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Eyes were watching his evil steps,Waiting to see his swift hard claws.Grendel snatched at the first Geat

315 He came to, ripped him apart, cutHis body to bits with powerful jaws,Drank the blood from his veins and boltedHim down, hands and feet; deathAnd Grendel's great teeth came together,

320 Snapping life shut. Then he stepped to anotherStill body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper

-And was instantly seized himself, clawsBent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm.

325 That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime,Knew at once that nowhere on earthHad he met a man whose hands were harder;His mind was flooded with fear-but nothing

- Coutd take his talons and himself from ttraitigfrt330 Hard grip. Grendel's 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.But Higlac's follower remembered his finalBoast and, standing erect, stopped

s35 The monster's flight, fastened those clawsIn his fists till they cracked, clutched GrendelCloser. The infamous killer foughtFor his freedom, wanting no flesh but retreat,Desiring nothing but escape; his claws

340 Had been caught, he was trapped. That trip to HerotWas a miserable journey for the writhing monster!

The high hall rang. its roof bo-arcls swayed.And Danes shook with terror. DownThe aisles the battle swept, angry

345 And wild. Herot trembled, wonderfullyBuilt to withstand the blows, the strugglingGreat bodies beating at its beautiful walls;Shaped and fastened with iron, insideAnd out, artfully worked, the building

350 Stood firm. Its benches rattled, fellTo the floor, gold-covered boards gratingAs Grendel and Beowulf battled across them.Hrothgar's wise men had fashioned HerotTo stand forever; only fire,

355 They had planned, could shatter what such skill had putTogether, swallow in hot flames such splendorOf ivory and iron and wood. SuddenlyThe sounds changed, the Danes startedIn new terror, cowering in their beds as the terrible

360 Screams of the Almighty's enemy sangIn the darkness, the horrible shrieks of painAnd defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel'sTaut throat, hell's captive caught in the arms

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Of him who of all the men on earthWas the sLrongest.

That mighty protector of menMeant to hold the monster till its lifeLeaped out, knowing the fiend was no useTo anyone in Denmark. A11 of BeowulfsBand had jumped from their beds, ancestralSwords raised and ready, determined \To protect their prince if they could. Their courageWas great but all wasted: they could hack at GrendelFrom every side, trying to openA path for his evil soul, but their pointsCould not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest ironCould not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demonHad bewitched all men's weapons,'laid spellsThat blunted'every mortal man's blade.And yet his time had come, his daysWere over, his death near; downTo hell he would go, swept groaning and helpessTo the waiting hands of still worse fiends.Now he discovered the afflictorOf men, tormentor of their days-what it meantTo feud with Almighty God: GrendelSaw that his strength was deserting him, his clawsBound fast, Higlac's brave follower tearing atHis hands. The monster's hatred rose higher,But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulderSnapped, muscle and bone splitAnd broke. The battle was over, BeowulfHad 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 endOf all his days. And after that bloodyCombat the Danes laughed with delight.He who had come to t]em from across the sea,Bold and strong-minded, had driven afflictionOff, purged Herot clean. He was happy,Now, with that night's fierce work; the DanesHad been served as he'd boasted he'd serve them; Beowulf,A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel,Ended the grief, the sorrow, the sufferingForced on Hrothgar's helpless peopleBy a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dane doubtedThe victory, for the proof, hanging highFrom the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monster'sArm, claw and shoulder and all.

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a !zHrothgar andhis host celebrate Beowulf s utctory ouer the

monster Grendel. That night, hotueuer Grendel's mottrcr kid-naps and kilLs Hrothgar's cLosestJrtend and carrtes olf tlrcclau; that Beouulf toreJromher chtld. The next dag the trcm-fied ktng tells Beouu(f about the hto monsters and tLrctrundenuater Lair.

