Mysterious and misunderstood dragons are, thought to be ferocious beasts of destruction and chaos. One does not fully understand the ways of a dragon until one has stared into the eyes and peered into the soul of such a beast. In the tall tales dragons are drawn as monsters with terrible claws and gnashing teeth knights must face in order to prove their valiance and bravery. The inferno that escapes the depth of the dragon through the fiery throat incinerates knights and leaves only the shadow as a reminder of a great defeat; while as the dragon’s claws, teeth, and fiery breath may be the key to survival of these mystical creatures. Claws as long as daggers slice through the toughest of medals, tear through the warm flesh of stragglers, and leave the gory intestines of man strewn upon the lands. While the dragon is a master of destruction, one does not calculate the creatures long struggle of survival. Fending for oneself is no easy task, fending for oneself of that size is an even more difficult task. While the dragon must not only protect itself from harm but it must also ensure the survival of the next generation; while as not only are the claws of such magnitude may be used for destruction, but additionally used for protection. …show more content…
Rows of teeth as long and sharp as daggers shred through flesh along with medal of any intruder, but similarly like the claws the teeth provide protection along with a chance at survival. One must consider the danger of facing a dragon with such enormous power and phenomenal strength, the instinct of the dragon to thrive may reduce one to a heap of bones. Teeth not only pierce and rip into enemies with one snap of the massive jaws, but like other creatures they allow the cutting of the food that is essential to the survival of all
Everyone comes across difficulties in their everyday life. It doesn’t matter how small you are or how big you are or even how tough you are, you run into a problem every single day. Some problems are easier to handle and you can work them out by your self like Beowulf did with Grendel. Some problems might be too difficult to handle or no way of concurring it by yourself. There are a lot of hard things we come across that we may need help on just like the dragon in Beowulf. Beowulf needed a little help with the dragon. The dragon was too much for him to handle and it was beating Beowulf. I have faced a few “personal dragons” on my own including my parents getting a divorce when I was young and collage.
The passage that I analyzed spans the action when Beowulf returns to the halls of Heorot after a harsh battle with Grendel’s mother. He returns to king Hrothgar in the great hall of Heorot to say that he has successfully completed his boast and killed Grendel’s mother. Beowulf states that it has been a very difficult underwater battle and that he has barely escaped with his life, “The fight would have been ended straightway if God had not guarded me” (Donaldson, 29). Beowulf mentions this due to the fact that the sword given to him by Unferth, called Hrunting, was powerless against Grendel’s Mother. Hrunting is useless against Grendel’s mother due to the fact that she has the same charm upon her as Grendel did, which is that no normal sword can pierce her skin. Then, by chance, Beowulf finds an ancient sword on a wall during the battle and uses it against the monster. This sword, which was crafted by the giants, is able to pierce the monster's skin and after one swing, the monster was cut in half. After using this ancient sword to murder the monster, Beowulf watches the blade of the sword melt away due to the toxicity of the monster's blood, until only the hilt was left. A hilt is the handle of a weapon or tool. The hilt is decorated with runic symbols and was given to King Hrothgar of the Danes as proof of Beowulf’s exploits. The King is also given the severed head of Grendel as further reassurance that their troubles at the great hall of Heorot is over.
The dragon is portrayed as the undefeatable evil. He is nearly invincible, breathes fire, and manages to fatally wound the ultimate hero of the poem. This makes him the ultimate evil Although Beowulf does defeat the dragon, the battle ends in a tie, since both sides perish, which shows the never ending balance between the two extremes: good and evil. The theme of loyalty is also explored here. When the battle between Beowulf and the dragon first begins, “[his] hand-picked troop/ broke ranks and ran for their lives” (1129). This is a common archetype that allows the hero to face the antagonist alone, all while having assistance during the journey leading up to the final battle. The author used this to emphasize the Anglo-Saxon belief of fate. Beowulf was supposed to face the dragon alone, thus his comrades had to disappear. The two ways to do this would have been to have Beowulf go alone, which would conflict with the belief of Warrior Culture, or portray his allies as cowards which would also help reinforce the Anglo Saxon values regarding courage. Thus by adding in the archetype of the cowardly allies, the author creates an emphasis on the important parts of Anglo-Saxon culture without relying on
After fighting and winning many battles, Beowulf's life enters a new stage when he finally becomes king of his homeland, Geatland. Even in his old age, his code of honor still obligates him to fight against an evil, fiery dragon. For fifty years he has governed his kingdom well. While Beowulf is governing, the dragon "...kept watch over a hoard, a steep stone-barrow" (Norton 55). Under it lays a path concealed from the sight of men. Over centuries no one had disturbed the dragon’s kingdom until one day when a thief broke into the treasure, laid hand on a cup fretted with gold, which infuriated the dragon. "The fiery dragon had destroyed the people's stronghold, the land along the sea, the heart of the country" (Norton 57).
