Beowulf is an epic poem that tells the adventures of a warrior who willingly and honorably overcomes various obstacles to safeguard humanity. Specifically, within this passage, the unknown poet uses stylistic devices such as imagery to portray and promote the poem's recurring themes, such as heroism, materialism, and mortality. Accordingly, this article offers a close reading of lines 2752-2816 of the poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In his final moments of life, Beowulf sends Wiglaf on a quest to recover the highly sought after treasure hidden in the dragon's cave. Within these first lines of the passage, the poet uses imagery to create an atmosphere of wonder. At the beginning of the passage, the author offers a vivid description of the previous scene, with the intention of creating an atmosphere of wonder. The passage describes the sender as a “languish, war-weary lord” (Heaney, 2012: 2752), then goes on to explain the allure of the treasure hidden in the dragon's cave as “a treasure of astonishing richness.” This creates a transition that draws the audience from one scene to the next as the plot unfolds. Through this imagery, the author helps his audience visualize and understand the importance of the treasure – within Anglo-Saxon culture – even without having to directly identify it. Therefore, the imagery used in these lines of the poem introduces the theme of materialism within the selected passage. This passage also plays an influential role in relation to the entire epic, as it shows Beowulf's worthy end. As Beowulf lies on the ground, enjoying his final moments on Earth, he is described as happy and content that he was able to save the treasure for his people. This narrative ties into the overall theme of heroism throughout the poem, where Beowulf was determined to serve his people and save them, even in the midst of extraordinary challenges (Parker, 2017). Beowulf's death would have been meaningless if he had not achieved his goal of becoming a hero to his people. Because he “also saw a banner, entirely of gold, suspended high above the board, a masterpiece of filigree” (Heaney, 2012: 2768) he recognized that fighting and slaying the dragon was worth it. Thus, Beowulf dies a hero, remaining courageous in the fight against evil for the good of his people. This supports his character as he is presented as a brave warrior throughout the poem. He is not deterred by his advanced age and manages to defeat the dragon, just as he had defeated Grendel when he was younger. Beowulf keeps his promise to protect his people by remaining a loyal warrior against all odds. The atmosphere of this extract is dark and elicits a tone of doom, with Beowulf's death looming. In line 2802, Beowulf states that he "cannot hold out any longer", implying that his death is near. In previous scenes, the fight between Beowulf and the dragon was presented as an analogy of the fight between good and evil. While Beowulf is seen as the good king (Heaney 2012: 2390), the dragon is the enemy who represents evil. Beowulf's decision to fight the dragon establishes him as the hero he is, even though he is now of advanced age. Even though Beowulf succeeds in slaying the dragon, he has a strong sense of premonition regarding his death, and the following scenes that emphasize his age while recalling his previous victories reinforce this. Therefore, the passage further supports the theme of mortality by confirming that death haunts even the most powerful members of society. This is reinforced when Beowulf says, “the.