
Who avenged Eanmund's death?
What did Weohstan do?
Note the heroic qualities that Wiglaf possesses and how he puts the others to shame: "The war was the first young Wiglaf would fight helping the king. His heart would not quail/ nor weapon fail as the foe would find/ going against him; but he made his grim mood/ known to the men: 'I remember the time/ when taking our mead in the mighty hall/ all of us offered oaths to our liege-lord./ We promised to pay for princely trappings/ by staunchly wielding sword-blades in war,/ if the need should arise. Now we are needed/ by him who chose, from the whole of his host, / twelve for this trial, trusting our claims/ as warriors worthy of wearing our blades,/ bearing our spears. Our king has come here/ bent on battling the manbane alone,/ because among warriors one keeper of kinfolk/ has done, undaunted, the most deeds of daring./ But this day our lord needs dauntless defenders/ so long as the frightful fires keep flaring./ God knows I would gladly give my own body/ for flames to enfold with the gold-giver./ Shameful, to shoulder our shields homeward!/ First we must fell this fearsome foe/ and protect the life of our people's lord./ It is wrong that one man he wrathfully racked/ for his former feats and fall in this fight,/ guarding the Geats. We shall share our war-gear:/ shield and battle-shirt, helm and sword'" (2323-2350).
What is Naegling?
How does the battle go with Wiglaf's intervention?
How does Beowulf come out of the fight?
How do we know that Beowulf never married?
As we get to the end of the story, and the end of Beowulf's life, the poem takes a more spiritual and less worldly turn:
"...Wiglaf wakened the war-lord with water, and these words thrust like spears through his breast/ as the ancient one grimly gazed on the gold:/ 'I offer my thanks to the Almighty Master,/ the King of Glory, for granting my kindred/ for these precious things I look upon last./ Losing my life, I have bought this boon/ to lighten my leave-day. Look to our people,/ for you shall be leader; I lead no longer" (2465- 2473).
What does Beowulf then ask Wiglaf to do with his body and his weapons?
"'Now the sword-bestowing/ and gold-getting shall cease for the Geats./ You shall have no joy in the homeland you love./ Your farms shall be forfeit, and each man fare/ alone and landless when foreign lords/ learn of your flight, your failure of faith./ Better to die than to dwell in disgrace'" (2539-2545).
Who speaks the above words? To whom are the words addressed? What is the passage about?
Who does the author mean by "the treasure's keeper"?
What happens to him?
Note the ritual of Beowulf's funeral. Know what is done.
What happens to Beowulf's treasures?
The End.
