Beowulf

Beowulf is to England what Homers Iliad (see page 67) and Odyssey are to ancient
Greece: It is the first great work of the English national literaturethe mythical and
literary record of a formative stage of English civilization. It is also an epic of the heroic
sources of English culture. As such, Beowulf uses a host of traditional motifs, or
recurring elements, associated with heroic literature all over the world.
The epic tells of Beowulf (his name may mean bear), a Geat from Sweden who crosses
the sea to Denmark in a quest to rescue King Hrothgars people from the demonic
monster Grendel. Like most early heroic literature, Beowulf is an oral epic. It was
handed down, with changes and embellishments, from one minstrel to another. The
stories of Beowulf, like those of all oral epics, are traditional, familiar to the audiences
who crowded around the harpist-bards in the communal halls at night. They are the
stories of dream and legend, archetypal tales of monsters and god-fashioned weapons,
of descents to the underworld and fights with dragons, of the heros quest and a
community threatened by the powers of evil.
The Sources of Beowulf
By the standards of Homer, whose epics run to nearly 15,000 lines, Beowulf is short
approximately 3,200 lines. It was composed in Old English, probably in Northumbria, in
northeastern England, sometime between 700 and 750. The world it depicts, however, is
much older, that of the early sixth century. Much of the poems material is based on
early folk legendssome Celtic, some Scandinavian. Since the scenery described is the
coast of Northumbria, not Scandinavia, it has been assumed that the poet who wrote the
version that has come down to us was Northumbrian. Given the Christian elements in
the epic, it is thought that this poet may have been a monk.
The only manuscript of Beowulf we have dates from the year 1000 and is now in the
British Museum in London. Burned and stained, it was discovered in the eighteenth
century: Somehow it had survived Henry VIIIs destruction of the monasteries two
hundred years earlier.
The Translations of Beowulf Part One of the text you are about to read is from Burton
Raffels popular 1963 translation of the epic. Part Two is from the Irish poet Seamus
Heaneys award-winning, bestselling translation of the work, published in 2000.

People, Monsters, and Places

Beowulf: a Geat, son of Edgetho (Ecgtheow) and nephew of Higlac (Hygelac), king of
the Geats.
Grendel: man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake.
His name might be related to the Old Norse grindill, meaning storm, or grenja,
bellow.
Herot: golden guest hall built by King Hrothgar, the Danish ruler. It was decorated with
the antlers of stags; the name means hart [stag] hall. Scholars think Herot might have
27

been built near Lejre on the coast of Zealand, in Denmark.

Hrothgar: king of the Danes, builder of Herot. He had once befriended Beowulfs father.
His father was called Healfdane (which probably means half Dane).
Wiglaf: a Geat warrior, one of Beowulfs select band and the only one to help him in his
final fight.

from Beowulf

Make the Connection

Quickwrite
This is a story about a hero from the misty reaches of the British past, a hero who faces
violence, horror, and even death to save a people in mortal danger. The epics events
took place many centuries ago, but this story still speaks to people today, perhaps
because so many of us are in need of a rescuer, a hero. Take a moment to write about a
contemporary hero, real or fictional, and the challenges he or she faces. Describe your
hero, and then briefly analyze him or her using these questions:

What sort of evil or oppression does your hero confront?

Why does he or she confront evil? Whats the motivation?
For whom does your hero confront evil?
What virtues does your hero represent?

Literary Focus
The Epic Hero
Beowulf is ancient Englands hero, but he is also an archetype, or perfect example, of
an epic hero. In other times, in other cultures, the hero has taken the shape of King
Arthur or Gilgamesh (see page 58), or Sundiata or Joan of Arc. In modern America the
hero may be a real person, like Martin Luther King, Jr., or a fictional character, like
Shane in the western novel of the same name. The hero archetype in Beowulf is the
dragon slayer, representing a besieged community facing evil forces that lurk in the cold
darkness. Grendel, the monster lurking in the depths of the lagoon, may represent all of
those threatening forces.
Beowulf, like all epic heroes, possesses superior physical strength and supremely ethical
standards. He embodies the highest ideals of Anglo-Saxon culture. In his quest he must
defeat monsters that embody dark, destructive powers. At the end of the quest, he is
glorified by the people he has saved. If you follow current events, particularly stories
concerning people who have gained freedom after years of oppression, you will still see
at work this impulse to glorify those people who have set them free. You might also see
this impulse in the impressive monumentsand great tourist attractionsin Washington,
D.C.
The epic hero is the central figure in a long narrative that reflects the values and heroic
ideals of a particular society. An epic is a quest story on a grand scale.
For more on the Epic, see the Handbook of Literary and Historical Terms.

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from Beowulf
Part One, translated by Burton Raffel
THE MONSTER GRENDEL
1
A powerful monster, living down
In the darkness, growled in pain, impatient
As day after day the music rang
Loud in that hall, the harps rejoicing
5 Call and the poets clear songs, sung
Of the ancient beginnings of us all, recalling
The Almighty making the earth, shaping
These beautiful plains marked off by oceans,
Then proudly setting the sun and moon
10 To glow across the land and light it;
The corners of the earth were made lovely with trees
And leaves, made quick with life, with each
Of the nations who now move on its face. And then
As now warriors sang of their pleasure:
15 So Hrothgars men lived happy in his hall
Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend,
Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild
Marshes, and made his home in a hell
Not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime,
20 Conceived by a pair of those monsters born
Of Cain, murderous creatures banished
By God, punished forever for the crime
Of Abels death. The Almighty drove
Those demons out, and their exile was bitter,
25 Shut away from men; they split
Into a thousand forms of evilspirits

27

And fiends, goblins, monsters, giants,

A brood forever opposing the Lords
Will, and again and again defeated.
2
30
Then, when darkness had dropped, Grendel
Went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors
Would do in that hall when their drinking was done.
He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting
Nothing, their dreams undisturbed. The monsters
35 Thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws:
He slipped through the door and there in the silence
Snatched up thirty men, smashed them
Unknowing in their beds, and ran out with their bodies,
The blood dripping behind him, back
40 To his lair, delighted with his nights slaughter.
At daybreak, with the suns first light, they saw
How well he had worked, and in that gray morning
Broke their long feast with tears and laments
For the dead. Hrothgar, their lord, sat joyless
45 In Herot, a mighty prince mourning
The fate of his lost friends and companions,
Knowing by its tracks that some demon had torn
His followers apart. He wept, fearing
The beginning might not be the end. And that night
50 Grendel came again, so set
On murder that no crime could ever be enough,
No savage assault quench his lust
For evil. Then each warrior tried
To escape him, searched for rest in different
55 Beds, as far from Herot as they could find,
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Seeing how Grendel hunted when they slept.

