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
Skjöldunga saga thought to be preserved in other sagas, including "Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta" and "Ragnarssona þáttr". It may relate to Saxo Grammaticus and contain a version of the story that inspired the lost "Ur-Hamlet" and ultimately William Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Skjöldunga saga The Skjöldunga saga (or, in another standardised Old Norse spelling, "Skjǫldunga saga") was an Old Norse Legendary saga. Dating from c. 1180 – 1200, the saga was lost in its original form. The saga focused on the Danish dynasty of Scylding (Old Norse "Skjöldung", plural "Skjöldungar"), the same semi-legendary dynasty featured in the Old English poem "Beowulf". The fragmentary