1. Beowulf is not a very good king. He's not the worst, but he is by no means good. He protects the country with his reputation, rather than teaching his warriors how to battle and building them up into champions like he was. When Hrothgar tells Beowulf to beware of ofermod in old age, that is a foreshadow that Beowulf will end up like he did. He decided to get the final glory of fighting the dragon and he ends up causing the downfall of his country. He dies in his final battle, and because he hasn't taught his warriors to be good fighters, he leaves his country completely vulnerable to attack, and that's exactly what happens. It says a lot about a country when the only person they can get for their king after Beowulf dies is a warrior who has never even proven himself in a real battle. Even his own men don't think he's a good king. In Wiglaf's speech after Beowulf's death, he refers to Beowulf as a warrior or a champion multiple times, instead of saying king.
2. I think the most important part of the final piece of Beowulf is the contrast between warrior and king. When Beowulf was a warrior, the story was full of life and excitement. Once he becomes king, the tone turns more somber and even boring. By showing what kind of king Beowulf was versus what type of warrior he was in the first two parts, we are able to understand that there is a vast difference between champion and leader, which is one of the biggest themes of the story.
3. The most interesting part of Beowulf for me was the comment on warrior society. It showed, unlike most stories written at this time, how the women suffer the most during war. Also, while it doesn't necessarily portray warrior culture in a negative light, it does show that some bad things happen as a result of their code of honor. For example, Grendel's mother tries to extract wergild and it just gets her killed. There is also rampant kin-killing in the story and these countries all fall. It also shows that a champion cannot become a king because if you are a warrior, that's all you'll ever be.
4. The dragon represents Beowulf's pride. It is the final beast which he must overcome in order to peacefully end his life. This is shown in the fact that it's actually Wiglaf who kills the dragon, but Beowulf believes he did it. He dies with that last little bit of glory, even though it wasn't actually his, so he could never truly overcome his own pride.
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