Beowulf Journals

Ln. 2332. "...unaccustomed anxiety and gloom confused his brain..." like what Grendel and Grendel's mother did to Hrothgar. Beowulf now needs to be KING not warrior like Hrothgar had done.

Ln. 2342. "...he was destined to face the end of his days in this mortal world; as was the dragon..." Foreshadow to them BOTH dying.

Ln. 2345. "...was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague. He had scant regard for the dragon as a threat..." He wanted to face this battle alone because he believed he was powerful enough to do it. He no longer only believed that he was invincible, but also that other creates had no power that matched his. He completely degraded what the dragon was capable of.

Ln. 2406. "...the one who had started all this strife and was now added as a thirteenth to their number..." The slave has to pay for what he did - finish what he started. It's ironic that he stole the gold cup to be free, but was then taken by Beowulf to be a warrior against the dragon. Stealing the cup was a bad idea.

Ln. 2419. "...He was sad at heart, unsettled yet ready, sensing his death. His fate hovered near, unknowable but certain..." Wyrd. Foreshadow. He's too selfish to not die.

Ln. 2497. "...always there at the front of the line; and I shall fight like that for as long as I live, as long as this sword shall last..." The front is the most important part of the line - they get all the action.

Ln. 2513. "...as king of the people I will pursue this fight for the glory of winning..." HE HAS LITERALLY LEARNED NOTHING. Static character. He doesn't fight the dragon to protect his people - just for the glory of having to say he had done it.

Ln. 2540. "...trusted in his strength entirely..." In his other two fights he believed in his strength, fate, and God. He now only believes in himself which shows how being too successful got to his head. Maybe because he no longer believed that God was helping him is part of the reason he died? His pride is his downfall.

Ln. 2572. "...for a shorter time than he had meant it to: that final day was the first time when Beowulf fought and fate denied him glory in battle..." FINALLY. Wyrd.

Ln. 2586-2599. "...failed when he unsheathed it, as it never should have..." the sword failed - being at the front of the line was now useless. He now needed help, but his hand-picked men broke ranks and ran for their lives. Beowulf is not a great king. The 50 years he ruled he didn't teach them anything, how to be a good warrior - he didn't set them up to succeed after he died. People were afraid of Beowulf, but what happens when he's not around anymore? Beowulf is the Grendel of the land of the Geats. He needed help.