Distance was safety; the only survivors
Were those who fled him. Hate had triumphed.
So Grendel ruled, fought with the righteous,
60 One against many, and won; so Herot
Stood empty, and stayed deserted for years,
Twelve winters of grief for Hrothgar, king
Of the Danes, sorrow heaped at his door
By hell-forged hands. His misery leaped
65 The seas, was told and sung in all
Mens ears: how Grendels hatred began,
How the monster relished his savage war
On the Danes, keeping the bloody feud
Alive, seeking no peace, offering
70 No truce, accepting no settlement, no price
In gold or land, and paying the living
For one crime only with another. No one
Waited for reparation from his plundering claws:
That shadow of death hunted in the darkness,
75 Stalked Hrothgars warriors, old
And young, lying in waiting, hidden
In mist, invisibly following them from the edge
Of the marsh, always there, unseen.
So mankinds enemy continued
his crimes,
80 Killing as often as he could, coming
Alone, bloodthirsty and horrible. Though he lived
In Herot, when the night hid him, he never
Dared to touch king Hrothgars glorious
Throne, protected by GodGod,
85 Whose love Grendel could not know. But Hrothgars

27

Heart was bent. The best and most noble

Of his council debated remedies, sat
In secret sessions, talking of terror
And wondering what the bravest of warriors could do.
90 And sometimes they sacrificed to the old stone gods,
Made heathen vows, hoping for Hells
Support, the Devils guidance in driving
Their affliction off. That was their way,
And the heathens only hope, Hell
95 Always in their hearts, knowing neither God
Nor His passing as He walks through our world, the Lord
Of Heaven and earth; their ears could not hear
His praise nor know His glory. Let them
Beware, those who are thrust into danger,
100 Clutched at by trouble, yet can carry no solace
In their hearts, cannot hope to be better! Hail
To those who will rise to God, drop off
Their dead bodies, and seek our Fathers peace!
3
So the living sorrow of Healfdanes son
105 Simmered, bitter and fresh, and no wisdom
Or strength could break it: That agony hung
On king and people alike, harsh
And unending, violent and cruel, and evil.
In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlacs
110
Foll
ow
er
and
the
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str
ong
est
of
the
Ge
ats

gre
ate
r
And stronger than anyone anywhere in this world
Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror
And quickly commanded a boat fitted out,
Proclaiming that hed go to that famous king,
115 Would sail across the sea to Hrothgar,
Now when help was needed. None
Of the wise ones regretted his going, much
As he was loved by the Geats: The omens were
good,
And they urged the adventure on. So Beowulf
120 Chose the mightiest men he could find,
The bravest and best of the Geats, fourteen
In all, and led them down to their boat;
He knew the sea, would point the prow
Straight to that distant Danish shore.
Beowulf arrives in Denmark and is directed to Herot,
the mead-hall of King Hrothgar. The king sends
Wulfgar, one of his thanes (or feudal lords), to greet the
visitors.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE HERO
4
Then Wulfgar went to the door and
125 addressed
The waiting seafarers with soldiers words:
My lord, the great king of the Danes, commands
me

27

To tell you that he knows of your noble birth

And that having come to him from over the open
130 Sea you have come bravely and are welcome.
Now go to him as you are, in your armor and
helmets,
But leave your battle-shields here, and your spears,
Let them lie waiting for the promises your words
May make.
Beowulf arose, with his men
135 Around him, ordering a few to remain
With their weapons, leading the others quickly
Along under Herots steep roof into Hrothgars
Presence. Standing on that princes own hearth,
Helmeted, the silvery metal of his mail shirt
140 Gleaming with a smiths high art, he greeted
The Danes great lord:
Hail, Hrothgar!
Higlac is my cousin and my king; the days
Of my youth have been filled with glory. Now
Grendels
Name has echoed in our land: Sailors
145 Have brought us stories of Herot, the best
Of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the
moon
Hangs in skies the sun had lit,
Light and life fleeing together.
My people have said, the wisest, most knowing
And best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes
Great king. They have seen my strength for
themselves,
Have watched me rise from the darkness of war,
Dripping with my enemies blood. I drove
Five great giants into chains, chased
All of that race from the earth. I swam
In the blackness of night, hunting monsters
Out of the ocean, and killing them one
27

By one; death was my errand and the fate

They had earned. Now Grendel and I are called
Together, and Ive come. Grant me, then,
Lord and protector of this noble place,
A single request! I have come so far,
Oh shelterer of warriors and your peoples loved
friend,
That this one favor you should not refuse me
That I, alone and with the help of my men,
May purge all evil from this hall. I have heard,
Too, that the monsters scorn of men
Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears
none.
Nor will I. My lord Higlac
Might think less of me if I let my sword
Go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid
Behind some broad linden shield: My hands
Alone shall fight for me, struggle for life
Against the monster. God must decide
Who will be given to deaths cold grip.
Grendels plan, I think, will be
What it has been before, to invade this hall
And gorge his belly with our bodies. If he can,
If he can. And I think, if my time will have come,
Therell be nothing to mourn over, no corpse to prepare
For its grave: Grendel will carry our bloody
Flesh to the moors, crunch on our bones,
And smear torn scraps of our skin on the walls
Of his den. No, I expect no Danes
Will fret about sewing our shrouds, if he wins.
And if death does take me, send the hammered
Mail of my armor to Higlac, return
The inheritance I had from Hrethel, and he
From Wayland. Fate will unwind as it must!
5
5
190

Hrothgar replied, protector of the Danes:

Beowulf, youve come to us in friendship, and because
Of the reception your father found at our court.
Edgetho had begun a bitter feud,
Killing Hathlaf, a Wulfing warrior:

195 Your fathers countrymen were afraid of war,

If he returned to his home, and they turned him away.

27

Then he traveled across the curving waves

To the land of the Danes. I was new to the throne,
Then, a young man ruling this wide
200 Kingdom and its golden city: Hergar,
My older brother, a far better man
Than I, had died and dying made me,
Second among Healfdanes sons, first
In this nation. I bought the end of Edgethos
205 Quarrel, sent ancient treasures through the oceans
Furrows to the Wulfings; your father swore
Hed keep that peace. My tongue grows heavy,
And my heart, when I try to tell you what Grendel
Has brought us, the damage hes done, here
210 In this hall. You see for yourself how much smaller
Our ranks have become, and can guess what weve lost
To his terror. Surely the Lord Almighty
Could stop his madness, smother his lust!
How many times have my men, glowing
215 With courage drawn from too many cups
Of ale, sworn to stay after dark
And stem that horror with a sweep of their swords.
And then, in the morning, this mead-hall glittering
With new light would be drenched with blood, the benches
220 Stained red, the floors, all wet from that fiends
Savage assaultand my soldiers would be fewer
Still, death taking more and more.
But to table, Beowulf, a banquet in your honor:
Let us toast your victories, and talk of the future.
225

Then Hrothgars men gave places to the Geats,

Yielded benches to the brave visitors,
And led them to the feast. The keeper of the mead

27

Came carrying out the carved flasks,

And poured that bright sweetness. A poet
230 Sang, from time to time, in a clear
Pure voice. Danes and visiting Geats
Celebrated as one, drank and rejoiced.
UNFERTHS CHALLENGE
6
Unferth spoke, Ecglafs son,
Who sat at Hrothgars feet, spoke harshly
235 And sharp (vexed by Beowulfs adventure,
By their visitors courage, and angry that anyone
In Denmark or anywhere on earth had ever
Acquired glory and fame greater
Than his own):
Youre Beowulf, are youthe same
240 Boastful fool who fought a swimming
Match with Brecca, both of you daring
And young and proud, exploring the deepest
Seas, risking your lives for no reason
But the danger? All older and wiser heads warned you
245 Not to, but no one could check such pride.
With Brecca at your side you swam along
The sea-paths, your swift-moving hands pulling you
Over the oceans face. Then winter
Churned through the water, the waves ran you
250 As they willed, and you struggled seven long nights
To survive. And at the end victory was his,
Not yours. The sea carried him close
To his home, to southern Norway, near
The land of the Brondings, where he ruled and was loved,
255 Where his treasure was piled and his strength protected
27

His towns and his people. Hed promised to outswim you:

