For Friday: Finish Beowulf (or get as close as possible)

No questions for Friday, since I want to ruminate on a question in-class when you arrive (which will count for today's blog response).  You might think about why Beowulf has to die in the poem--and what the dragon, the treasure horde, and the ending of the poem might symbolize in this narrative (or to the poet's moral, if he has one).  

Instead of questions, then, I leave you with a piece of music which you can listen to or ignore.  The 20th century composer (of Swedish background) Howard Hanson wrote a 20-minute long piece for chorus and orchestra called A Lament for Beowulf (1925), capturing the mood of the very end of the poem.  It's a darkly beautiful piece and might offer the perfect reading music for this last third of the book.  Enjoy (if you like that sort of thing)!