The dragon (Beowulf) in 1953 that the dragon's "ultimate significance in the poem" remains a "mystery". Seamus Heaney suggests that Beowulf's attitude towards fighting the dragon reflects his "chthonic wisdom refined in the crucible of experience", that is there is already a "beyond-the-grave aspect" to his resoluteness. As Beowulf dies from his fight with the dragon, despite defeating it, James Parker of "The Atlantic" writes that "There is no transcendence in "Beowulf", and no redemption [...] kill the dragon—but the dragon will get you anyway". Joan Acocella states in "The New Yorker" that "unlike Grendel and his mother, [the dragon] is less a
Beowulf in front of him. In the way that it is currently bound, the "Beowulf" manuscript is followed by the Old English poem "Judith". "Judith" was written by the same scribe that completed "Beowulf" as evidenced through similar writing style. Worm-holes found in the last leaves of the "Beowulf" manuscript that aren't present in the "Judith" manuscript suggest that at one point "Beowulf" ended the volume. The rubbed appearance of some leaves also suggest that the manuscript stood on a shelf unbound, as is known to have been the case with other Old English manuscripts. From knowledge of books held in