Three quotes
1) The need for revenge.
“Anxiously he awaited
the fall of night;
enraged, the cave-keeper
would with fire avenge
the loss of his cup.” (Beowulf 26).
2) Destructive.
“The flame-dragon had burned
the fortress of the people.” (Beowulf 26).
3) Strong.
“I would not use a sword
against this monster
if I might otherwise fight,
as I did with Grendel.
But how else fight fire?
a breath of poison?
Therefore I wear a shield and mail.” (Beowulf 29)
Character Sketch
In Beowulf’s last and final battle, he fights the Dragon. Good vs. evil. What sparked and ignited this battle into what would be the sudden end for both The Dragon and Beowulf was their need for revenge. The battle came to be because a slave stole a golden cup from the Dragon’s hoard. “Anxiously he awaited the fall of night; enraged, the cave-keeper would with fire avenge the loss of his cup.” (Beowulf 26). Beowulf hears how “The flame-dragon had burned the fortress of the people.”(Beowulf 26), “That was sorrow to the good man, the greatest of sorrows.”(Beowulf 26). The brave king wanted revenge, “He was sad, restless, and ready to die.” (Beowulf 27). And so, enemies were made, and a battle was afoot. Beowulf gave a battle speech to his fellow comrades, and set out to the dragons cave. One way in which the Dragon differs from the hero, Beowulf, is that he is destructive, burning the geats mead hall. This destruction makes beowulf very sad, because now the people, his people, lose their protective fortress.
However, both villain and hero we’re driven by revenge. The Dragon for his cup, and Beowulf for the destruction and threat that the Dragon had caused. So you could argue who the villain is in this scenario, because the Dragon did what any king would do in his situation, avenge and take back something that was stolen from him. Then again, was the treasure rightfully his in the first place? No ones been able to meet the Dragons strength and ability to take the treasures from him. So does his strength make him worthy of his possessions? This question leads me to one of the heroic characteristics that my group decided on, Strength.
The Dragon is difficult to kill, any man besides Beowulf, with the strength like a lion, would have fallen to him. “I would not use a sword against this monster if I might otherwise fight, as I did with Grendel. But how else fight fire? a breath of poison? Therefore I wear a shield and mail.” (Beowulf 29) Unlike his battle with Grendel, Beowulf uses his armour and sword when fighting the Dragon, because he does not trust only his hands to win this battle. Even though the Dragon possesses this heroic trait, it’s still considered a villain. Why? It must be because of his destructive character, like I mentioned in my first paragraph, he’s a bulldozer that will destroy anything that gets in his way. And how he only thinks of himself, keeping the gold to himself even though it’s of no use to him, having the gold sit there in a lonely pile. However, I think that the reason he guards this treasure, and why he does what he does, is because he needs a purpose. When people have a purpose, they’re happy. Imagine going through life not having to do tasks, not needing to go anywhere or do anything, being lost in life. Something without a purpose is a lost something.
So in the end, I think the Dragon gets a bad rep, which he doesn’t entirely deserve. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover. I mean sure he can be destructive and selfish at times, but all he wants is a purpose, and that treasure is his purpose. The treasure does end up being the thing that kills him, because it started by him getting revenge for something that was stolen by burning down the Geats mead hall. But revenge is something any king in his place would do, even Beowulf. The Dragon has villainistic characteristics as well as heroic ones, and in the end I don’t believe he’s only one or the other, but both.
Word Count-623
1) The need for revenge.
“Anxiously he awaited
the fall of night;
enraged, the cave-keeper
would with fire avenge
the loss of his cup.” (Beowulf 26).
2) Destructive.
“The flame-dragon had burned
the fortress of the people.” (Beowulf 26).
3) Strong.
“I would not use a sword
against this monster
if I might otherwise fight,
as I did with Grendel.
But how else fight fire?
a breath of poison?
