This seema a parralell between the Dragon and the Swedish King. Just as the dragon he is wounded and then finished off. The only difference is that the two men fighting were not Kings and the Kingdom became stronger because of their victory. Is this to point out whos job it is to protect the kingdom?
pg205 L3055 "allowed some person pleasing to him"
Is this possibly Beowulf's heaven? The diea that only people pleasing to god can enter makes it sound that way. This seems like the pagan version of heaven, where you are judged by your actions and honored through trophies rather than morals. If that is the case this would be Beowulfs heaven, he dies and then is honord to the highest for killing the dragon and finding a vast treasure.
pg207 L3077 "...grimely punished for their transgression."
I think Beowulf believed in curses and magic as taht is a theme in the story. She knew that their was a curse on the dragons layer. I would then consider his need for glory a tragic flaw as he committed suicide to achieve it.
how can you just pitch a dragon off a cliff that is 50 feet long...didnt they try to blow a whale up that size? I think it went poorly.
pg211 L3149 "..and wailed allowed for their lord's decease
Woman have the role of mourning in this epic. Perhaps this time it is more showing as they are mourning for their future as well. Beowulf is dead and they will soon be attacked, meaning their men and husbands will go into battle willingly to gain glory, leaving the woman to the decisions of their captures.
pg213 L3180 "...and keenest to win fame"
The tone of this paragraph doesn't really seem to play Beowulf up. It seems to say, he was a good king, but doesn't really back it up with emotion or fact. Rather at the end after listing what he is, its seems to say, "but" the keenist too win fame, making it sound like that counters all the other things.
So are you arguing that this is a story about a warrior over a story about the roles of a King?
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