“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”
As We All Know
“And a lackwit with no wisdom cannot weather a crisis”
Beowulf the Brave
“Beowulf the brave will be the boast of all nations”
The Flood and the Giants
“From the day of great doom when a devastating flood,
A wall of great waves wiped out the giants.
Their fight was futile, their fate was determined,
Strangers to God, sunk in their sin, scores were settled by God,
When with a rush the Ruler wrecked them with water”
That Sword Melted
“All of it like ice, every bit of it melted—
Like water ropes unwound when the Father unties them,
Looses the fetters of frost, and frees up the water”