But Beowulf seems so caught up in the surreal threats such as, monsters and dragons, he fails to realize the real peril he has left his people in.
Beowulf is aware of his age and uneasy feeling toward his success yet he chooses to take on the dragon anyways. Although the dragon is defeated the Geat people are presented with even greater danger of the Sweds who will surely pounce on their nation. Therefore, throughout the story Beowulf is presented as the ultimate hero; demonstrating the strength of thirty men in his grasp while also using his powerful insight to avoid unnecessary conflict. Many readers of the poem Beowulf may find it difficult to distinguish the 'good' kings from the rest — indeed, almost every man who holds a throne in the epic is named at one point or another to be 'good'.
By examining the ideals of the time period as identified by the 'heroic code', it becomes clearer that a truly 'good' king is one who generously distributes treasure and weaponry to deserving retainers to honour courage and strength displayed in battle and to encourage the defense of the kingdom Intro. When Beowulf ascends the throne of the Geats, the heroic traits of courage and strength for which he was so highly praised as a warrior do not serve well in making him a good king.
Indeed, by exhibiting the traits of a thane, that is, by relying solely on the strength of one man alone, he ultimately leaves his kingdom defenseless. By first examining how Hrothgar ensures a future for his people, and then by analyzing Beowulf's actions and motivations as king before he fights the dragon, this essay will define good kingship and expose Beowulf's failings as a king. Does he love fame and enjoy being viewed as a hero way too much?
Beowulf is obsessed with keeping his reputation as a hero from the beginning, he is always worrying about how the world will see him and is continuously wanting to prove his part as a leader and a hero.
Beowulf is prepared to face his fate and destiny so, as an old man in his late years, Beowulf responds to the call of battling the dragon, to guarantee that his people stay safe. He insists on fighting with the dragon that is terrorizing the countryside.
Together, Wiglaf and Beowulf defeat and kill the dragon, but Beowulf is left wounded, he has won every battle but this one. They both move away from this protection, however, in a coordinated attack that demonstrates their alliance and cooperation. Although these events take place over the course of twenty lines — , they combine to form a quick, precise sequence in a systematized and successful attack that seems more spontaneously organic than consciously planned.
Like the speeches and descriptions that precede and follow it, the actual sequence of action demonstrates Wiglaf and Beowulf's emotional and affective bond. Other phrases similarly emphasize this bond between the young and old kinsmen. The heroic and affective bond is thus also lexical. During the dragon fight, the diction of the poem promotes Wiglaf away from youth and into full maturity, using terms and descriptors of success and accomplishment.
This diction shows that Wiglaf has fully matured as he has been tested in battle. At the same time, however, Wiglaf's ascendant heroism takes a decidedly non-masculine turn when he becomes the chief nurse and mourner for the dying Beowulf. Neither of these actions will stop Beowulf from dying, but they may make him more comfortable in the process; washing and un dressing, of course, are services that women have traditionally tended to perform for children or for incapacitated people or for the dead, in fact.
Any potential Christological association also feminizes Wiglaf, as it is mulieres women who proceed to the tomb to tend to the body of Christ Luke But it also illustrates an unusual level of tender caregiving, and its reiteration shows that this nursing is an important part of Wiglaf's character; his loyalty to his lord includes not just the willingness to fight to the death but also to care for the body of the dying. Wiglaf thus adds a new and unusual dimension to the poem's intertwined definitions of masculinity and heroism.
This emotionally charged caregiving metaphorically wounds Wiglaf in a way that the dragon could not. In this surprising image, the poet deepens our understanding of Beowulf and Wiglaf's bond as physically embedded in their heroic bodies. That heroic focus on the body is embedded in the poetic diction of the scene as well. Their military, biological, and emotional closeness is reinforced in the unifying bodily diction of the image, even though at this point in the narrative Beowulf is dead.
All of these close readings point to a role for Wiglaf as the ascendant young hero, ready to take over as the old hero dies and enters the realm of posthumous fame and glory. Wiglaf is young, loyal, brave, skilled, intuitive, and nurturing. Beowulf himself, however, seems not to see Wiglaf as a fully worthy successor.