Bonstans son made that boast ring true.
Youve been lucky in your battles, Beowulf, but I think
Your luck may change if you challenge Grendel,
260 Staying a whole night through in this hall,
Waiting where that fiercest of demons can find you.
Beowulf answered, Edgethos great son:
Ah! Unferth, my friend, your face
Is hot with ale, and your tongue has tried
265 To tell us about Breccas doings. But the truth
Is simple: No man swims in the sea
As I can, no strength is a match for mine.
As boys, Brecca and I had boasted
We were both too young to know betterthat wed risk
270 Our lives far out at sea, and so
We did. Each of us carried a naked
Sword, prepared for whales or the swift
Sharp teeth and beaks of needlefish.
He could never leave me behind, swim faster
275 Across the waves than I could, and I
Had chosen to remain close to his side.
I remained near him for five long nights,
Until a flood swept us apart;
The frozen sea surged around me,
280 It grew dark, the wind turned bitter, blowing
From the north, and the waves were savage. Creatures
Who sleep deep in the sea were stirred
Into lifeand the iron hammered links
Of my mail shirt, these shining bits of metal
285 Woven across my breast, saved me
From death. A monster seized me, drew me

27

Swiftly toward the bottom, swimming with its claws

Tight in my flesh. But fate let me
Find its heart with my sword, hack myself
290 Free; I fought that beasts last battle,
Left it floating lifeless in the sea.
7
Other monsters crowded around me,
Continually attacking. I treated them politely,
Offering the edge of my razor-sharp sword.
295 But the feast, I think, did not please them, filled
Their evil bellies with no banquet-rich food,
Thrashing there at the bottom of the sea;
By morning theyd decided to sleep on the shore,
Lying on their backs, their blood spilled out
300 On the sand. Afterwards, sailors could cross
That sea-road and feel no fear; nothing
Would stop their passing. Then Gods bright beacon
Appeared in the east, the water lay still,
And at last I could see the land, wind-swept
305 Cliff-walls at the edge of the coast. Fate saves
The living when they drive away death by themselves!
Lucky or not, nine was the number
Of sea-huge monsters I killed. What man,
Anywhere under Heavens high arch, has fought
310 In such darkness, endured more misery, or been harder
Pressed? Yet I survived the sea, smashed
The monsters hot jaws, swam home from my journey.
The swift-flowing waters swept me along
And I landed on Finnish soil. Ive heard
315 No tales of you, Unferth, telling

27

Of such clashing terror, such contests in the night!

Breccas battles were never so bold;
Neither he nor you can match meand I mean
No boast, have announced no more than I know
320 To be true. And theres more: You murdered your brothers,
Your own close kin. Words and bright wit
Wont help your soul; youll suffer hells fires,
Unferth, forever tormented. Ecglafs
Proud son, if your hands were as hard, your heart
325 As fierce as you think it, no fool would dare
To raid your hall, ruin Herot
And oppress its prince, as Grendel has done.
But hes learned that terror is his alone,
Discovered he can come for your people with no fear
330 Of reprisal; hes found no fighting, here,
But only food, only delight.
He murders as he likes, with no mercy, gorges
And feasts on your flesh, and expects no trouble,
No quarrel from the quiet Danes. Now
335 The Geats will show him courage, soon
He can test his strength in battle. And when the sun
Comes up again, opening another
Bright day from the south, anyone in Denmark
May enter this hall: That evil will be gone!
340
Hrothgar, gray-haired and brave, sat happily
Listening, the famous ring-giver sure,
At last, that Grendel could be killed; he believed
In Beowulfs bold strength and the firmness of his spirit.
There was the sound of laughter, and the cheerful clanking
345 Of cups, and pleasant words. Then Welthow,

27

Hrothgars gold-ringed queen, greeted

The warriors; a noble woman who knew
What was right, she raised a flowing cup
To Hrothgar first, holding it high
350 For the lord of the Danes to drink, wishing him
Joy in that feast. The famous king
Drank with pleasure and blessed their banquet.

Then Welthow went from warrior to warrior,

Pouring a portion from the jeweled cup
For each, till the bracelet-wearing queen
Had carried the mead-cup among them and it was Beowulfs
Turn to be served. She saluted the Geats
Great prince, thanked God for answering her prayers,
For allowing her hands the happy duty
Of offering mead to a hero who would help
Her afflicted people. He drank what she poured,
Edgethos brave son, then assured the Danish
Queen that his heart was firm and his hands
Ready:
When we crossed the sea, my comrades
And I, I already knew that all
My purpose was this: to win the good will
Of your people or die in battle, pressed
In Grendels fierce grip. Let me live in greatness
And courage, or here in this hall welcome
My death!
Welthow was pleased with his words,
His bright-tongued boasts; she carried them back
To her lord, walked nobly across to his side.
The feast went on, laughter and music
And the brave words of warriors celebrating
Their delight. Then Hrothgar rose, Healfdanes
Son, heavy with sleep; as soon
As the sun had gone, he knew that Grendel
Would come to Herot, would visit that hall
When night had covered the earth with its net
And the shapes of darkness moved black and silent
Through the world. Hrothgars warriors rose with him.
He went to Beowulf, embraced the Geats
27

Brave prince, wished him well, and hoped

That Herot would be his to command. And then
He declared:
No one strange to this land
Has ever been granted what Ive given you,
No one in all the years of my rule.
Make this best of all mead-halls yours, and then
Keep it free of evil, fight
With glory in your heart! Purge Herot
And your ship will sail home with its treasure-holds full.

The feast ends. Beowulf and his men take the place of Hrothgars followers and lie down
to sleep in Herot. Beowulf, however, is wakeful, eager to meet his enemy.
THE BATTLE WITH GRENDEL
8
Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing Gods hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
He moved quickly through the cloudy night,
Up from his swampland, sliding silently
Toward that gold-shining hall. He had visited
Hrothgars
Home before, knew the way
But never, before nor after that night,
Found Herot defended so firmly, his reception
So harsh. He journeyed, forever joyless,
Straight to the door, then snapped it open,
Tore its iron fasteners with a touch,
And rushed angrily over the threshold.
He strode quickly across the inlaid
Floor, snarling and fierce: His eyes
Gleamed in the darkness, burned with a
gruesome
Light. Then he stopped, seeing the hall
Crowded with sleeping warriors, stuffed
27

With rows of young soldiers resting together.

And his heart laughed, he relished the sight,
Intended to tear the life from those bodies
By morning; the monsters mind was hot
With the thought of food and the feasting his
belly
Would soon know. But fate, that night,
intended
Grendel to gnaw the broken bones
Of his last human supper. Human
Eyes were watching his evil steps,
Waiting to see his swift hard claws.
Grendel snatched at the first Geat
He came to, ripped him apart, cut
His body to bits with powerful jaws,
Drank the blood from his veins, and bolted
Him down, hands and feet; death
And Grendels great teeth came together,
Snapping life shut. Then he stepped to another
Still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,
Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper
And was instantly seized himself, claws
Bent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm.
That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime,
Knew at once that nowhere on earth
Had he met a man whose hands were harder;
His mind was flooded with fearbut nothing
Could take his talons and himself from that
tight
Hard grip. Grendels one thought was to run
From Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide
there:
This was a different Herot than the hall he had
emptied.
27

