The dragon (Beowulf) His Lair in "Beowulf"" that the fight between Beowulf and the dragon tends to receive less critical attention than other portions of the poem, commenting that "Grendel and his dam have, as it were, become more beloved of the commentators". Conversely, Kemp Malone writes in "The Kenning in "Beowulf"" that Beowulf's fight with the dragon receives much critical attention, but that commentators fail to note that "the dragon was no fighter. Not that it refused to fight when challenged, but that it did not seek out Beowulf or anyone else. It left Beowulf to do the seeking out". In his
The dragon (Beowulf) northern literature there are only two that are significant ... we have but the dragon of the Völsungs, Fáfnir, and Beowulf's bane." Furthermore, Tolkien believes the "Beowulf" poet emphasizes the monsters Beowulf fights in the poem and claims the dragon is as much of a plot device as anything. Tolkien expands on "Beowulf"'s dragon in his own fiction, which indicates the lasting impact of the "Beowulf" poem. Within the plot structure, however, the dragon functions differently in "Beowulf" than in Tolkien's fiction. The dragon fight ends "Beowulf", while Tolkien uses the dragon motif (and the dragon's love for treasure) to