Therefore I wear a shield and mail.” (Beowulf 29)
Character Sketch
In Beowulf’s last and final battle, he fights the Dragon. Good vs. evil. What sparked and ignited this battle into what would be the sudden end for both The Dragon and Beowulf was their need for revenge. The battle came to be because a slave stole a golden cup from the Dragon’s hoard. “Anxiously he awaited the fall of night; enraged, the cave-keeper would with fire avenge the loss of his cup.” (Beowulf 26). Beowulf hears how “The flame-dragon had burned the fortress of the people.”(Beowulf 26), “That was sorrow to the good man, the greatest of sorrows.”(Beowulf 26). The brave king wanted revenge, “He was sad, restless, and ready to die.” (Beowulf 27). And so, enemies were made, and a battle was afoot. Beowulf gave a battle speech to his fellow comrades, and set out to the dragons cave. One way in which the Dragon differs from the hero, Beowulf, is that he is destructive, burning the geats mead hall. This destruction makes beowulf very sad, because now the people, his people, lose their protective fortress.
However, both villain and hero we’re driven by revenge. The Dragon for his cup, and Beowulf for the destruction and threat that the Dragon had caused. So you could argue who the villain is in this scenario, because the Dragon did what any king would do in his situation, avenge and take back something that was stolen from him. Then again, was the treasure rightfully his in the first place? No ones been able to meet the Dragons strength and ability to take the treasures from him. So does his strength make him worthy of his possessions? This question leads me to one of the heroic characteristics that my group decided on, Strength.
The Dragon is difficult to kill, any man besides Beowulf, with the strength like a lion, would have fallen to him. “I would not use a sword against this monster if I might otherwise fight, as I did with Grendel. But how else fight fire? a breath of poison? Therefore I wear a shield and mail.” (Beowulf 29) Unlike his battle with Grendel, Beowulf uses his armour and sword when fighting the Dragon, because he does not trust only his hands to win this battle. Even though the Dragon possesses this heroic trait, it’s still considered a villain. Why? It must be because of his destructive character, like I mentioned in my first paragraph, he’s a bulldozer that will destroy anything that gets in his way. And how he only thinks of himself, keeping the gold to himself even though it’s of no use to him, having the gold sit there in a lonely pile. However, I think that the reason he guards this treasure, and why he does what he does, is because he needs a purpose. When people have a purpose, they’re happy. Imagine going through life not having to do tasks, not needing to go anywhere or do anything, being lost in life. Something without a purpose is a lost something.
So in the end, I think the Dragon gets a bad rep, which he doesn’t entirely deserve. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover. I mean sure he can be destructive and selfish at times, but all he wants is a purpose, and that treasure is his purpose. The treasure does end up being the thing that kills him, because it started by him getting revenge for something that was stolen by burning down the Geats mead hall. But revenge is something any king in his place would do, even Beowulf. The Dragon has villainistic characteristics as well as heroic ones, and in the end I don’t believe he’s only one or the other, but both.
Word Count-623
Intention
1) Simile
“The Dragon is difficult to kill, any man besides Beowulf, with the strength like a lion, would have fallen to him.” I used simile in this sentence to compare the strength of Beowulf to that of a lion, because lion are known for their great strength, so it’s an easy comparison and way for the readers to know the strength of Beowulf.
2) Metaphor
“-he’s a bulldozer that will destroy anything that gets in his way.” A metaphor was used here as an example, that’s easily relatable, to how destructive the Dragon can actually be.
3) Personification
“ And how he only thinks of himself, keeping the gold to himself even though it’s of no use to him, having the gold sit there in a lonely pile.” Gold can’t be lonely, because it’s not alive, but I used personification in this case, which was intended to represent the uselessness and waste of the gold, placed in a pile where no one can use it.
4) Double Epithet
“What sparked and ignited this battle into what would be the sudden end for both The Dragon and Beowulf was their need for revenge.” I used the rhetorical device, Double epithet, which is two words of identical, or almost identical, meaning joined by a conjunction. Which is kind of similar to onomatopoeia I thought. It just adds that extra emphasis on the word and gives the sentence a nice flow.
5) Idiom
“So in the end, I think the Dragon gets a bad rep, which he doesn’t entirely deserve. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover.” I chose the classic idiom, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, because the meaning is widely known, and this makes it easier and more likely for the readers to understand what I’m trying to say about the dragon, and how the stereotypical idea of a dragon being evil, isn’t always the case.
Word Count-197 (Not including quotes)