When the dragon awakes after three hundred years of sleep, he discovers that his cup has been stolen. The dragon, also known as the worm, fills with anger and rage. Even though he is so angry, he does like the idea of battle: “Yet he took joy in the thought of war, in the work of fighting” (Donaldson 40). The dragon cannot wait to ravage the land of the people where one man has stolen from him: “The hoard-guard waited restless until evening came; then the barrow-keeper was in rage: he would requite that precious drinking cup with vengeful fire” (Donaldson 40). The dragon destroys the land and kills everyone around. The dragon even destroys Beowulf’s home.
The way Smaug looked, was based upon many other dragons like Fafnir, and Beowulf’s dragon. Beowulf’s Dragon, a story of an incredibly deadly dragon, had much influence to what Smaug looked like. While the authors are explaining what the Beowulf’s dragon looks like, they say this, “Batlike wings attached to the torso by robust muscles lift the dragon in flight.” (Gerrie McCall & Kieron Connolly 8). When Bilbo enters the dragon's lair, Tolkien explains what the dragon looks like in this quote, “Smaug lay, with wings folded like an immeasurable bat, turned partly on one side…” (Tolkien 87). This shows some similarities, and influence, between these two dragons. Another dragon named Fafnir, also had very similar looks to Smaug, in fact in
In contrast, Beowulf is seen as a hero, even when exemplifying the violent and dangerous qualities the dragon is feared for. Anglo-Saxon society prized loyalty, personal valor, and fame. In order to be a hero, one must recognize the need to act, and not shy away from it. The dragon, based on that definition, embodies the Anglo-Saxon idea of a hero: it is loyal to its cause, it is a good warrior, and it recognizes the need to act. It even has a sense of justice and a sense of wrong, shown by the way it reacted to the theft of the chalice. The dragon becomes vengeful and defensive, using cruelty as a means to correct the wrong. Described as “the guardian of the mound” (2302), the dragon’s intent is identical to Beowulf’s. Beowulf is seen as a hero not only because of his actions, but because he is human. The only thing that makes the dragon different is its inhuman qualities, and therefore it is a monster, a “ground-burner” (2713). Heroism in Anglo-Saxon society is a concept embodied by warriors and guardians, who would vie to be the most well-known. Heroism, to the Anglo-Saxons, is an excuse to use cruelty as a way to further one’s fame. It is a social crutch of sorts, leaned on for the vain chance to be immortal. When Beowulf agrees to fight the dragon, it is to have a heroic death, so he may be remembered. In the battle, just as with Grendel and Grendel’s mother,
“For a brief while your strength is in bloom/ but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow/ illness or the sword to lay you low… and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away”(1761-8). Hrothgar bestows his wisdom onto Beowulf after Beowulf has defeated Grendel and his mother. Hrothgar reminds him not to let pride overcome him for everything is eventually defeated due to the power of fate. This exemplifies a theme woven throughout the story of Beowulf. Beowulf is presented as a valiant hero, slaying beasts with his mighty strength and demonstrating the importance of the balance between wisdom and strength, but as the story unfolds Beowulf slowly loses his vitality until eventually he is defeated. This shows the power of fate has on everyone; no exceptions. This paper will demonstrate the heroic qualities of Beowulf and show his gradual decline through the approaches and outcomes of his three battles with the monsters.
epic poems, dragons play major antagonistic roles. The foe of Beowulf and the two dragons in The
Yet this slave does more than stumble upon the dragon’s mound; he also “[handles] and [removes] a gem-studded goblet; it gained him nothing, though with a thief’s wiles he [outwits] the sleeping dragon” (ln. 2216-2219). Thus disturbed, the dragon is enraged. It is due to this slave’s selfish motives—and those of the men with whom he returns to pillage more—that the dragon’s wrath on people burns. Thus, out of revenge “[the] hoard-guardian [scorches] the ground as he [scours] and [hunts] for the trespasser who had troubled his sleep. Hot and savage, he ke[e]p[s] circling and circling the outside of the mound” (ln. 2293-2295).
