Part X
THEN Hrothgar went with his hero-train,defence-of-Scyldings, forth from hall;fain would the war-lord Wealhtheow seek,couch of his queen. The King-of-Gloryagainst this Grendel a guard had set,so heroes heard, a hall-defender,who warded the monarch and watched for the monster.In truth, the Geats' prince gladly trustedhis mettle, his might, the mercy of God!Cast off then his corselet of iron,helmet from head; to his henchman gave, --choicest of weapons, -- the well-chased sword,bidding him guard the gear of battle.Spake then his Vaunt the valiant man,Beowulf Geat, ere the bed be sought: --"Of force in fight no feebler I count me,in grim war-deeds, than Grendel deems him.Not with the sword, then, to sleep of deathhis life will I give, though it lie in my power.No skill is his to strike against me,my shield to hew though he hardy be,bold in battle; we both, this night,shall spurn the sword, if he seek me here,unweaponed, for war. Let wisest God,sacred Lord, on which side soeverdoom decree as he deemeth right."Reclined then the chieftain, and cheek-pillows heldthe head of the earl, while all about himseamen hardy on hall-beds sank.None of them thought that thence their stepsto the folk and fastness that fostered them,to the land they loved, would lead them back!Full well they wist that on warriors manybattle-death seized, in the banquet-hall,of Danish clan. But comfort and help,war-weal weaving, to Weder folkthe Master gave, that, by might of one,over their enemy all prevailed,by single strength. In sooth 'tis toldthat highest God o'er human kindhath wielded ever! -- Thro' wan night striding,came the walker-in-shadow. Warriors sleptwhose hest was to guard the gabled hall, --all save one. 'Twas widely knownthat against God's will the ghostly ravagerhim could not hurl to haunts of darkness;wakeful, ready, with warrior's wrath,bold he bided the battle's issue.
Words in this poem 17
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- corselet n.
- Armor for the body, as, the body breastplate and backpiece taken together; -- also, used for the entire suit of the day, including breastplate and backpiece, tasset and headpiece. [F., dim. of OF. cors. F. corps, body. See Corse.]
- henchman n.
- An attendant; a servant; a follower. Now chiefly used as a political cant term. [OE. hencheman, henxman; prob. fr. OE. & AS. hengest horse + E. man, and meaning, a groom. AS. hengest is akin to D. & G. hengst stallion, OHG. hengist horse, ge]
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- geat n.
- The channel or spout through which molten metal runs into a mold in casting. [See Gate a door.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- 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,]
- reclined a.
- Falling or turned downward; reclinate.
- 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.]
- fastness n.
- The state of being fast and firm; firmness; fixedness; security; faithfulness. [AS. fæstnes, fr. fæst fast. See Fast, a.]
- sooth a.
- True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
- hest n.
- Command; precept; injunction. See Behest. [AS. hs, fr. h to call, bid. See Hight, and cf. Behest.]
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- ravager n.
- One who, or that which, ravages or lays waste; spoiler.
- wakeful a.
- Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part X 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 X, in Beowulf (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #981, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beowulf/part-x.html, id L14198.
Form and metre
Part X is 48 lines in a single stanza. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 -------AAB---B-----CCD---D---------------------- train · hall · seek · glory · set · defender · monster · trustedA · godA · ironB · gave · sword · battle · manB · sought · me · him · death · power · meC · beC · nightD · here · god · soever · rightD · held · him · sank · steps · them · back · many · hall · help · folk · one · prevailed · told · kind · striding · slept · hall · known · ravager · darkness · wrath · issue
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THEN Hrothgar went with his hero-train, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| defence-of-Scyldings, forth from hall; | 8 | ˘/······ |
| fain would the war-lord Wealhtheow seek, | 8 | ········ |
| couch of his queen. The King-of-Glory | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| against this Grendel a guard had set, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| so heroes heard, a hall-defender, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| who warded the monarch and watched for the monster. | 12 | ·/˘·/·····/˘ |
| In truth, the Geats' prince gladly trusted | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| his mettle, his might, the mercy of God! | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Cast off then his corselet of iron, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| helmet from head; to his henchman gave, -- | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| choicest of weapons, -- the well-chased sword, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| bidding him guard the gear of battle. | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| Spake then his Vaunt the valiant man, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Beowulf Geat, ere the bed be sought: -- | 9 | /˘······· |
| "Of force in fight no feebler I count me, | 10 | ·········· |
| in grim war-deeds, than Grendel deems him. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Not with the sword, then, to sleep of death | 9 | ········· |
| his life will I give, though it lie in my power. | 11 | ··········/ |
| No skill is his to strike against me, | 9 | ········· |
| my shield to hew though he hardy be, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| bold in battle; we both, this night, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| shall spurn the sword, if he seek me here, | 9 | ········· |
| unweaponed, for war. Let wisest God, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| sacred Lord, on which side soever | 9 | /˘····˘/˘ |
| doom decree as he deemeth right." | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| Reclined then the chieftain, and cheek-pillows held | 11 | ˘/··/˘··/˘· |
| the head of the earl, while all about him | 10 | ·········· |
| seamen hardy on hall-beds sank. | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| None of them thought that thence their steps | 8 | ········ |
| to the folk and fastness that fostered them, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| to the land they loved, would lead them back! | 9 | ········· |
| Full well they wist that on warriors many | 9 | ······/˘/ |
| battle-death seized, in the banquet-hall, | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| of Danish clan. But comfort and help, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| war-weal weaving, to Weder folk | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| the Master gave, that, by might of one, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| over their enemy all prevailed, | 9 | ···/˘˘·˘/ |
| by single strength. In sooth 'tis told | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| that highest God o'er human kind | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| hath wielded ever! -- Thro' wan night striding, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···/˘ |
| came the walker-in-shadow. Warriors slept | 10 | ··/˘·/·/˘· |
| whose hest was to guard the gabled hall, -- | 9 | ······/˘· |
| all save one. 'Twas widely known | 7 | ····/˘· |
| that against God's will the ghostly ravager | 11 | ······/˘/˘˘ |
| him could not hurl to haunts of darkness; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| wakeful, ready, with warrior's wrath, | 9 | /˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| bold he bided the battle's issue. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
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.