But Higlacs follower remembered his final

Boast and, standing erect, stopped
The monsters flight, fastened those claws
In his fists till they cracked, clutched Grendel
Closer. The infamous killer fought
For his freedom, wanting no flesh but retreat,
Desiring nothing but escape; his claws
Had been caught, he was trapped. That trip to
Herot
Was a miserable journey for the writhing
monster!
The high hall rang, its roof boards swayed,
And Danes shook with terror. Down
The aisles the battle swept, angry
And wild. Herot trembled, wonderfully
Built to withstand the blows, the struggling
Great bodies beating at its beautiful walls;
Shaped and fastened with iron, inside
And out, artfully worked, the building
Stood firm. Its benches rattled, fell
To the floor, gold-covered boards grating
As Grendel and Beowulf battled across them.
Hrothgars wise men had fashioned Herot
To stand forever; only fire,
They had planned, could shatter what such skill
had put
Together, swallow in hot flames such splendor
Of ivory and iron and wood. Suddenly
The sounds changed, the Danes started
In new terror, cowering in their beds as the
terrible
Screams of the Almightys enemy sang
In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain
And defeat, the tears torn out of Grendels
Taut throat, hells captive caught in the arms
27

Of him who of all the men on earth

Was the strongest.
9
That mighty protector of men
Meant to hold the monster till its life
Leaped out, knowing the fiend was no use
475 To anyone in Denmark. All of Beowulfs
Band had jumped from their beds, ancestral
Swords raised and ready, determined
To protect their prince if they could. Their courage
Was great but all wasted: They could hack at Grendel
480 From every side, trying to open
A path for his evil soul, but their points
Could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest iron
Could not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demon
Had bewitched all mens weapons, laid spells
485 That blunted every mortal mans blade.
And yet his time had come, his days
Were over, his death near; down
To hell he would go, swept groaning and helpless
To the waiting hands of still worse fiends.
Now he discoveredonce the afflictor
Of men, tormentor of their dayswhat it meant
To feud with Almighty God: Grendel
Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws
Bound fast, Higlacs brave follower tearing at
495 His hands. The monsters hatred rose higher,
But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,
And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder

27

Snapped, muscle and bone split

And broke. The battle was over, Beowulf
500 Had been granted new glory: Grendel escaped,
But wounded as he was could flee to his den,
His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh,
Only to die, to wait for the end
Of all his days. And after that bloody
505 Combat the Danes laughed with delight.
He who had come to them from across the sea,
Bold and strong-minded, had driven affliction
Off, purged Herot clean. He was happy,
Now, with that nights fierce work; the Danes
510 Had been served as hed boasted hed serve them; Beowulf,
A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel,
Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering
Forced on Hrothgars helpless people
By a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dane doubted
515 The victory, for the proof, hanging high
From the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monsters
Arm, claw and shoulder and all.
10
And then, in the morning, crowds surrounded
Herot, warriors coming to that hall
From faraway lands, princes and leaders
Of men hurrying to behold the monsters
Great staggering tracks. They gaped with no sense
Of sorrow, felt no regret for his suffering,
Went tracing his bloody footprints, his beaten
And lonely flight, to the edge of the lake
Where hed dragged his corpselike way, doomed
And already weary of his vanishing life.
The water was bloody, steaming and boiling
In horrible pounding waves, heat
Sucked from his magic veins; but the swirling
Surf had covered his death, hidden
Deep in murky darkness his miserable
27

End, as hell opened to receive him.

Then old and young rejoiced, turned back
From that happy pilgrimage, mounted their hard-hooved
Horses, high-spirited stallions, and rode them
Slowly toward Herot again, retelling
Beowulfs bravery as they jogged along.
And over and over they swore that nowhere
On earth or under the spreading sky
Or between the seas, neither south nor north,
Was there a warrior worthier to rule over men.
(But no one meant Beowulfs praise to belittle
Hrothgar, their kind and gracious king!)
Grendels monstrous mother, in grief for her son, next attacks
Herot, and in her dripping claws she carries off one man
Hrothgars closest friend. The monster also carries off Grendels
arm, which Beowulf had hung high from the rafters. Beowulf is
awakened and called for again. In one of the most famous
verses in the epic, the old king describes where Grendel and his
mother live.
11
545 They live in secret places, windy
Cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours
From the rocks, then runs underground, where mist
Steams like black clouds, and the groves of trees
Growing out over their lake are all covered
550 With frozen spray, and wind down snakelike
Roots that reach as far as the water
And help keep it dark. At night that lake
Burns like a torch. No one knows its bottom,
No wisdom reaches such depths. A deer,
555 Hunted through the woods by packs of hounds,
A stag with great horns, though driven through the forest
From faraway places, prefers to die
On those shores, refuses to save its life
In that water. It isnt far, nor is it
560 A pleasant spot! When the wind stirs
And storms, waves splash toward the sky,

27

As dark as the air, as black as the rain

That the heavens weep. Our only help,
Again, lies with you. Grendels mother
565 Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place
Youve not seen. Seek it, if you dare! Save us,
Once more, and again twisted gold,
Heaped-up ancient treasure, will reward you
For the battle you win!

Carrying the sword Hrunting, Beowulf goes to the lake where Grendels mother has her
underwater lair. Then, fully armed, he dives to the depths of this watery hell.
THE MONSTERS MOTHER
12
570 He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyones
Answer; the heaving water covered him
Over. For hours he sank through the waves;
At last he saw the mud of the bottom.
And all at once the greedy she-wolf
575 Whod ruled those waters for half a hundred
Years discovered him, saw that a creature
From above had come to explore the bottom
Of her wet world. She welcomed him in her claws,
Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him,
580 Tried to work her fingers through the tight
Ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore
And scratched in vain. Then she carried him, armor
And sword and all, to her home; he struggled
To free his weapon, and failed. The fight
585 Brought other monsters swimming to see
Her catch, a host of sea beasts who beat at
His mail shirt, stabbing with tusks and teeth
27

As they followed along. Then he realized, suddenly,

That shed brought him into someones battle-hall,
590 And there the waters heat could not hurt him,
Nor anything in the lake attack him through
The buildings high-arching roof. A brilliant
Light burned all around him, the lake
Itself like a fiery flame.
Then he saw
595 The mighty water witch, and swung his sword,
His ring-marked blade, straight at her head;
The iron sang its fierce song,
Sang Beowulfs strength. But her guest
Discovered that no sword could slice her evil
600 Skin, that Hrunting could not hurt her, was useless
Now when he needed it. They wrestled, she ripped
And tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet,
And that too failed him; for the first time in years
Of being worn to war it would earn no glory;
605 It was the last time anyone would wear it. But Beowulf
Longed only for fame, leaped back
Into battle. He tossed his sword aside,
Angry; the steel-edged blade lay where
Hed dropped it. If weapons were useless hed use
610 His hands, the strength in his fingers. So fame
Comes to the men who mean to win it
And care about nothing else! He raised
His arms and seized her by the shoulder; anger
Doubled his strength, he threw her to the floor.
615 She fell, Grendels fierce mother, and the Geats
Proud prince was ready to leap on her. But she rose
At once and repaid him with her clutching claws,

27

Wildly tearing at him. He was weary, that best

And strongest of soldiers; his feet stumbled
620 And in an instant she had him down, held helpless.
Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew
A dagger, brown with dried blood and prepared
To avenge her only son. But he was stretched
On his back, and her stabbing blade was blunted
625 By the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest.
The hammered links held; the point
Could not touch him. Hed have traveled to the bottom of the earth,
Edgethos son, and died there, if that shining
Woven metal had not helpedand Holy
630 God, who sent him victory, gave judgment
For truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens,
Once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting.
13
Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy
Sword, hammered by giants, strong
635 And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons
But so massive that no ordinary man could lift
Its carved and decorated length. He drew it
From its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt,
And then, savage, now, angry
640 And desperate, lifted it high over his head
And struck with all the strength he had left,
Caught her in the neck and cut it through,
Broke bones and all. Her body fell
To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet
645 With her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight.
The brilliant light shone, suddenly,
As though burning in that hall, and as bright as Heavens

27

Own candle, lit in the sky. He looked

At her home, then following along the wall
650 Went walking, his hands tight on the sword,
His heart still angry. He was hunting another
Dead monster, and took his weapon with him
For final revenge against Grendels vicious
Attacks, his nighttime raids, over
655 And over, coming to Herot when Hrothgars
Men slept, killing them in their beds,
Eating some on the spot, fifteen
Or more, and running to his loathsome moor
With another such sickening meal waiting
660 In his pouch. But Beowulf repaid him for those visits,
Found him lying dead in his corner,
Armless, exactly as that fierce fighter
Had sent him out from Herot, then struck off
His head with a single swift blow. The body
Jerked for the last time, then lay still.

