What creature is Beowulf's final opponent in the poem?

Beowulf’s final opponent in the poem is a dragon. The battle occurs after Beowulf has ruled the Geats for fifty years, making it the last of the hero’s three major monster fights.

The dragon guards a treasure hoard in a barrow. When a fugitive slave steals a jeweled cup, the awakened creature attacks the surrounding land and burns Beowulf’s hall. The aged king decides to confront it, aware that the fight may be his last.

Most of Beowulf’s warriors flee in fear, but Wiglaf remains to help him. Beowulf and Wiglaf kill the dragon, yet its bite and venom fatally wound Beowulf. The hero dies beside the hoard, and the Geats prepare his funeral.

The dragon is sometimes confused with Beowulf’s earlier enemies, Grendel and Grendel’s mother. Those two battles take place in the first half of the poem; the dragon appears in the final section and completes the poem’s progression from youthful heroism to an old king’s last stand.