The Monsters'Lair"I've heard that my people, peasants working

In the fields, have seen a pair of such fiendsWandering in the moors and marshes, giantMonste(s living in those desert lands.And they've said to my wise men that, as well as they could see,One of the devils was a female creature.The other, they say, walked through the wildernessLike a man-but mighter than any man.They were frightened, and they fled, hoping to find helpIn Herot. They named the huge one Grendel:If he had a father no one knew him.Or whether there'd been others before these two.Hidden evil before hidden evil.They live in secret places, windyCliffs, wolf-dens where water poursFrom the rocks, then runs underground, where mistSteams like black clouds, and the groves of treesGrowing out over their lake are a1l coveredWith frozen spray, and wind down snakelikeRoots that reach as far as the waterAnd help keep it dark. At night that lakeBurns like a torch. No one knows its bottom,No wisdom reaches such depths. A deer,Hunted through the woods by packs of hounds,A stag with great horns, though driven through the forestFrom faraway places, prefers to dieOn those shores, refuses to save its lifeIn that water. It isn't far, nor is itA pleasant spot! When the wind stirsAnd storms, waves splash toward the sky,As dark as the air, as black as the rainThat the heavens weep. Our only help,Again, lies wittr you. Grendel's motherIs. hidden in her terrible home, in a placeYou've not seen. Seek it, if you dare! Save us,Once more, and again twisted gold,Heaped-up ancient treasure, will reward youFor the battle you win!"

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The Battle With Grendel's MotherBeouulf resolues to ktLttlrc "Ladg monsten"Arrtuing qt the

Iake under ushich she Liues, BeouuLJ andhis comparuions seeserpents in the u:ater ctnd sea beasts on the rocks. The gounghero kilb one oJ the beasts tuith an arroLD and ttrcn preparesto fight GrendeL's mother

Then Edgetho's brave sonro spoke:"Remember,

450 Hrothgar, Oh knowing king, nowWhen my danger is near, the warm words we uttered,And if your enemy should end my lifeThen be, oh generous prince, foreverThe father and protector of all whom I leave

455 Behind me, here in your hands, my belovedComrades left with no leader, their leaderDead. And the precious gifts you gave me,My friend, send them to Higlac. May he seeIn their golden brightness. the Geats' great lord

460 Gazlng at your treasure, that here in DenmarkI found a noble protector, a giverOf rings whose rewards I won and brieflyRelished. And you. Unler1h.ll letMy famous old sword stay in yoLr hands:

46p I sha-ll shape glory with Hrunting,\ror deathWill hurr5r me from this earth!" i \.

As his words endedHe leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone'sAnswer; the heaving water covered himOver. For hours he sank through the waves;

470 At last he saw the mud of the bottom.And all at once the greedy she-wolfWho'd ruled those waters for half a hundredYears discovered him, saw that a creatureFrom above had come to explore the bottom

475 Of her wet world. She welcomed him in her claws,Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him,Tried to work her fingers through the tightRing-woven mail on his breast, but toreAnd scratched in vain. Then she carried him, armorAnd sword and all, to her home; he struggledTo free his weapon, and failed. The fightBrought other monsters swimming to seeHer catch, a host of sea beasts who beat atHis mail shirt, stabbing with tusks and teethAs they followed along. Then he realized, suddenly,That she'd brought him into someone's battle-hall,

'10, Edgetho's braveson: Beowulf. Elsewherehe is identified by suchphrases as "the Geats'proud prince" and "theGeats' brave prince."These different designa-tions add variety andinterest to the poem-

11. Unferth: Danishwarrior who had ques-tioned Beowulf's braverybefore the battle withGrendel.

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And there the water's heat could not hurt him.Nor anything in the lake attack him throughThe building's high-arching roof. A brilliantLight burned all around him, the lakeItself like a fiery flame'

Then he sawThe 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 evilSkin, that Hrunting could not hurt her, was uselessNow when he needed it. They wresfled, she rippedAnd tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet,And that too failed him; for the first time in yearsOf being worn to war it would earn no glory;It was the last time anyone would wear it. But

