Part VIII
UNFERTH spake, the son of Ecglaf,who sat at the feet of the Scyldings' lord,unbound the battle-runes. -- Beowulf's quest,sturdy seafarer's, sorely galled him;ever he envied that other menshould more achieve in middle-earthof fame under heaven than he himself. --"Art thou that Beowulf, Breca's rival,who emulous swam on the open sea,when for pride the pair of you proved the floods,and wantonly dared in waters deepto risk your lives? No living man,or lief or loath, from your labor direcould you dissuade, from swimming the main.Ocean-tides with your arms ye covered,with strenuous hands the sea-streets measured,swam o'er the waters. Winter's stormrolled the rough waves. In realm of seaa sennight strove ye. In swimming he topped thee,had more of main! Him at morning-tidebillows bore to the Battling Reamas,whence he hied to his home so dearbeloved of his liegemen, to land of Brondings,fastness fair, where his folk he ruled,town and treasure. In triumph o'er theeBeanstan's bairn his boast achieved.So ween I for thee a worse adventure-- though in buffet of battle thou brave hast been,in struggle grim, -- if Grendel's approachthou darst await through the watch of night!"
Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow: --"What a deal hast uttered, dear my Unferth,drunken with beer, of Breca now,told of his triumph! Truth I claim it,that I had more of might in the seathan any man else, more ocean-endurance.We twain had talked, in time of youth,and made our boast, -- we were merely boys,striplings still, -- to stake our livesfar at sea: and so we performed it.Naked swords, as we swam along,we held in hand, with hope to guard usagainst the whales. Not a whit from mecould he float afar o'er the flood of waves,haste o'er the billows; nor him I abandoned.Together we twain on the tides abodefive nights full till the flood divided us,churning waves and chillest weather,darkling night, and the northern windruthless rushed on us: rough was the surge.Now the wrath of the sea-fish rose apace;yet me 'gainst the monsters my mailed coat,hard and hand-linked, help afforded, --battle-sark braided my breast to ward,garnished with gold. There grasped me firmand haled me to bottom the hated foe,with grimmest gripe. 'Twas granted me, though,to pierce the monster with point of sword,with blade of battle: huge beast of the seawas whelmed by the hurly through hand of mine.
Words in this poem 25
- sorely adv.
- In a sore manner; grievously; painfully; as, to be sorely afflicted.
- wantonly adv.
- In a wanton manner; without regularity or restraint; loosely; sportively; gayly; playfully; recklessly; lasciviously.
- loath a.
- Hateful; odious; disliked. [OE. looth, loth, AS. la hostile, odious; akin to OS. l, G. leid, Icel. lei, Sw. led, G. leiden to suffer, OHG. lidan to suffer, go, cf. AS. li to go, Goth. leip]
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- dissuade v. t.
- To advise or exhort against; to try to persuade (one from a course). [L. dissuadere, dissuasum; dis- + suadere to advise, persuade: cf. F. dissuader. See Suasion.]
- strenuous a.
- Eagerly pressing or urgent; zealous; ardent; earnest; bold; valiant; intrepid; as, a strenuous advocate for national rights; a strenuous reformer; a strenuous defender of his country.
- sennight n.
- The space of seven nights and days; a week. [Written also se'nnight.] Shak. [Contr. fr. sevennight.]
- fastness n.
- The state of being fast and firm; firmness; fixedness; security; faithfulness. [AS. fæstnes, fr. fæst fast. See Fast, a.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- buffet n.
- A cupboard or set of shelves, either movable or fixed at one side of a room, for the display of plate, china, etc., a sideboard. [F. buffet, LL. bufetum; of uncertain origin; perh. fr. the same source as E. buffet a blow, the root meaning to puff, hence (cf. puffed up) the idea of ostentat]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- whit n.
- The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence. [OE. wight, wiht, AS. wiht a creature, a thing. See Wight, and cf. Aught, Naught.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- churning n.
- The act of one who churns.
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- ruthless a.
- Having no ruth; cruel; pitiless.
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- apace adv.
- With a quick pace; quick; fast; speedily. [Pref. a- + pace. OE. a pas at a walk, in which a is the article. See Pace.]
- mailed a.
- Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.
- sark v. t.
- To cover with sarking, or thin boards.
- hurly n.
