“That hellish howl was heard by everyone,
The cry of that captive, his clamor and pain
Was heard down in Hell. Beowulf held him,
Stalwart, stubborn, the strongest of men
Who ever earned honor under the sun”
Sin Shepherd
“Then that sin-shepherd soon saw far more trouble
Than he ever encountered in all middle earth.”
And Blood on the Floor
“His first prey, and fiercely he fisted the carcass,
Bit him down to the bone, his blood he drank greedily,
He grabbed him in gobs, and gobbled him down.
In one moment the monster had mashed and devoured him,
Both feet and both hands, and blood on the floor.”
Rejected and Ravenous
“Greedy and gluttonous, Grendel was ravenous,
And wanted his way, but wyrd put a stop to it.”
Grendel Approaches
“The bright-patterned pavers he polluted by walking,
He stood, then he strode, anger streamed from his eyes,
Flamed, then flashed, like fire it was.”
True Hard Luck
“The hall held great heroes and hard luck for Grendel.”
He Came in His Envy
“Under mist, in the murk, till the mead-hall he spied,
He came in his cruelty—the hall crafted in gold.”
His Punishment His Sin
“Out of the marsh, by misty crags, the marauder crept.
Grendel, under God’s wrath, came greedy for blood.”
God’s War Loom
”But conquest and comfort were coming to them—
God’s war-loom was weaving to the Weders this victory.”
Deep Darkness
“And the darkness, deep darkness, brought the demon to haunt them,
And shadowy shapes came slinking around.”