In his novel Grendel (1971), the American writer John

Gardner (19331982) retells part of Beowulf from the
point of view of the monster. In this excerpt, Grendel
27

tells his own version of one of his raids on Hrothgars

hall.
from Grendel
John Gardner
And so I come through trees and towns to the lights of Hrothgars meadhall. I am no
stranger here. A respected guest. Eleven years now and going on twelve I have come up
this clean-mown central hill, dark shadow out of the woods below, and have knocked
politely on the high oak door, bursting its hinges and sending the shock of my greeting
inward like a cold blast out of a cave. Grendel! they squeak, and I smile like exploding
spring. The old Shaper, a man I cannot help but admire, goes out the back window with
his harp at a single bound, though blind as a bat. The drunkest of Hrothgars thanes
come reeling and clanking down from their wall-hung beds, all shouting their meady,
outrageous boasts, their heavy swords aswirl like eagles wings. Woe, woe, woe! cries
Hrothgar, hoary with winters, peeking in, wide-eyed, from his bedroom in back. His wife,
looking in behind him, makes a scene. The thanes in the mead-hall blow out the lights
and cover the wide stone fireplace with shields. I laugh, crumple over; I cant help
myself. In the darkness, I alone see clear as day. While they squeal and screech and
bump into each other, I silently sack up my dead and withdraw to the woods. I eat and
laugh and eat until I can barely walk, my chest-hair matted with dribbled blood, and
then the roosters on the hill crow, and dawn comes over the roofs of the houses, and all
at once I am filled with gloom again.
This is some punishment sent us, I hear them bawling from the hill.
My head aches. Morning nails my eyes.
Some god is angry, I hear a woman keen. The people of Scyld and Herogar and
Hrothgar are mired in sin!
My belly rumbles, sick on their sour meat. I crawl through bloodstained leaves to the
eaves of the forest, and there peak out. The dogs fall silent at the edge of my spell, and
where the kings hall surmounts the town, the blind old Shaper, harp clutched tight to his
fragile chest, stares futilely down, straight at me. Otherwise nothing. Pigs root dully at
the posts of a wooden fence. A rumple-horned ox lies chewing in dew and shade. A few
men, lean, wearing animal skins, look up at the gables of the kings hall, or at the
vultures circling casually beyond. Hrothgar says nothing, hoarfrost-bearded, his features
cracked and crazed. Inside, I hear the people prayingwhimpering, whining, mumbling,
pleadingto their numerous sticks and stones. He doesnt go in. The king has lofty
theories of his own.
Theories, I whisper to the bloodstained ground. So the dragon once spoke. (Theyd
map out roads through Hell with their crackpot theories! I recall his laugh.)
Then the groaning and praying stop, and on the side of the hill the dirge-slow shoveling
begins.

INFORMATIONAL TEXT
Life in 999: A Grim Struggle
Howard G. Chua-Eoan
27

from Time, October 15, 1992

Todays world is measured in light-years and Mach speed and sheathed in silicon and
alloy. In the world of 999, on the eve of the first millennium, time moved at the speed of
an oxcart or, more often, of a sturdy pair of legs, and the West was built largely on
wood. Europe was a collection of untamed forests, countless mile upon mile of trees and
brush and brier, dark and inhospitable. Medieval chroniclers used the word desert to
describe their arboreal world, a place on the cusp of civilization where werewolves and
bogeymen still lunged out of the shadows and bandits and marauders maintained their
lairs.
Yet the forests, deep and dangerous as they were, also defined existence. Wood kindled
forges and kept alive the hearths of the mud-and-thatch huts of the serfs. Peasants
fattened their hogs on forest acorns (pork was crucial to basic subsistence in the cold of
winter), and wild berries helped supplement the meager diet. In a world without sugar,
honey from forest swarms provided the only sweetness for food or drink. The pleasures
of the serfs were few and simple: earthy lovemaking and occasional dances and fests.
Feudal lords ruled over western Europe, taking their share of the harvests of primitive
agriculture and making the forests their private hunting grounds. Poaching was not
simply theft (usually punishable by imprisonment) but a sin against the social order.
Without the indulgence of the nobility, the peasants could not even acquire salt, the
indispensable ingredient for preserving meat and flavoring a culinary culture that
possessed few spices. Though a true money economy did not exist, salt could be bought
with poorly circulated coin, which the lord hoarded in his castle and dispensed to the
poor only as alms.
It was in the lords castle too that peasants and their flocks sought refuge from wolf
packs and barbarian invaders. In 999, however, castles, like most other buildings in
Europe, were made of timber, far from the granite bastions that litter todays imagined
Middle Ages. The peasants, meanwhile, were relegated to their simple huts, where
everyoneincluding the animalsslept around the hearth. Straw was scattered on the
floors to collect scraps as well as human and animal waste. Housecleaning consisted of
sweeping out the straw.
Illness and disease remained in constant residence. Tuberculosis was endemic, and so
were scabrous skin diseases of every kind: abscesses, cankers, scrofula, tumors,
eczema, and erysipelas. In a throwback to biblical times, lepers constituted a class of
pariahs living on the outskirts of villages and cities. Constant famine, rotten flour, and
vitamin deficiencies afflicted huge segments of society with blindness, goiter, paralysis,
and bone malformations that created hunchbacks and cripples. A man was lucky to
survive 30, and 50 was a ripe old age. Most women, many of them succumbing to the
ravages of childbirth, lived less than 30 years. There was no time for what is now
considered childhood; children of every class had to grow up immediately and be useful
as soon as possible. Emperors were leading armies in their teens; John XI became Pope
at the age of 21.
While the general population was growing faster than it had in
the previous five centuries, there was still a shortage of people
27

