“The paganism that is so evident throughout this poem is presented to us by a thoroughly Christian poet, and he does not show us this paganism in order to say, ‘See, pagans can be noble, too—even without Jesus!’ Rather, he is doing precisely the opposite—he is refusing to engage in a fight with a heathen straw man of his own devising. He acknowledges the high nobility that was there, but then he bluntly shows us that nobility at the point of profound despair . . . This is nobility at the end of its tether”
Drank the Smoke
“She dreaded doom of battle, the days to come
Would be devastating, deadly, dark, and shameful.
There would be sorrow and sadness. The sky drank the smoke”
Ascending to God
“Then for the king they kindled a colossal blaze,
Clouds of smoke curled upward, closing the sky,
Black smoke, blaze red, and blending in sorrow
Was the crackling fire and keening people—quiet was the wind—
Until the body burst and the bones were blackened
By the great heat at the heart of it”
A Burning Bier
“He said to build him a bier when his breath was gone,
Where we burn his bones, the barrow should be high,
A magnificent memorial, massive and worthy of him”
Departing Middle-Earth
“So Beowulf, that brave one, when the barrow-guard he fought,
A conflict deeply contested, he could not know
In what manner of men he should leave middle-earth at last”
Laid Out Like Lumber
“Beside the king was the conquered worm, his cruelty ceased,
Lying next to their lord, still loathsome in death,
His scales scorched, this serpent of fire,
Laid out like lumber, his light and fire gone”
His Halting Day
“His halting day had come,
It had dawned on this daring one; death had come to the king,
A good and great king, and a glorious death”
The Bier We Have Built
“Let us hasten now,
As we gaze on our Geat lord, as we go to mourn him,
And carry our king, who collected rings for giving,
To the bier we have built for Beowulf our lord”
Sea-Wandering Fighters
“He knew Hygelac was hale and a hard man in battle,
He knew his pride and his prowess, a powerful fighter,
So he sought out safety from those sea-wandering fighters”
Hard Words
“Hard words with hard edges were hot and came easily”