“O serpent heart hid with a flowering face!/ Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave?/ Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical!/ Dove-feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb!/ Despisèd substance of divinest show/ Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st” (III ii
Someone once said, “stories can conquer fear. They can make the heart bigger.” In Grendel by John Gardner, the dragon represents immortal monsterhood and its lawlessness. The Shaper represents the mortality and noble pursuits of human culture. The Shaper and the dragon act as philosophically opposing forces in Grendel’s mind as he discovers how to define himself in relation to the rest of the world and explores the monumental power of stories.
This idea is expressed prominently in John Foulcher’s For the Fire and Loch Ard Gorge. For the Fire entails a journey of someone collecting kindling as they witness a kookaburra kill a lizard, Foulcher represents his idea through the use of metaphor, “a kookaburra hacks with its axe-blade beak.” This metaphor represents the beak in weaponised form, as it is compared with a violent axe. This evokes a sense of threat and intimidation towards the kookaburra, which contrasts to societies general interpretation of the ‘laughing kookaburra,’ thereby challenging the reader's perceptions of beauty in the natural world. Also, this comparison of the kookaburra offers a second understanding for the readers to interpret of the kookaburra. Similarly, in Loch Ard Gorge, Foulcher uses strong visual imagery, “savage dark fish are tearing their prey apart, blood phrasing the water decked with light,” to communicate the violence of the ‘savage’ fish to readers in a visual, gruesome manner. Thereby evoking a feeling of disgust towards the situation, as a visual description of blood is shown and Foulcher uses provoking, gruesome adjectives to communicate the fish's brutality. Foulcher expresses these ideas to communicate the abilities of nature, and provide a necessary ‘reality check’ for the readers, to review the beauty they see nature and understand the barbarity at the heart of everything. Although ruthlessness and brutality that nature can show are unintentional and immoral, this harm is a large part of the cycle nature needs to survive and thrive, and these factors can counteract assumed beauty and
However, what differentiates an amazing gambler from a good gambler, is someone who knows how to flourish further his or her winnings with one last hand, comparable to Beowulf. In Anglo-Saxon culture, knives were typically used among the lower class people because they were more easily accessible and cheaper than swords. Based on Grendel’s mother’s living situation, it can be assumed that she is not among the wealthiest people during her time and therefore, cannot afford expensive objects. Although she does own a sword of her own, which is described as “a blade that boded well, a sword in her armory,” it can be assumed she would be unable to afford a sword of this value if it weren’t “an ancient heirloom,” as Beowulf defines it as (1557-1558). During Beowulf’s fight with Grendel’s mother, she “pounced upon [Beowulf] and pulled out a broad, whetted knife” (1545-1546). Due to her lower economic status, Grendel’s mother must result to using cheaper weapons, specifically knives, as her means of defence. Although knives were not seen as a high social class object, they were effective when a final stab in a fight is needed to end the battle and a sword is not working as effectively. When Beowulf is fighting the dragon, and his sword fails him once again, he pulls out his knife and stabs the dragon, which leads to his death. During his
The digression begins as a story of a legendary king named Sigemund who is very similar to Beowulf. Sigemund and Beowulf have the same characteristics that earn them glory and fame; both of the men are admirable warriors known for bravery, high moral values and leadership qualities. The digression also is foreshadowing Beowulf’s destiny to become king of his people and his future battle with a dragon; the details of Sigemund’s fight with the dragon and Beowulf’s match up almost perfectly. The dragons are massive beings that guard an enormous hoard of treasures and valuable metals; the Kings feel fight honorably to protect the people and defeat the beast. Sigemund enters the dragon’s lair by himself in hopes of killing the dragon and winning the hoard for his people. Similarly, Beowulf will go into the dragon’s den by himself because his warriors are cowardly and hide behind a rock.