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Along with eleven Geatish warriors and the man who stole the cup, Beowulf marches off to face the dragon. By the dragon's barrow, Beowulf, ready for death, speaks to his men.
Beowulf is the oldest extant heroic poem in English and the first to present a dragon slayer. The legend of the dragon-slayer already existed in Norse sagas such as the tale of Sigurd and Fafnir, and the Beowulf poet incorporates motifs and themes common to dragon-lore in the poem. [2]
The dragon guards an underground barrow full of treasure, which is accessible only by a secret passage. One day a slave, fleeing a beating, finds his way to the passage and sees the dragon. Despite his terror the man steals a cup from the treasure.
Despite his advanced years, Beowulf faces the dragon to protect his people. In this battle, Beowulf is fatally wounded, but he also delivers a fatal blow to the dragon with the help of a young warrior named Wiglaf.
Beowulf strikes the dragon in the head with his great sword Naegling, but the sword snaps and breaks. The dragon lands a bite on Beowulf’s neck, and blood begins to flow. Wiglaf rushes to Beowulf’s aid, stabbing the dragon in the belly, and the dragon scorches Wiglaf’s hand.
The dragon is a mighty and glamorous opponent, an appropriate match for Beowulf. The dragon is so well suited to bring about Beowulf’s downfall, in fact, that some readers have seen it as a symbolic representation of death itself: the unique, personal end that awaits every person.
Section Six – Summary and Analysis: Beowulf and the Dragon. Beowulf has ruled his kingdom ably and peacefully for fifty years when a slave steals a precious cup belonging to a dragon. The dragon is the protector of a treasure hidden by “the keeper of rings,” the lone survivor of an extinct tribe.
