Friends to the End
A comparison of friendships formed in literature
Dear Reader
Abigail Clark
Artist, Poet, Journalist
A Friend in Need
"This is the Story all About How Beowulf and Wiglaf Became Friends"
This is my ballad that I based off of a rap by Will Smith. I summarize main points of the Beowulf stories and incorporate how Wiglaf stood up for Beowulf as his friend.
This is a story all about how
Wiglaf’s life got turned upside down
I’d like to take a minute just right there
And I’ll tell you how Wiglaf became the King of the Danes
In Sweden born and raised
On the battleground was where he spent most of his days
Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool
And slaying some creatures -- he thought that’d be cool
When dude named Grendel was up to no good
Started making trouble in his neighborhood
His companion Beowulf got in one little fight Grendel’s mom got scared
She said I’ll take you down if you meet me in my lair
Beowulf went to the fiery lake that very day
Beowulf didn’t let his useless sword get in his way
Grendel’s mom thought she could kill Beowulf dead
But he ended up ripping off her head
The Danes thought yo, this is bad
But the Geats said, come on don’t be sad
If you trust in Beowulf then you will see
You have no reason to want to flee
50 years later this is what went down
The dragon thought he could make Beowulf look like a clown
Beowulf was too prideful to say he’d had enough
But Wiglaf was there just to back him up
The dragon had struck some mighty blows
Beowulf’s buddies said oh here we go (and left)
Wiglaf sticks around just to help him out
That’s what true friendship is all about
Long story short the dragon dies
Beowulf didn’t let this perfect time go by
He gave Wiglaf a charm
Even though he had been harmed
Beowulf passes away
But even to this very day
His true friends honor his life
Hopefully there won’t be any more strife
Wiglaf looked at his kingdom
He was finally there
To sit on my throne as the King of the DanesNewsflash: A Friendship Forms
In this new article I report how a large group of friends form in The Canterbury Tales. This report explains the start of this story and the companionship between the characters.