Exploring Wiglaf's Character In 'Beowulf'

Seemingly minor character Wiglaf plays a central role in the conclusion of Beowulf. A young knight who has never before seen battle, Wiglaf steps forward to help his lord, hero, and cousin Beowulf in a time of peril. With his failure in battle and resulting death, the narrator shows that Beowulf is, after all, a prideful and mortal being; thus begins the transfer of heroic status from the old king to the young knight. The narrator argues that Wiglaf is worthy of his abruptly acquired status even though his intentions may seem questionable. The end of the poem devotes a significant amount of lines to dialogue spoken by Wiglaf, signifying his newly crucial role in his kingdom and in the story.

In the literary work of Beowulf, it is imperative to analyze the relationships between characters and how those relationships function to create new meaning or a better understanding of the literature as a whole. In Beowulf, it can be said that the characters of Beowulf and Wiglaf share parallels that serve to show Wiglaf as becoming the next king, and not only the successor of the throne, but a sign of hope for the doomed society of the Geats. These similarities can be recognized especially well through the Anglo Saxon beliefs of what makes an exceptional warrior, as well as certain language chosen when describing the two characters. Furthermore, the two characters mirror each other in motifs of the story such as the father and son

Is Beowulf a coward and failure? The epic, Beowulf was written and translated in many different ways, but this particular one is translated by Burton Raffel. The main characters in Beowulf are Beowulf, Grendel, Hrothgar, Grendel’s mother, the dragon, and Wiglaf. In the epic a hero named Beowulf had gotten word from Hrothgar’s kingdom that his land was cursed with Grendel and monsters across the seas. So he had went there and had to wait in the mead-hall with the Geats to fight him without armor and weapons. He defeated Grendel but stayed to kill the rest of the monsters growing old and dying on the last battle when defeating the dragon. Beowulf embodies the ideals of conduct in the Anglo-Saxon culture by displaying leadership, bravery, loyalty, and faithfulness.

Burton Raffel wrote a heroic poem called ‘Beowulf’. Beowulf is a heroic poem about Good versus Evil and Beowulf is the hero. In the heroic poem, Beowulf’s wyrd (fate) is to defeat monsters and save lives and with that brings lof (fame), sometimes to believe in yourself you got to have others to believe in you too, Beowulf and Wiglaf have a comitatus that's hard to break.

    Wiglaf was the last of Beowulf’s family and was the only person who helped him in the battle that took his life, the only one to witness Beowulf’s death after a grueling battle with a fire breathing behemoth who hoarded treasure like there was a sale on food and there was a

However, Beowulf shows his loyalty by turning down her offer. He becomes king when Heardred dies. After ruling the Geats for 50 years, Beowulf decides to fight the terrible dragon. He brings eleven warriors with him. While Beowulf struggles fighting the dragon, his warriors hide except for one loyal thane named Wiglaf. Wiglaf tells Beowulf, “’Now, great spirited noble, brave of deeds, you must protect your life with all your might, I shall help you’”(47). He has remained loyal to his king so Beowulf decides to make Wiglaf the king. This gesture again shows how the value of loyalty to one’s king and kingdom will benefit and reward those who are loyal and give them better reputations.

In this extract, Beowulf is seen battling the dragon with his companions, however, Beowulf’s companions all leave except for Wiglaf. Wiglaf expresses his loyalty and dedication towards Beowulf through a speech and bravely helps Beowulf. Beowulf then uses his sword to try and kill the dragon, but the sword snaps as it is made of iron. The dragon attacks Beowulf in which it succeeds, biting Beowulf in the neck. Wiglaf saw his king in danger and rushes to his rescue, knifing the dragon in its

Beowulf would be king, and reign for fifty long years over Geatland. A dragon would soon begin to menace King Beowulf’s kingdom. As an old man, Beowulf would have to suit up once again to slay the monster. Beowulf would not fight alone as Wiglaf and his men would join the king in battle. Beowulf and Wiglaf would slay the mighty dragon, a dagger to its fiery heart would end its life. Even though the mighty dragon had been slain, the same fate to came for old Beowulf. As he lies there, in the last minutes of his life he asks Wiglaf to bring the dragon’s riches to him. As Beowulf passed he asked Wiglaf to build him a tower. A tower to remember his greatness, his courage, and his fame. The task would be completed. A mighty tower would be built, filled with the dragon’s riches along with his other possessions.