to cultivate the fields, clear the woodlands, and work the mills.
Local taxes were levied on youths who did not marry upon
coming of age. Abortion was considered homicide, and a
woman who terminated a pregnancy was expelled from the
church.
The nobility spent its waking hours battling foes to preserve its prerogatives, the clergy
chanting prayers for the salvation of souls, the serfs laboring to feed and clothe
everyone. Night, lit only by burning logs or the rare taper, was always filled with danger
and terror. The seasons came and went, punctuated chiefly by the occurrence of plentiful
church holidays. The calendar year began at different times for different regions; only
later would Europe settle on the Feast of Christs Circumcision, January 1, as the years
beginning.
Thus there was little panic, not even much interest, as the millennium approached in the
final months of 999. For what terrors could the apocalypse hold for a continent that was
already shrouded in darkness? Rather Europeilliterate, diseased, and hungryseemed
grimly resigned to desperation and impoverishment. It was one of the planets most
unpromising corners, the Third World of its age.
from Beowulf
Reading Check
1. What do Hrothgar and his council do to try to save his guest-hall?
2. What prevents Beowulfs men from helping Beowulf in his battle with Grendel?
3. How do the Danes feel about Beowulf after his battle with Grendel?
4. What obstacle does Beowulf face in his confrontation with Grendels mother? How
does he overcome the obstacle?
Thinking Critically
5. In what specific ways does Herot contrast with the place where Grendel lives?
6. Images are words that help us see something, and often hear it, smell it, taste it,
and touch it as well. Identify images describing Grendel that associate him with
death or darkness. How are these images supposed to make you feel about Grendel?
7. Why do you think its important to Beowulf and to his image as an epic hero that
he face Grendel without a weapon? What symbolism do you see in the uselessness
of human-made weapons against Grendel?
8. What details describe Grendels mother and her lair? What might Grendel and his
mother represent for the Anglo-Saxons?
9. How does Gardners depiction of Grendel differ from the epics depiction of him?
(See the Connection on page 39.) Did Gardner make you sympathize with Grendel?
Explain.
10. The Connection on page 40, Life in 999: A Grim Struggle, describes daily life in
late Anglo-Saxon England. What details in this picture of daily life relate to what
youve read so far in Beowulf? How does life in 999 compare with life today?
Extending and Evaluating
11. Beowulf is the archetype of the dragon slayer, the hero who faces death in order to
27

save a threatened community. Does Beowulf remind you of any heroes in real life, in
fiction, or in the movies today? What characteristics do the heroes share?

from Beowulf
Part Two, translated by Seamus Heaney
Beowulf carries Grendels head to King Hrothgar and then returns gift-laden to the land
of the Geats, where he succeeds to the throne. After fifty winters pass, Beowulf, now an
old man, faces his final task: He must fight a dragon who, angry because a thief has
stolen a jeweled cup from the dragons hoard of gold, is laying waste to the Geats land.
27

Beowulf and eleven warriors are guided to the dragons lair by the thief who stole the
cup. For Beowulf the price of this last victory will be great.
THE FINAL BATTLE
14
Then he addressed each dear companion
one final time, those fighters in their helmets,
resolute and high-born: I would rather not
use a weapon if I knew another way
670 to grapple with the dragon and make good my boast
as I did against Grendel in days gone by.
But I shall be meeting molten venom
in the fire he breathes, so I go forth
in mail-shirt and shield. I wont shift a foot
675 when I meet the cave-guard: what occurs on the wall
between the two of us will turn out as fate,
overseer of men, decides. I am resolved.
I scorn further words against this sky-borne foe.

Men at arms, remain here on the barrow,safe in your armour, to see which one of
680 us
is better in the end at bearing wounds
in a deadly fray. This fight is not yours,
nor is it up to any man except me
to measure his strength against the monster
685 or to prove his worth. I shall win the gold
by my courage, or else mortal combat,
doom of battle, will bear your lord away.
Then he drew himself up beside his shield.
The fabled warrior in his warshirt and helmet
690 trusted in his own strength entirely
and went under the crag. No coward path.
Hard by the rock-face that hale veteran,

27

a good man who had gone repeatedly

into combat and danger and come through,
695 saw a stone arch and a gushing stream
that burst from the barrow, blazing and wafting
a deadly heat. It would be hard to survive
unscathed near the hoard, to hold firm
against the dragon in those flaming depths.
700 Then he gave a shout. The lord of the Geats
unburdened his breast and broke out
in a storm of anger. Under grey stone
his voice challenged and resounded clearly.
Hate was ignited. The hoard-guard recognized
705 a human voice, the time was over
for peace and parleying. Pouring forth
in a hot battle-fume, the breath of the monster
burst from the rock. There was a rumble under ground.
Down there in the barrow, Beowulf the warrior
710 lifted his shield: the outlandish thing
writhed and convulsed and vehemently
turned on the king, whose keen-edged sword,
an heirloom inherited by ancient right,
was already in his hand. Roused to a fury,
715 each antagonist struck terror in the other.
Unyielding, the lord of his people loomed
by his tall shield, sure of his ground,
while the serpent looped and unleashed itself.
Swaddled in flames, it came gliding and flexing
720 and racing towards its fate. Yet his shield defended
the renowned leaders life and limb
for a shorter time than he meant it to:
that final day was the first time

27

when Beowulf fought and fate denied him

725 glory in battle. So the king of the Geats
raised his hand and struck hard
at the enamelled scales, but scarcely cut through:
the blade flashed and slashed yet the blow
was far less powerful than the hard-pressed king
730 had need of at that moment. The mound-keeper
went into a spasm and spouted deadly flames:
when he felt the stroke, battle-fire
billowed and spewed. Beowulf was foiled
of a glorious victory. The glittering sword,
735 infallible before that day,
failed when he unsheathed it, as it never should have.
For the son of Ecgtheow, it was no easy thing
to have to give ground like that and go
unwillingly to inhabit another home
740 in a place beyond; so every man must yield
the leasehold of his days.
It was not long
until the fierce contenders clashed again.
The hoard-guard took heart, inhaled and swelled up
and got a new wind; he who had once ruled
745 was furled in fire and had to face the worst.
No help or backing was to be had then
from his high-born comrades; that hand-picked troop
broke ranks and ran for their lives
to the safety of the wood. But within one heart
750 sorrow welled up: in a man of worth
the claims of kinship cannot be denied.
15

27

His name was Wiglaf, a son of Weohstans,

a well-regarded Shylfing warrior
related to Aelfhere. When he saw his lord
755 tormented by the heat of his scalding helmet,
he remembered the bountiful gifts bestowed on him,
how well he lived among the Waegmundings,
the freehold he inherited from his father before him.
He could not hold back: one hand brandished
760

the yellow-timbered shield, the other drew his sword

Sad at heart, addressing his companions,
Wiglaf spoke wise and fluent words:
I remember that time when mead was flowing,
how we pledged loyalty to our lord in the hall,

765 promised our ring-giver we would be worth our price,

make good the gift of the war-gear,
those swords and helmets, as and when
his need required it. He picked us out
from the army deliberately, honoured us and judged us
770 fit for this action, made me these lavish gifts
and all because he considered us the best
of his arms-bearing thanes. And now, although
he wanted this challenge to be one hed face
by himself alonethe shepherd of our land,
775 a man unequaled in the quest for glory
and a name for daringnow the day has come
when this lord we serve needs sound men
to give him their support. Let us go to him,
help our leader through the hot flame
780 and dread of the fire. As God is my witness,
I would rather my body were robed in the same

27

burning blaze as my gold-givers body

than go back home bearing arms.
That is unthinkable, unless we have first
785 slain the foe and defended the life
of the prince of the Weather-Geats. I well know
the things he has done for us deserve better.
Should he alone be left exposed
to fall in battle? We must bond together,
790 shield and helmet, mail-shirt and sword.
Together Beowulf and the young Wiglaf kill the dragon, but the old king is fatally
wounded. Beowulf, thinking of his people, asks to see the monsters treasure. Wiglaf
enters the dragons cave and finds a priceless hoard of jewels and gold.
16
Wiglaf went quickly, keen to get back,
excited by the treasure; anxiety weighed
on his brave heart, he was hoping he would find
the leader of the Geats alive where he had left him
795 helpless, earlier, on the open ground.
So he came to the place, carrying the treasure,
and found his lord bleeding profusely,
his life at an end; again he began
to swab his body. The beginnings of an utterance
800 broke out from the kings breast-cage.
The old lord gazed sadly at the gold.
To the everlasting Lord of All,
to the King of Glory, I give thanks
that I behold this treasure here in front of me,
805 that I have been thus allowed to leave my people
so well endowed on the day I die.
Now that I have bartered my last breath
to own this fortune, it is up to you

27

to look after their needs. I can hold out no longer.