BeowulfLonged only for fame, leaped backInto battle. He toss€d his sword aside,Angry; the steel-edged blade lay whereHe'd dropped it. If weapons were useless he'd useHis hands, the strength in his fingers. So fameComes to the men who mean to win itAnd care about nothing else! He raisedHis arms and seZed her by the shoulder; angerDoubled his strength, he threw her to the floor.She fell, Grendel's fierce mother, and the Geats'Proud prince was ready to leap on her. But she roseAt once and repaid him with her clutching claws,Wildly tearing at him. He was wea-ry, that bestAnd strongest of soldiers; his feet stumbledAnd in an instant she had him down, held helpless.Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drewA dagger, brown with dried blood, and preparedTo avenge her only son. But he was stretchedOn his back, and her stabbing blade was bluntedBy the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest.The hammered links held; the point

510 Silver pendant showing thehelmet of the Vendel(Early Viking period, loth century), StatensHistoriska Museet, Stockholm

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Could not touch him. He'd have traveled to the bottom of the earth,Edgetho's son, and died there, if that shiningWoven metal had not helped-and HolyGod, who sent him victory, gave judgmentFor truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens,Once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting.

Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavySword, hammered by giants, strongAnd blessed with their magic, the best of all weaponsBut so massive that no ordinary man could liftIts carved and decorated length. He drew itFrom its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt,

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And then, savage, now, angryAnd desperate, lifted it high over his headAnd stmck with all the strength he had left,Caught her in the neck and cut it through,Broke bones and all. Her body fellTo the floor, lifeless, the sword was wetWith her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight.

The brilliant light shone, suddenly,As though burning in that hall, and as bright as Heaven'sOwn candle, lit in the sky. He lookedAt her home, then following along the wallWent walking, his hands tight on the sword,His heart still angry. He was hunting anotherDead monster, and took his weapon with himFor final revenge against Grendel's viciousAttacks, his nighttime raids, overAnd over, coming to Herot when Hrothgar'sMen slept, killing them in their beds,Eating some on the spot, fifteenOr more, and running to his loathsome moorWith another such sickening meal waitingIn his pouch. But Beowulf repaid him for those visits,Found him lying dead in his corner,Armless, exactly as that fierce fighterHad sent him out from Herot, then struck offHis head with a single swift blow. The bodyjerked for the last time, then lay still.

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.The sun slid over past noon, went furlherDown. The Danes gave up, leftThe take 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 took

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Was Grendel's head and the hilt of the giants'Jeweled sword; the rest of that ring-markedBlade had dissolved in Grendel's steaming

590 Blood, 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 it

595 Were dead.Then that noble protector of all seamen

Swam 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;

600 They left the lake together. The GeatsCarried Beowulfs helmet, and his mail shirt.Behind them the water slowly thickenedAs the monsters'blood came seeping up.They walked quickly, happily, across

605 Roads all of them remembered, leftThe lake and the cliffs alongside it" brave menStaggering under the weight of Grendel's skull,Too hea'"y for fewer than four of them to handle-Two on each side of the spear jammed through it-

610 Yet proud of their ugly load and determinedThat the Danes, seated in Herot, should see it.Soon, fourteen Geats arrivedAt the hall, bold and warlike, and with Beowulf,Their lord and leader, they walked on the mead-hall

615 Green. Then the Geats'brave prince enteredHerot, covered with glory for the daringBattles he had fought; he sought HrothgarTo salute him and show Grendel's head.He carried that terrible trophy by the hair,

620 Brought it straight to where the Danes sat,Drinking, the queen among them. It was a weirdAnd wonderful sight, and the warriors stared.

The Last BattleAfier being honoredbg Hrothgar, BeouuLJ andhisJeLLous Geats

returnhome. He is ueLcomedbg the king, his uncLe Higlac, andLater becomes kirq himselJ tuhen HigLac and his son haue died.BeotuuLJ rules GeatlandJor fiftq Aeclrs. Then a dragon merlacesIl:is kingdom. Althoughhe is an oldman, BeousulJ determines toslag tlrc beast. Bejore going into battle, he tells the men tuho haueaccomp anie d him ab out the ttistory oJ tlrc rog aL hots e and his ex-ptotts in tts serutce.

And Beowulf uttered his final boast:"I've never known fear, as a youth I fought

a Reading StrategyParaphrase lines596*622, whichdescribe what hap-pens after Grendel'smother dies.

54 I Fromlegendto History @49-1485)