- Noise; confusion; uproar. [Cf. F. hurler to howl.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part VIII 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 VIII, in Beowulf (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #981, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beowulf/part-viii.html, id L14196.
Form and metre
Part VIII is 60 lines in 2 stanzas of 30 lines each. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 71%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic pentameter.
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 --------A------B-AAB----A----- ecglaf · lord · quest · him · men · earth · himself · rival · seaA · floods · deep · man · dire · main · covered · measuredB · storm · seaA · theeA · tideB · reamas · dear · brondings · ruled · theeA · achieved · adventure · been · approach · night
- 2 A-ABC----B-DC-E-D-E----F-GGFC- ecgtheowA · unferth · nowA · itB · seaC · endurance · youth · boys · lives · itB · along · usD · meC · waves · abandonedE · abode · usD · weather · windE · surge · apace · coat · afforded · wardF · firm · foeG · thoughG · swordF · seaC · mine
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. Read against trochaic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| UNFERTH spake, the son of Ecglaf, | 8 | ········ |
| who sat at the feet of the Scyldings' lord, | 10 | ·········· |
| unbound the battle-runes. -- Beowulf's quest, | 10 | ˘/·/˘·/˘·· |
| sturdy seafarer's, sorely galled him; | 9 | /˘/·˘/˘·· |
| ever he envied that other men | 9 | /˘·/˘·/˘· |
| should more achieve in middle-earth | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| of fame under heaven than he himself. -- | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| "Art thou that Beowulf, Breca's rival, | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| who emulous swam on the open sea, | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| when for pride the pair of you proved the floods, | 10 | ·········· |
| and wantonly dared in waters deep | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| to risk your lives? No living man, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| or lief or loath, from your labor dire | 9 | ······/˘· |
| could you dissuade, from swimming the main. | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| Ocean-tides with your arms ye covered, | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| with strenuous hands the sea-streets measured, | 10 | ·/˘˘····/˘ |
| swam o'er the waters. Winter's storm | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| rolled the rough waves. In realm of sea | 8 | ········ |
| a sennight strove ye. In swimming he topped thee, | 11 | ·/˘···/˘··· |
| had more of main! Him at morning-tide | 9 | ······/˘· |
| billows bore to the Battling Reamas, | 10 | /˘···/˘˘·· |
| whence he hied to his home so dear | 8 | ········ |
| beloved of his liegemen, to land of Brondings, | 12 | ˘/·········· |
| fastness fair, where his folk he ruled, | 8 | /˘······ |
| town and treasure. In triumph o'er thee | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| Beanstan's bairn his boast achieved. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| So ween I for thee a worse adventure | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| -- though in buffet of battle thou brave hast been, | 11 | ··/˘·/˘···· |
| in struggle grim, -- if Grendel's approach | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘/ |
| thou darst await through the watch of night!" | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Beowulf spake, bairn of Ecgtheow: -- | 8 | /˘······ |
| "What a deal hast uttered, dear my Unferth, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| drunken with beer, of Breca now, | 8 | /˘······ |
| told of his triumph! Truth I claim it, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| that I had more of might in the sea | 9 | ········· |
| than any man else, more ocean-endurance. | 11 | ·/˘···/˘/˘˘ |
| We twain had talked, in time of youth, | 8 | ········ |
| and made our boast, -- we were merely boys, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| striplings still, -- to stake our lives | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| far at sea: and so we performed it. | 9 | ······˘/· |
| Naked swords, as we swam along, | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| we held in hand, with hope to guard us | 9 | ········· |
| against the whales. Not a whit from me | 9 | ········· |
| could he float afar o'er the flood of waves, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| haste o'er the billows; nor him I abandoned. | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Together we twain on the tides abode | 10 | ˘/˘·····˘/ |
| five nights full till the flood divided us, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| churning waves and chillest weather, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| darkling night, and the northern wind | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| ruthless rushed on us: rough was the surge. | 9 | /˘······· |
| Now the wrath of the sea-fish rose apace; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| yet me 'gainst the monsters my mailed coat, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| hard and hand-linked, help afforded, -- | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| battle-sark braided my breast to ward, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| garnished with gold. There grasped me firm | 8 | /˘······ |
| and haled me to bottom the hated foe, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| with grimmest gripe. 'Twas granted me, though, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| to pierce the monster with point of sword, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| with blade of battle: huge beast of the sea | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| was whelmed by the hurly through hand of mine. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
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.