Part XIX
THEN sank they to sleep. With sorrow one boughthis rest of the evening, -- as ofttime had happenedwhen Grendel guarded that golden hall,evil wrought, till his end drew nigh,slaughter for sins. 'Twas seen and toldhow an avenger survived the fiend,as was learned afar. The livelong timeafter that grim fight, Grendel's mother,monster of women, mourned her woe.She was doomed to dwell in the dreary waters,cold sea-courses, since Cain cut downwith edge of the sword his only brother,his father's offspring: outlawed he fled,marked with murder, from men's delightswarded the wilds. -- There woke from himsuch fate-sent ghosts as Grendel, who,war-wolf horrid, at Heorot founda warrior watching and waiting the fray,with whom the grisly one grappled amain.But the man remembered his mighty power,the glorious gift that God had sent him,in his Maker's mercy put his trustfor comfort and help: so he conquered the foe,felled the fiend, who fled abject,reft of joy, to the realms of death,mankind's foe. And his mother now,gloomy and grim, would go that questof sorrow, the death of her son to avenge.To Heorot came she, where helmeted Danesslept in the hall. Too soon came backold ills of the earls, when in she burst,the mother of Grendel. Less grim, though, that terror,e'en as terror of woman in war is less,might of maid, than of men in armswhen, hammer-forged, the falchion hard,sword gore-stained, through swine of the helm,crested, with keen blade carves amain.Then was in hall the hard-edge drawn,the swords on the settles, and shields a-manyfirm held in hand: nor helmet mindednor harness of mail, whom that horror seized.Haste was hers; she would hie afarand save her life when the liegemen saw her.Yet a single atheling up she seizedfast and firm, as she fled to the moor.He was for Hrothgar of heroes the dearest,of trusty vassals betwixt the seas,whom she killed on his couch, a clansman famous,in battle brave. -- Nor was Beowulf there;another house had been held apart,after giving of gold, for the Geat renowned. --Uproar filled Heorot; the hand all had viewed,blood-flecked, she bore with her; bale was returned,dole in the dwellings: 'twas dire exchangewhere Dane and Geat were doomed to givethe lives of loved ones. Long-tried king,the hoary hero, at heart was sadwhen he knew his noble no more lived,and dead indeed was his dearest thane.To his bower was Beowulf brought in haste,dauntless victor. As daylight broke,along with his earls the atheling lord,with his clansmen, came where the king abodewaiting to see if the Wielder-of-Allwould turn this tale of trouble and woe.Strode o'er floor the famed-in-strife,with his hand-companions, -- the hall resounded, --wishing to greet the wise old king,Ingwines' lord; he asked if the nighthad passed in peace to the prince's mind.
Words in this poem 24
- 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.]
- livelong a.
- Whole; entire; long in passing; -- used of time, as day or night, in adverbial phrases, and usually with a sense of tediousness. [For lifelong. Cf. Lifelong.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- amain adv.
- With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- abject a.
- Cast down; low-lying. [L. abjectus, p. p. of abjicere to throw away; ab + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth.]
- reft n.
- A chink; a rift. See Rift. Rom. of R.
- helmeted a.
- Wearing a helmet; furnished with or having a helmet or helmet- shaped part; galeate.
- falchion n.
- A broad-bladed sword, slightly curved, shorter and lighter than the ordinary sword; -- used in the Middle Ages. [OE. fauchon, OF. fauchon, LL. fälcio, fr. L. falx, falcis, a sickle, cf. Gr. falcon; cf. It. falcione. Cf. Defalcation.]
- atheling n.
- An Anglo-Saxon prince or nobleman; esp., the heir apparent or a prince of the royal family. [Written also Adeling and Ætheling.] [AS. æ noble, fr. æ noble, akin to G. adel nobility, edel noble. The word æ, E. ethel, is in many AS. proper names, as Ethelwolf, noble wolf; Ethelbald, noble bo]
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- clansman n.
- One belonging to the same clan with another.
- geat n.
- The channel or spout through which molten metal runs into a mold in casting. [See Gate a door.]
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- dane n.
- A native, or a naturalized inhabitant, of Denmark. Great Dane. [LL. Dani: cf. AS. Dene.]
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
- daylight n.
- The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- 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.]
- wielder n.
- One who wields or employs; a manager; a controller.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part XIX 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 XIX, in Beowulf (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #981, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beowulf/part-xix.html, id L14207.
