“Aflame with fierce anger he flew from his barrow,
Cruelty over the crags, a comfortless land,
No one walked in that wilderness, yet for warfare he lusted,
And the blood of battle”
That Serpent and Worm
“That serpent and worm
Found the hoard that was hidden, that heathen gold,
Who, with flaming breath, found the barrow at midnight,
Firedrake, flame-snake, a foul dragon with wings,
Enveloped in vice and fire, the villages below
Fear that fantastic worm”
No One Left
“No liegemen are left, who loved honor and battle,
No hall-joy, high singing, no holding our cups,
Bright with mead blessing. My brave men are lost”
Fifty Winters
“So Beowulf the brave a broad realm came to rule
As defender for fifty winters, and was found to rule well,
As head and high priest he held the throne,
A wise and wizened king until the worm came . . .”
Pleading With Anguish
“That great prince implored me, pleaded with anguish,
To seek the sea’s bottom and summon up vengeance,
To brave the beast’s power, take battle down to her.”
Homeward Bound
“Then their keel carved water, they caught the wind,
And drove the deep water with Denmark behind them.
They hoisted high the wind-coat and held it with ropes,
Tight to the tall mast; their timbers creaked . . .
Foam-throated she flew, fleet like an arrow”
The Ship on the Strand
“The ship on the strand was seaworthy and wide,
Laden with riches, ring-prowed, riding at anchor”
The Return
“These warriors came wending their way to the coast,
Brave-hearted and bold, bearing their armor . . .”
Sleep Secured
“That great guest slept under gables of gold,
And his sleep was sound, safety reigned in the hall”
Grief Came to Grind
“But fate twisted and turned on me, night terror beset us,
Grief came to grind us when Grendel arose
To harrow this hall, a hellish enemy”