Beowulf Report
Beowulf Report
Beowulf Report
Rationale
The Danes celebrate the completion of
Heorot with a feast, at which Hrothgar's
bard sings about the creation of the Earth.
Introduction
Heorot is Attacked
(Lines 86-193)
99 So times were pleasant for the people there
100 until finally one, a fiend out of hell,
101 began to work his evil in the world.
102 Grendel was the name of this grim demon
103 haunting the marches, marauding round the heath
104 and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time
105 in misery among the banished monsters,
106 Cain's clan, whom the Creator had outlawed
107 and condemned as outcasts.
127 Grendel's powers of destruction were plain:
128 their wassail was over, they wept to heaven
129 and mourned under morning. Their mighty
prince,
130 the storied leader, sat stricken and helpless,
131 humiliated by the loss of his guard,
132 bewildered and stunned, staring aghast
133 at the demon's trail, in deep distress
144 So Grendel ruled in defiance of right,
145 one against all, until the greatest house
146 in the world stood empty, a deserted
wallstead.
147 For twelve winters, seasons of woe,
148 the lord of the Shieldings suffered under
149 his load of sorrow; and so, before long,
150 the news was known over the whole world.
175 Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed
176 offerings to idols, swore oaths
177 that the killer of souls might come to their
aid
178 and save the people. That was their way,
179 their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts
180 they remembered hell. The Almighty Judge
181 of good deeds and bad, the Lord God,
182 Head of the Heavens and High King of the
World,
The Hero Comes to Heorot
(Lines 189-490)
194 When he heard about Grendel, Hygelac's thane
195 was on home ground, over in Geatland.
196 There was no one else like him alive.
197 In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth,
198 highborn and powerful. He ordered a boat
199 that would ply the waves. He announced his
plan:
200 to sail the swan's road and seek out that king,
201 the famous prince who needed defenders.
229 When the watchman on the wall, the Shieldings'
lookout
230 whose job it was to guard the sea-cliffs,
231 saw shields glittering on the gangplank
232 and battle-equipment being unloaded
233 he had to find out who and what
234 the arrivals were. So he rode to the shore,
235 this horseman of Hrothgar's, and challenged them
236 in formal terms, flourishing his spear:
237 "What kind of men are you who arrive
238 rigged out for combat in your coats of mail,
239 sailing here over the sea-lanes
240 in your steep-hulled boat? I have been stationed
241 as lookout on this coast for a long time.
260 "We belong by birth to the Geat people
261 and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac.
262 In his day, my father was a famous man,
263 a noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow.
264 He outlasted many a long winter
265 and went on his way. All over the world
266 men wise in counsel continue to remember
him.
267 We come in good faith to find your lord
268 and nation's shield, the son of Halfdane.
415 So every elder and experienced councilman
416 among my people supported my resolve
417 to come here to you, King Hrothgar,
418 because all knew of my awesome strength.
419 They had seen me boltered1 in the blood of
enemies
420 when I battled and bound five beasts,
421 raided a troll-nest and in the night-sea
422 slaughtered sea-brutes. I have suffered
extremes
423 and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought
it
424 upon themselves; I devastated them).
425 Now I mean to be a match for Grendel,
426 settle the outcome in single combat.
427 And so, my request, O king of Bright-Danes,
428 dear prince of the Shieldings, friend of the
people
429 and their ring of defense, my one request
430 is that you won't refuse me, who have
come this far,
431 the privilege of purifying Heorot,
432 with my own men to help me, and nobody
else.
48o "Time and again, when the goblets passed
481 and seasoned fighters got flushed with
beer
482 they would pledge themselves to protect
Heorot
483 and wait for Grendel with their whetted
swords.
484 But when dawn broke and day crept in
485 over each empty, blood-spattered bench,
486 the floor of the mead-hall where they had
feasted
487 would be slick with slaughter. And so they
died
Heorot was build as a strong structure. A place
where enjoinment, merry making and etc.
The arrival of Grendel destroys the ideology of
Heorot.
Conclusion
Greenblat, Stephen.et al. The Northon Anthology
of English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. USA. W. W.
Norton & Company Ltd.1923.Print
http://www.shmoop.com/beowulf/questions.ht
ml
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/
noa/audio.htm
http://www.litcharts.com/lit/beowulf/hrothgar-s-
early-reign-lines-86-193
http://www.litcharts.com/lit/beowulf/beowulf-
arrives-lines-194-490
Sources