The Last Survivor Thesis

The extermination of a race of people seems taboo in our modern day. When reading “The Lament of the Last Survivor” there is clear and concise evidence to support the idea that a dejected man just witnessed the annihilation of his people. In the introduction of “The Lament of the Last Survivor” there are several future events that the author foreshadows from the story Beowulf. When he says “A slave has stolen a jeweled chalice and so provoked a dragon; yet more than the threat of retribution is at stake” (The Lament of the Last Survivor).The speaker is alluding to the same dragon that later kills Beowulf. In this quote the author also discusses himself as being a man, who is the last of an ancient race of people committing the treasures that …show more content…
In the introduction to the excerpt the author sets the mood for the poem. “Within the hollow tomb the shepherd of rings lay down in darkness a jewel-encrusted heap He gave a share worth of a hoard and spoke these words”(The Lament of the Last Survivor ). When the introductory speaks about a tomb, he is describing a large underground home for the dead bodies. By using the word hollow it shows that the bodies have no significant meaning anymore. The quote also gives the audiences a moral sense of sadness, because the speaker is lying down in darkness. As a direct result of sorrows readers can conclude that the speaker is emotionally depressed. In the first stanza of the “The Lament of the Survivor”, he discusses the concept of life and death. According to the first two lines “Earth, hold this now, all that noblemen once held,” (The Lament of the Last Survivor ).This quote supports the idea that the speaker is addressing the Earth and is focusing on dead warriors ,because the passage states “noblemen once held”, meaning they no longer walk the Earth. In the fourth line the speaker says, “What! Good men first obtained these things from you”. The pronoun you is being represented as the Earth, which helps with understanding the idea that the speaker is the only man of an ancient race and by saying “obtained these things from you”, it shows that the speaker believes …show more content…
He begins the final stanza by stating “The wooden harp will sing no more enchanting songs.”(The Lament of the Last Survivor ).This shows that without men the Earth will no longer enjoy music, as a result of not having anyone to play the instruments, the earth will be completely dull .In the following line the tone of the speaker changes. “No longer will the hawk go swooping through the hall, nor the swift horse stamp in the fort-yard again”. Both the action of the hawk and horses are being controlled by men. This shows that the speaker is starting to take responsibility for man’s actions. The speaker then makes a direct quote supporting my claim. “Butchery has sent away the race of living men!” This quote holds the most meaningful moral theme of this excerpt. It shows that the speaker has changed opinion on defending men to agreeing that they are the reason for the death of one and another. By acknowledging the reason for man’s ultimate doom, the speaker is able to come to peace with the