Form and metre
Part XIX is 70 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 85% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 12 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 -A---A-B---B--------------------------------------------------C---C--- bought · happenedA · hall · nigh · told · fiendA · time · motherB · woe · waters · down · brotherB · fled · delights · him · who · found · fray · amain · power · him · trust · foe · abject · death · now · quest · avenge · danes · back · burst · terror · less · arms · hard · helm · amain · drawn · many · minded · seized · afar · her · seized · moor · dearest · seas · famous · there · apart · renowned · viewed · returned · exchange · give · king · sad · lived · thane · haste · broke · lord · abodeC · all · woe · strife · resoundedC · king · night · mind
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THEN sank they to sleep. With sorrow one bought | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| his rest of the evening, -- as ofttime had happened | 12 | ····/˘····/˘ |
| when Grendel guarded that golden hall, | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| evil wrought, till his end drew nigh, | 8 | /˘······ |
| slaughter for sins. 'Twas seen and told | 8 | /˘······ |
| how an avenger survived the fiend, | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/·· |
| as was learned afar. The livelong time | 9 | ···˘/·/˘· |
| after that grim fight, Grendel's mother, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| monster of women, mourned her woe. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| She was doomed to dwell in the dreary waters, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| cold sea-courses, since Cain cut down | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| with edge of the sword his only brother, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| his father's offspring: outlawed he fled, | 9 | ·/˘/·/··· |
| marked with murder, from men's delights | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| warded the wilds. -- There woke from him | 8 | /˘······ |
| such fate-sent ghosts as Grendel, who, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| war-wolf horrid, at Heorot found | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| a warrior watching and waiting the fray, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| with whom the grisly one grappled amain. | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘/ |
| But the man remembered his mighty power, | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| the glorious gift that God had sent him, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| in his Maker's mercy put his trust | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| for comfort and help: so he conquered the foe, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| felled the fiend, who fled abject, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| reft of joy, to the realms of death, | 8 | ········ |
| mankind's foe. And his mother now, | 8 | //···/˘· |
| gloomy and grim, would go that quest | 8 | /˘······ |
| of sorrow, the death of her son to avenge. | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| To Heorot came she, where helmeted Danes | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| slept in the hall. Too soon came back | 8 | ········ |
| old ills of the earls, when in she burst, | 9 | ········· |
| the mother of Grendel. Less grim, though, that terror, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| e'en as terror of woman in war is less, | 11 | ··/˘·/˘···· |
| might of maid, than of men in arms | 8 | ········ |
| when, hammer-forged, the falchion hard, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| sword gore-stained, through swine of the helm, | 8 | ········ |
| crested, with keen blade carves amain. | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| Then was in hall the hard-edge drawn, | 8 | ········ |
| the swords on the settles, and shields a-many | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| firm held in hand: nor helmet minded | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| nor harness of mail, whom that horror seized. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Haste was hers; she would hie afar | 8 | ······˘/ |
| and save her life when the liegemen saw her. | 11 | ··········· |
| Yet a single atheling up she seized | 10 | ··/˘/˘˘··· |
| fast and firm, as she fled to the moor. | 9 | ········· |
| He was for Hrothgar of heroes the dearest, | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| of trusty vassals betwixt the seas, | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘/·· |
| whom she killed on his couch, a clansman famous, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| in battle brave. -- Nor was Beowulf there; | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| another house had been held apart, | 9 | ˘/˘····˘/ |
| after giving of gold, for the Geat renowned. -- | 11 | ··/˘·····˘/ |
| Uproar filled Heorot; the hand all had viewed, | 10 | /········· |
| blood-flecked, she bore with her; bale was returned, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| dole in the dwellings: 'twas dire exchange | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| where Dane and Geat were doomed to give | 8 | ········ |
| the lives of loved ones. Long-tried king, | 8 | ········ |
| the hoary hero, at heart was sad | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| when he knew his noble no more lived, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| and dead indeed was his dearest thane. | 9 | ··˘/··/˘· |
| To his bower was Beowulf brought in haste, | 11 | ··/˘·/˘···· |
| dauntless victor. As daylight broke, | 8 | /˘/˘·/·· |
| along with his earls the atheling lord, | 10 | ˘/····/˘˘· |
| with his clansmen, came where the king abode | 10 | ········˘/ |
| waiting to see if the Wielder-of-All | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| would turn this tale of trouble and woe. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Strode o'er floor the famed-in-strife, | 7 | ······· |
| with his hand-companions, -- the hall resounded, -- | 11 | ···˘/˘···/˘ |
| wishing to greet the wise old king, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Ingwines' lord; he asked if the night | 8 | ········ |
| had passed in peace to the prince's mind. | 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.