As noted above, scholars have engaged in extended discussion about the exact nature of Beowulf and Wiglaf's kinship; that discussion has included reference to Beowulf's bequest of his war-gear to Wiglaf, since Beowulf has no biological son.
Now I would give to my son [my] battle-gear, if there to me had been given any heir belonging to my body that remained after [my death].
However, Beowulf does not immediately give the items to Wiglaf. Wiglaf has to wait approximately eighty lines before Beowulf makes the seemingly logical next step to follow his statement above, that since he has no biological son he will treat Wiglaf as a worthy proxy:. The glory-minded lord did give to the thane, the young spear-warrior, the golden ring from his neck, the gold-decorated helmet, ring, and mail-coat, ordered him to enjoy [them] well. Fate has swept away all of my kin to the measured end, those earls in courage; I must go after them.
Beowulf actually undercuts the bond between him and Wiglaf twice in this sequence. First, he hints that Wiglaf will inherit the war-gear since Beowulf has no biological son, but does not then immediately follow through on that suggestion.
Instead, he makes Wiglaf gather treasure from the dragon's barrow —91 , then gives thanks to God — , and then provides tomb-building instructions —8 before he fulfils the implied promise in the earlier lines and gives his war-gear to Wiglaf since he has no biological son. Wiglaf seems not be offended by this deathbed slight; he remains seated by Beowulf's corpse, sprinkling it with water in a futile gesture of hope.
While scholars have focused on Beowulf's somewhat grudging gift of his war-gear to Wiglaf, none has remarked that Wiglaf does not need the gift, either practically or metaphorically. Wiglaf has already participated in the iconic ritual of receiving arms from his biological father. Beowulf needs a son to receive his war-gear, but Wiglaf does not need a father or more weapons and armour.
He holds his family's ancestral property Once Beowulf is dead, the Geats need Wiglaf more than he needs them. As noted above, critics have parsed the end of the poem in an attempt to determine whether Wiglaf succeeds Beowulf as king of the Geats, but they have proceeded on the assumption that Wiglaf would want that succession.
Hill emphasizes the ways in which Wiglaf's loyalty to Beowulf is that of a retainer to a lord; Wiglaf's loyalty is to Beowulf the individual, not to the Geats as a nation or tribe. Once Beowulf is dead, that bond of loyalty disappears, since it is a bond of homosocial intimacy rather than one mediated by any larger entity of tribe or group or nascent nation. Throughout the poem, Wiglaf expresses no loyalty to the Geats, who after Beowulf's death will endure the terrors prophesied by an anonymous woman at Beowulf's pyre:.
The Geats may see Wiglaf as a potential and attractive new king, but his disappearance at the very end of the poem indicates instead that Wiglaf, like many heroes before and after him, sets off into the unknown. The poet does not permit the audience a glimpse into his future; that future does not lie within the bounds of the poem's narrative and geography. Part of Wiglaf's attractiveness for the audience is his status as one of the few dynamic characters in Old English poetry.
We are told that he is a kinsman of Beowulf, the last of the Waegmunding clan. When he realizes that Beowulf is in serious jeopardy in his battle with the dragon, Wiglaf calls to the other 10 retainers who accompanied the king to the barrow and reminds them of the promises they have made to their leader.
He recalls a time when he and the other ten received rings and the very armor that they now have with them from Beowulf. Consistent with the heroic code, they promised to come to the assistance of their king if he ever needed them. Wiglaf rightly accuses them of running when they vowed to fight. He attempts to shame them into action, but no one returns. Wiglaf is the only one willing to risk his life to help his ruler.
The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Facing the Dragon Lines — Instead of helping him, ten of Beowulf's warriors flee.
Only Wiglaf of the Waegmundings has courage enough to help Beowulf. He berates his comrades for deserting The dragon charges Beowulf and Wiglaf. Their shields are burned and their armor offers them little protection. Beowulf strikes the dragon's Beowulf and Wiglaf Lines — Beowulf sits near the wall of the cave as Wiglaf washes his wound.
Beowulf tells Wiglaf that he knows he is dying and that he
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