My king had fallen and I knew that major troubles lay ahead. In this land that perpetuates the cycle of revenge now it was our people's turn to receive its sharp sting. We would be attacked by all our enemies now that Beowulf was gone and it was my job to protect my people. I will not let them done and repeat such cowardly and unfavorable acts as was just created a few hours ago by Beowulf''s men; for I will rather die in honor on the battlefield and return with my body on my shield then run from cowardliness and return without honor.
I am sad that my king has died, no one could match him in this living world, not his bravery nor his strength. He was the greatest shield to protect our people and now that he is gone could I possibly be a shield as strong as he was? Can I be as tough as the strongest metal and shine like the clearest gold? I will strive for excellence until the day I can. I will gather the strength I had in battle when fighting with Beowulf against the dragon, and use it to defend my people.
I am sad that my king died this way, for such a foul beast to take the breath away from such a noble creature is an unthinkable wrong. My king need not to have suffered the way he did. Maybe if I had jumped in and helped sooner. It would have been better if I could have been bitten instead of him. Maybe if is men had not run away from the dragon, but if we had all faced him together maybe we could have succeed in defeating the beast with no casualties. The betrayal of the men a person trusts the most really is the most dangerous. I must make sure no such thing happens again. So that not another man as noble and honorable as Beowulf dies. A man above the lure of simple temptations, exemplified even in his last breath's wish, should not die like this again. For a man to die with his most trusted gone, for his strongest ties to be cut in a matter of minutes at his death bed and know that only one has been loyal to him is too sad a death for any man to go through yet a king. However, I acclaim and will forever revel in the greatness of my king because he never gave up,even at the last hour when he was not sure he would live, he kept of fighting for his honor, courage, people, and himself. If only man was not as selfish, to want to save himself so he runs from aiding his brother. or to want to take all the glory himself so he dives into battle alone, head first. I will try to learn from the mistakes of my brothers so that I can create a company that will work hard together and make a greater outcome that way. I will not let the legacy of my shield go to waste but expand on it so that the kindest of kings can be proud of those he left behind.(540)
I like your story! My favorite line was "Can I be as tough as the strongest metal and shine like the clearest gold?" Good metaphors! I also like how you combined Wiglaf's mixed feelings of fear for the future and grief for his fallen leader. I also like how you made Wiglaf's basic thoughts based off his words condemning his fellow soldiers for running from danger. Your story has a clear thread of honor throughout. Good job! :)
ReplyDeleteMarcy, you did a great job encapsulating Wiglaf's various emotions after Beowulf's death. The second sentence, "In this land that perpetuates the cycle of revenge now it was our people's turn to receive its sharp sting," perfectly demonstrates Wiglaf's awareness and dread of what will inevitably happen. I like how you focused a lot on Wiglaf's goals as Beowulf's successor, particularly to not allow another tragic act of betrayal and cowardly disloyalty to happen again. Now that I think of it, your entry encompasses a lot of Anglo-Saxon values, such as kinship, loyalty, bravery, honor, and revenge. Oh, and the alliteration in "kindest of kings" is really nice. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Your prose was so powerful and your understanding of Wiglaf so deep! You truly immersed yourself in the mind of the lone warrior after the death of his king. You did a great job showing his thoughts and state of mind; I especially liked the brief comment that pointed at Beowulf's flaw ("If only man was not as selfish... to want to take all the glory himself so he dives into battle alone, head first"), demonstrating how Wiglaf may, in fact, be a greater hero (at least, by our measures) than Beowulf, himself. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteMarchela, although this was posted at like 7 A.M., I like it! Mostly because it provides sort of a happy ending for the normally obscure and negative one in the original. The character choice is good too, cause Wiglaf has his moment of fame and then kind of disappears for the rest of the story, but not here! I don't really know if gold is clear, but I like all the descriptions you put in.
ReplyDeleteNice job, Marcy! I really thought one part in particular, "for I will rather die in honor on the battlefield and return with my body on my shield then run from cowardliness and return without honor" really captured Wiglaf's attitude (with really vivid imagery!). I also liked how, for this Wiglaf, Beowulf's death was an opportunity for self-examination and -contemplation. That's only semi-apparent in the book, but it shines through in your blog post. Finally, his feelings of sympathy for Beowulf, which you really emphasized, help to explain (and add some depth to) why he was so harsh to the disloyal soldiers toward the end. Well done :)
ReplyDeleteYou give Wiglaf a very noble and dignified style, one which fits the portrait of his character in the epic. Nicely done.
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