810 Order my troop to construct a barrow
on a headland on the coast, after my pyre has cooled.
It will loom on the horizon at Hronesness
and be a reminder among my people
so that in coming times crews under sail
815 will call it Beowulfs Barrow, as they steer
ships across the wide and shrouded waters.
Then the king in his great-heartedness unclasped
the collar of gold from his neck and gave it
to the young thane, telling him to use
820 it and the warshirt and the gilded helmet well.
You are the last of us, the only one left of the Waegmundings. Fate swept us away,
sent my whole brave high-born clan
to their final doom. Now I must follow them.
825 That was the warriors last word.
He had no more to confide. The furious heat
of the pyre would assail him. His soul fled from his breast
to its destined place among the steadfast ones.
Wiglaf berates the faithless warriors who did not go to the aid of their king. With sorrow
the Geats cremate the corpse of their greatest king. They place his ashes, along with all
of the dragons treasure, in a huge burial tower by the sea, where it can be seen by
voyagers.
17
Then twelve warriors rode around the tomb,
830 chieftains sons, champions in battle,
all of them distraught, chanting in dirges,
mourning his loss as a man and a king.
They extolled his heroic nature and exploits
and gave thanks for his greatness; which was the proper thing,
835 for a man should praise a prince whom he holds dear

27

and cherish his memory when that moment comes

when he has to be convoyed from his bodily home.
So the Geat people, his hearth companions,
sorrowed for the lord who had been laid low.
840 They said that of all the kings upon the earth
he was the man most gracious and fair-minded,
kindest to his people and keenest to win fame.

INFORMATIONAL TEXT
The Fury of the Northmen
Ellen Ashdown
When the fearsome Vikings began raiding England at the end of the eighth century, the
church added a new prayer: God, deliver us from the fury of the Northmen. Were these
Scandinavian warriorsdescended from the peoples of Beowulfreally such berserk
destroyers? The fiercest ones were, indicated by the word berserk itself: In Old Norse, a
berserkr was a frenzied Norse warrior, so wild and fearless even his comrades kept
clear.
Bear or bare?
Berserkr literally means either bear shirt or bare shirt, suggesting that these warriors
wore bearskins or perhaps fought barewithout armor. Some say the berserkers were
religious madmen, followers of Odin, god of death and war. Some say they ate mindaltering plants. Both may be true, because the berserker entered battle in a kind of fit,
biting his shield, taunting death, and, like Beowulf, If weapons were useless hed use /
His hands. So fame / Comes to the men who mean to win it / And care about nothing
else!
Dragons from the sea.
The Viking Age spanned the ninth through eleventh centuries, the European continent,
and the Atlantic Ocean. Pushed by overpopulation, Vikings from Sweden, Norway, and
Denmark struck out for new land. They were farmers at home, but they were a warrior
culture too, and they devastated England with nightmarish hit-and-run attacks. Even the
name Viking comes from a telling phrase: For the Scandinavians, to go a-viking meant
to fight as a warrior or pirate.
The Vikings extraordinary seafaring and shipbuilding skills, honed in their watery land of
fiords, or narrow ocean inlets, gave them the advantage of making surprise attacks. The
unique Viking warships were long (up to ninety-five feet, manned by thirty rowers), light
and swift (to go farther on their provisions), and steady (built with a keel). Shallowdrafted, these dragon-prowed ships could be pulled onto a river shore, swiftly disgorging
warriors wielding swords.
Unafraid of the unknown.

27

But though the Vikings conquered peoples as far away as Spain and Russia (Rus was the
Slavic word for Swedes), their motive was pure wanderlust as much as bloodlust.
Expert in navigating by sun, stars, landmarks, and bird flights, the Vikings settled
Iceland and Greenland and even explored North Americafive hundred years before
Columbus. Thats why the United States once named a spacecraft Viking: to honor the
human spirit that dared uncharted seas in the ninth century, and dares uncharted Mars
in the twentieth.
from Beowulf
Reading Check
1. Who comes to Beowulfs aid in Beowulfs final battle with the dragon? Why does he
help Beowulf?
2. What sad scene concludes the epic?
3. What happens to the dragons hoard?
Thinking Critically
4. A hoarded treasure in Old English literature is usually a symbol of spiritual death or
damnation. How does this fact add significance to Beowulfs last fight with the
dragon?
5. What details does the poet use to describe the dragon? Keeping those details in
mind, explain what the dragon might symbolize as Beowulfs final foe.
6. Given what you know about the structure of Anglo-Saxon society, explain what is
especially ominous about the behavior of Beowulfs men during the final battle. What
does it suggest about the future of the kingdom?
7. The epic closes on a somber, elegiac notea note of mourning. What words or
images contribute to this tone?
8. Epic poetry usually embodies the attitudes and ideals of an entire culture. What
values of Anglo-Saxon society does Beowulf reveal? What universal themes does it
also reveal? Use specific examples from the poem to support your answer.
9. The Connection on page 49 describes the culture of the Vikings. How does this
picture of Viking society relate to what youve read in Beowulf?
Literary Criticism
10. Philosophical approach. Although the story of Beowulf is set in a pre-Christian era
among a people who worshiped stern gods and saw little to hope for beyond the
grave, many modern readers see definite strains of a Christian outlook. Review the
selections from Beowulf. Which passages might reflect a specifically Anglo-Saxon
philosophy of life? Which passages might reflect a Christian outlook?
WRITING
Analyzing the Monster
In an essay, analyze the monster Grendel, focusing on the characters nature. Begin
your character analysis of the monster with a sentence stating your general
assessment of Grendel as a character. Then, support your assessment with details from
the epic. Before you write, organize your details in a chart like the following one:
Character Name

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Details
from Epic

Actions
Motives
Words describing
character
Peoples responses
Setting
Does the character
symbolize anything?
Describe the Mom
In a brief essay, describe Grendels mother. Base your description on the details you
find in the text, and add details of your own. Tell what she looked like, how her voice
sounded, how she smelled, how she walked. Describe her home. Describe what she ate
and how she passed her time. Use as many sensory details as you can: You want your
readers to feel they are meeting the monster face to face. How do you want your
readers to feel about the monster? Do you want horror, or are you interested in making
her somewhat sympathetic? The words you choose will make the difference.
Use Writing a Descriptive Essay, pages 96103, for help with this
assignment.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING
Being a Bard
Choose any excerpt from the portions of Beowulf you have just read, and present a
dramatic reading to your classmates as though you were an Anglo-Saxon bard. Choose
a section that you feel has particular emotional intensity and suspense, and practice
reading it several times before you deliver your reading to the class. Try to find various
ways of involving your listeners in the act of storytelling: Vary the rate and pitch of
your delivery, make dramatic pauses, and use gestures and even sound effects. For
example, a guitar could be used to strike chords at dramatic moments.
Vocabulary Development
Which Word?
resolute
furled
extolled
vehemently
lavish
infallible
assail
Put your knowledge of the selection
Vocabulary to work by answering the
following questions with the correct word
from the list above:
1. Which word is often used in reference
to a flag?
2. Which word describes someone who is
stubborn?
3. Which word describes how someone
might argue about a subject he or she
feels strongly about?
4. Which word is a synonym for praised?
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5. Which word describes someone who

