The wise old warriors who surrounded Hrothgar,Like him staring into the monsters’ lake,Saw the waves surging and bloodSpurting through. They spoke about Beowulf,All the graybeards, whispered togetherAnd said that hope was gone, that the heroHad lost fame and his life at once, and would neverReturn to the living, come back as triumphantAs he had left; almost all agreed that Grendel’sMighty mother, the she-wolf, had killed him.oThe sun slid over past noon, went furtherDown. The Danes gave up, leftThe lake and went home, Hrothgar with them.The Geats stayed, sat sadly, watching,Imagining they saw their lord but not believingThey would ever see him again.—Then the swordMelted, blood-soaked, dripping downLike water, disappearing like ice when the world’sEternal Lord loosens invisibleFetters and unwinds icicles and frostAs only He can, He who rulesTime and seasons, He who is trulyGod. The monsters’ hall was full ofRich treasures, but all that Beowulf tookWas Grendel’s head and the hilt of the giants’Jeweled sword; the rest of that ring-markedBlade had dissolved in Grendel’s steamingBlood, boiling even after his death.And then the battle’s only survivorSwam up and away from those silent corpses;The water was calm and clean, the wholeHuge lake peaceful once the demons who’d lived in itWere dead.Then that noble protector of all seamenSwam to land, rejoicing in the heavyBurdens he was bringing with him. HeAnd all his glorious band of GeatsThanked God that their leader had come back unharmed;They left the lake together. The GeatsCarried Beowulf’s helmet, and his mail shirt.Behind them the water slowly thickenedAs the monsters’ blood came seeping up.550555560565570575580585578that noble protector of allseamen:Beowulf, who will beburied in a tower that will serve as anavigational aid to sailors.oEPICWhat do lines 549–555 suggestabout attitudes toward fame inthe Anglo-Saxon period?550graybeards:old men.60unit1: the anglo-saxon and medieval periods
Juan LunaStudy Guide Questions,Beowulf, lines 397-896Grendel’s Mother, pp. 55-5621. Lines 397-417.a. Why does Grendel’s mother take and kill one of the Danes? Explain the significance of the“single victim” (line 411) that she chooses.
b. How does the poet’s description capture the ferocity of the battle?
22. Lines 425-446.a.In what sort of place does Grendel’s mother live?
b.What details of setting help to create an ominous mood?
c.What do you predict will happen if Beowulf seeks out Grendel’s mother?
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