Part V
STONE-BRIGHT the street: it showed the wayto the crowd of clansmen. Corselets glistenedhand-forged, hard; on their harness brightthe steel ring sang, as they strode alongin mail of battle, and marched to the hall.There, weary of ocean, the wall alongthey set their bucklers, their broad shields, down,and bowed them to bench: the breastplates clanged,war-gear of men; their weapons stacked,spears of the seafarers stood together,gray-tipped ash: that iron bandwas worthily weaponed! -- A warrior proudasked of the heroes their home and kin."Whence, now, bear ye burnished shields,harness gray and helmets grim,spears in multitude? Messenger, I,Hrothgar's herald! Heroes so manyne'er met I as strangers of mood so strong.'Tis plain that for prowess, not plunged into exile,for high-hearted valor, Hrothgar ye seek!"Him the sturdy-in-war bespake with words,proud earl of the Weders answer made,hardy 'neath helmet: -- "Hygelac's, we,fellows at board; I am Beowulf named.I am seeking to say to the son of Healfdenethis mission of mine, to thy master-lord,the doughty prince, if he deign at allgrace that we greet him, the good one, now."Wulfgar spake, the Wendles' chieftain,whose might of mind to many was known,his courage and counsel: "The king of Danes,the Scyldings' friend, I fain will tell,the Breaker-of-Rings, as the boon thou askest,the famed prince, of thy faring hither,and, swiftly after, such answer bringas the doughty monarch may deign to give."Hied then in haste to where Hrothgar satwhite-haired and old, his earls about him,till the stout thane stood at the shoulder thereof the Danish king: good courtier he!Wulfgar spake to his winsome lord: --"Hither have fared to thee far-come meno'er the paths of ocean, people of Geatland;and the stateliest there by his sturdy bandis Beowulf named. This boon they seek,that they, my master, may with theehave speech at will: nor spurn their prayerto give them hearing, gracious Hrothgar!In weeds of the warrior worthy they,methinks, of our liking; their leader most surely,a hero that hither his henchmen has led."
Words in this poem
- worthily adv.
- In a worthy manner; excellently; deservedly; according to merit; justly; suitably; becomingly.
- weaponed a.
- Furnished with weapons, or arms; armed; equipped.
- prowess n.
- Distinguished bravery; valor; especially, military bravery and skill; gallantry; intrepidity; fearlessness. Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [OF. proece, proesce, F. prouesse. See Prow, a.]
- doughty a.
- Able; strong; valiant; redoubtable; as, a doughty hero.
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- breaker n.
- One who, or that which, breaks.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- courtier n.
- One who is in attendance at the court of a prince; one who has an appointment at court. [From Court.]
- winsome a.
- Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. Win, v. t., Wont, a.]
- spurn v. t.
- To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part V is in the public domain. This text is taken from Beowulf, Project Gutenberg ebook #981, the Francis B. Gummere translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anonymous, Part V, in Beowulf (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #981, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beowulf/part-v.html, id L14193.
Form and metre
Part V is 51 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.4 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ----------------------------AA------------BB------- way · glistened · bright · along · hall · along · down · clanged · stacked · together · band · proud · kin · shields · grim · i · many · strong · exile · seek · words · made · we · named · healfdene · lord · all · now · chieftainA · knownA · danes · tell · askest · hither · bring · give · sat · him · there · he · lord · men · geatlandB · bandB · seek · thee · prayer · hrothgar · they · surely · led
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| STONE-BRIGHT the street: it showed the way | 8 | ········ |
| to the crowd of clansmen. Corselets glistened | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| hand-forged, hard; on their harness bright | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| the steel ring sang, as they strode along | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| in mail of battle, and marched to the hall. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| There, weary of ocean, the wall along | 10 | ·/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| they set their bucklers, their broad shields, down, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| and bowed them to bench: the breastplates clanged, | 9 | ······/·· |
| war-gear of men; their weapons stacked, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| spears of the seafarers stood together, | 10 | ···/·˘·˘/˘ |
| gray-tipped ash: that iron band | 7 | ····/˘· |
| was worthily weaponed! -- A warrior proud | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| asked of the heroes their home and kin. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| "Whence, now, bear ye burnished shields, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| harness gray and helmets grim, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| spears in multitude? Messenger, I, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘˘· |
| Hrothgar's herald! Heroes so many | 9 | ··/˘/˘·/˘ |
| ne'er met I as strangers of mood so strong. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| 'Tis plain that for prowess, not plunged into exile, | 12 | ····/˘····/· |
| for high-hearted valor, Hrothgar ye seek!" | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| Him the sturdy-in-war bespake with words, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| proud earl of the Weders answer made, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| hardy 'neath helmet: -- "Hygelac's, we, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| fellows at board; I am Beowulf named. | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| I am seeking to say to the son of Healfdene | 12 | ··/˘········ |
| this mission of mine, to thy master-lord, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| the doughty prince, if he deign at all | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| grace that we greet him, the good one, now." | 9 | ········· |
| Wulfgar spake, the Wendles' chieftain, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| whose might of mind to many was known, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| his courage and counsel: "The king of Danes, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| the Scyldings' friend, I fain will tell, | 8 | ········ |
| the Breaker-of-Rings, as the boon thou askest, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| the famed prince, of thy faring hither, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| and, swiftly after, such answer bring | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| as the doughty monarch may deign to give." | 10 | ··/˘/····· |
| Hied then in haste to where Hrothgar sat | 9 | ········· |
| white-haired and old, his earls about him, | 9 | ········· |
| till the stout thane stood at the shoulder there | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| of the Danish king: good courtier he! | 10 | ··/˘··/˘˘· |
| Wulfgar spake to his winsome lord: -- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "Hither have fared to thee far-come men | 9 | /˘······· |
| o'er the paths of ocean, people of Geatland; | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| and the stateliest there by his sturdy band | 11 | ········/˘· |
| is Beowulf named. This boon they seek, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| that they, my master, may with thee | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| have speech at will: nor spurn their prayer | 8 | ········ |
| to give them hearing, gracious Hrothgar! | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| In weeds of the warrior worthy they, | 10 | ····/˘˘/˘· |
| methinks, of our liking; their leader most surely, | 13 | ˘/·/˘/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| a hero that hither his henchmen has led." | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.