cannot fail?
6. Which word describes someone who
gives very generous gifts?
7. Which word is another way of saying
attack?
Literary Focus
Alliteration and Kennings: Taking the Burden off the Bard
The Anglo-Saxon oral poet was assisted by two poetic devices, alliteration and the
kenning.
Alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in words close to one
another. Anglo-Saxon poetry is often called alliterative poetry. Instead of rhyme
unifying the poem, the verse line is divided into two halves separated by a rhythmic
pause, or caesura. In the first half of the line before the caesura, two words alliterate;
in the second half, one word alliterates with the two from the first half. Many lines,
however, have only two alliterative words, one in each half. Notice the alliterative g and
the four primary stresses in this Old English line from Beowulf:
Gd mid Gatum Grndles dada
Kennings. The kenning, a special metaphor made of compound words, is a staple of
Anglo-Saxon literature that also has a place in our language today. Gas guzzler and
head-hunter are two modern-day kennings you are likely to have heard.
The earliest and simplest kennings are compound words formed from two common
nouns: sky-candle for sun, battle-dew for blood, and whale-road for sea. Later,
kennings grew more elaborate, and compound adjectives joined the compound nouns.
A ship became a foamy-throated ship, then a foamy-throated sea-stallion, and finally a
foamy-throated stallion of the whale-road. Once a kenning was coined, it was used by
the singer-poets over and over again.
In their original languages, kennings are almost always written as simple compounds,
with no hyphens or spaces between the words. In translation, however, kennings are
often written as hyphenated compounds (sky-candle, foamy-throated), as prepositional
phrases (wolf of wounds), or as possessives (the swords tree).
The work of kennings. Scholars believe that kennings filled three needs: (1) Old
Norse and Anglo-Saxon poetry depended heavily on alliteration, but neither language
had a large vocabulary. Poets created the alliterative words they needed by combining
existing words. (2) Because the poetry was oral and had to be memorized, bards
valued ready-made phrases. Such phrases made finished poetry easier to remember,
and they gave bards time to think ahead when they were composing new poetry on the
spot during a feast or ceremony. (3) The increasingly complex structure of the
kennings must have satisfied the early Norse and Anglo-Saxon peoples taste for
elaboration.
Analyzing the text. As you examine these poetic devices, be sure to listen to the way
they sound.
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1. Read aloud the account of Beowulfs challenge to the dragon (lines 688734), and
listen for the effects of the alliteration. What kennings can you identify?
2. Look back over lines 392517. Locate at least two examples of kennings written as
hyphenated compounds, two written as prepositional phrases, and two written
as possessives. What does each kenning refer to?
3. Compile a list of modern-day kennings, such as headhunter.
4. Here is an additional passage from Burton Raffels translation. How does it compare
with the corresponding lines (763772) in Seamus Heaneys translation (page 46)?
I remember how we sat in the mead-hall, drinking
And boasting of how brave wed be when Beowulf
Needed us, he who gave us these swords
And armor: All of us swore to repay him,
When the time came, kindness for kindness
With our lives, if he needed them. He allowed us to join him,
Chose us from all his great army, thinking
Our boasting words had some weight, believing
Our promises, trusting our swords. He took us
For soldiers, for men.
5. Now that youve read excerpts from two translations of Beowulf, think about the
similarities and differences you see and hear between them. How does each
translator use figures of speech, such as kennings and alliteration?
from Beowulf
Anglo-Saxon Legacy: Words and Word Parts
Words from Anglo-Saxon. English has borrowed words from most of the worlds
languages, but many words in our basic vocabulary come to us from Anglo-Saxon, or
Old English. Simple, everyday words, such as the names of numbers (an for one, twa
for two, threo for three, feower for four), words designating family
relationships (fder for father, modor for mother, sunu for son, dohtor for
daughter), names for parts of the body (heorte for heart, fot for foot) and
common, everyday things and activities (ppel for apple, hund for hound, wefan
for weave) are survivors of Old English words.
Anglo-Saxon affixes. Many English-language conventions can be traced back to
Anglo-Saxon times. Both making nouns plural by adding s and creating the possessive
of a noun by adding s come to us from Old English. Old English has also given us the
vowel changes in some irregular verbs like sing, sang, sung (singan, sang, sungen)
and the regular endings for the past tense and past participles of regular verbs (as in
healed, has healed). The word endings we use to create degrees of comparison with
adjectives (as in darker, darkest) are also of Anglo-Saxon origin.
Anglo-Saxon has also contributed many important word partsprefixes and suffixes
to the English language. Some of these affixes just change the tense, person, or
number of a word, such as a verb. Others change the entire meaning of a word, and
often its part of speech.

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Prefixes Meanings Examples

from
AngloSaxon
a
in; on; of; ashore,
up; to
aside
be
around;
behind,
about;
befriend
treat as
for
away; off; forsake,
from
forget
mis
badly; not; misspell,
wrongly
misfire
over
above;
overtake,
excessive oversee
un
not;
untrue,
reverse of unknown
Suffixes Meanings Examples
from
AngloSaxon
en
made of; like golden,
molten
dom
state; rank; wisdom,
condition
kingdom
ful
full of;
wonderful,
marked by useful
hood
state;
brotherhood,
condition
neighborhood
ish
suggesting; selfish,
like
childish
less
lacking;
hopeless,
without
helpless
like
like; similar dreamlike,
childlike
ly
like;
friendly,
characteristic cowardly
of
ness
quality; statekindness,
tenderness
some apt to;
handsome,
showing
tiresome
ward
in the
forward,
direction of skyward
y
showing;
wavy, hilly,
suggesting salty
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PRACTICE
List examples of modern
English words that use each of
the Anglo-Saxon prefixes and
suffixes shown above.
Epics: Stories on a Grand Scale
by David Adams Leeming

You have just read an excerpt from the

Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf. In this Connecting
to World Literature feature, you will read
excerpts from the following epics from
around the world:
from Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative.
from the Iliad by Homer.
I teach kings the history of their ancestors, declares the narrator of the African epic
Sundiata, for the world is old, but the future springs from the past. These same words
could be applied to epics from all times and places, for an epica long narrative poem
about the exploits of a national herois a bridge from the past to the future. Epics carry
a cultures history, values, myths, legends, and traditions from one generation to the
next.
The Epic Hero: An Eternal Archetype
Whereas the old religious stories, or myths, tended to emphasize the deeds of the gods,
epic poems emphasize the deeds of a special kind of human being related to the gods:
the epic hero. From Gilgamesh to Achilles, epic heroes carry the images and
supernatural energies of the gods within themselves. Yet these heroic figures are also,
like all of us, subject to the joys and hardships of the human condition.
No matter what the differences may be between epics of different cultures or times, the
epic hero remains constant. It is as if each hero wears the particular costume of his or
her culture but is really the same figure underneath, facing the same kinds of challenges
and ordeals. While the heroes of the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh epic, the Greek Iliad, and
the Anglo-Saxon Pages 4445 cover Literary Skills Understand the epic and the
archetype of the epic hero in ancient and modern literature. Compare literary forms of
major literary periods. Beowulf all clearly reflect the particular values of their cultures,
we also find in them a single figurethe heroic archetype, or modelwho is somehow
familiar to people of all places and all times. This epic hero represents the universal
human quest for knowledge and understanding.

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