42.)"Until one began to dominate the dark, a dragon on the prowl from the steep vaults of a stone-roofed barrow where he guarded a hoard." Line 2220
The dragon signifies evil, and greediness. He wants the treasure all to himself, even though there is really nothing he can do with it. Each monster appears at night, which is a reference to hell, each of these monsters are outcasts of god. Each of there lairs are below ground, which is related to where hell is as well.
43.) "Death had come and taken them all in times gone by and the only one left to tell their tale, the last of their line, could look forward to nothing but the same fate for himself: he foresaw that his joys in the treasure would be brief." Line 2240
The man who stole the treasure from the dragon is simply taking back what belongs to the people of his country. He is the last one left so this treasure really has absolutely no value anymore. Because treasure is connected to society and your lord, without a lord to honour treasure with, or a society to show of treasure to it has no worth. And this man can also be connected to the character from the poem "The Wanderer" both men are exiled from there country only because they are the only ones to survive. They are possibly the same exact person.
44.)"Pillage and slaughter have emptied the earth of entire peoples." Line 2270
This is an anti-war statement. Its referring to all the unnecessary ambushes that have happened between these countries that have wiped out entire populations and cultures for no good reason. Only because of greed and fame, people have died, and there country is no more than empty land, that will be taken over by other countries because land is money, and money rules all.
45.)"The first to suffer were the people on the land, but before long it was their treasure-giver who would come to grief." 2310
This is a foreshadow to the death of Beowulf. The dragon is attacking his country and destroying his land, and he needs to take action as soon as possible but this probably means the end of his life because he feels the need to go into battle, even though he is quite old. And it is no longer his job to be a warrior he is supposed to king, and this is tragic flaw, he still after all these years of being king cares mostly about his fame, which will finally end along with his life.
Very good entries. If you go with the anti-war theme you might consider that it is a statement on the "wergild" and honor-bound society: the idea that someone must always avenge a death with a death - that feud circled world that bringing a non-stop cycle of war and ambush.
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