Wiglaf is a good example of humility in the epic. This is shown when he is more worried about Beowulf than himself. This can be seen when he gives his speech to the other men. Wiglaf says “He picked us out/ from the army deliberately,...,although/ he wanted this challenge to be one he'd face/ by himself…[He] needs sound men,”(Heaney). This shows that Wiglaf respects and wants to help Beowulf. It says nothing of him wanting fame from it. He just wants to protect his King.

In the book Beowulf, Beowulf, the main character, is a man of great strength and ability. He is depicted as a man of wisdom, and that he is a prince that comes from a kingdom that is well respected. He fights many battles, and is seen as a hero with glory to his name, but this does not mean that he is as flawless as he seems to be. Beowulf is a man who desires to help those in need, however, he is greedy for the glory and treasure that he will receive in thanks of his success. He is truly confident, but because of this he is impulsive, never questioning his ability to take on a task. He is also brave, he has almost no fear, but this tends to make him reckless. He is a hero to many, but he believes in himself in such a way that he acts foolishly, and it will eventually be the death of him.

Eleanor Cory wrote “Bravery, Honor, and Loyalty as Morals in Beowulf.” Cory explains that Beowulf and Wiglaf both exhibit bravery throughout the epic poem of Beowulf. Before Beowulf fights Grendel, Beowulf decides, “…that using a weapon or protection of any kind would make the battle too easy.” Cory says. She also explains that Wiglaf shows bravery through the aid given to Beowulf against the dragon. Cory also explains that Wiglaf and Beowulf demonstrate honor through their actions. Beowulf throws away his armor and sword to be fair to Grendel, who does not know that there will be a fight against him. Wiglaf shows honor while fighting in the battle against the dragon. He does not flee for the safety of himself, but stays to fight for the protection of his king and his kingdom. Eleanor Cory goes on to explain that Beowulf and Wiglaf show loyalty in the piece. Beowulf decided to fight Grendel to repay his father’s debt which showed his loyalty. Wiglaf’s loyalty lays with Beowulf, his king, and is shown during the battle of the dragon.

Wiglaf was faithful to Beowulf his in the way he stayed and fought with him when all of his men ran Wiglaf stayed with Beowulf to help slay the dragon so Beowulf wouldn’t die. My dad compares to Wiglaf in being faithful not by slaying dragons but by all ways he has done everything they he could do for me and my brothers and never complained about it once. If I ever got in trouble my dad was all there for me and helped get me out of

Wiglaf is a strong warrior from his family that had been in swedish once before. He served for the epic hero and king, Beowulf and took orders to protect his people, the Geats. Wiglaf displayed bravery and loyalty towards the end of the epic of Beowulf. Wiglaf was not just loyal to Beowulf, but he honored one of the Anglo-Saxon traditions, the comitatus code. Wiglaf’s array of bravery and loyalty are shown in the epic in lines 4-5 and lines 28-29.

Society resents the individual's requirements for the movement of mankind. This is valid in Beowulf, where a Shylfing warrior named Wiglaf remains beside his ruler, Beowulf, in a fight. Wiglaf's unwaveringness to his lord aims him to stay, regardless of the various warriors leaving their ruler in a fight. At last, his own life is not as imperative to him as his ruler's life. He yields his well being for to battle for his lord and, all the more essentially, the place where he grew up.

Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of the Geats, and finds his realm terrorised by a dragon whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacks the dragon with the help of his thegns or servants, but they do not succeed. Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair, at Earnanæs, but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf dares join him. Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but is mortally