Part XVIII
A CUP she gave him, with kindly greetingand winsome words. Of wounden gold,she offered, to honor him, arm-jewels twain,corselet and rings, and of collars the noblestthat ever I knew the earth around.Ne'er heard I so mighty, 'neath heaven's dome,a hoard-gem of heroes, since Hama boreto his bright-built burg the Brisings' necklace,jewel and gem casket. -- Jealousy fled he,Eormenric's hate: chose help eternal.Hygelac Geat, grandson of Swerting,on the last of his raids this ring bore with him,under his banner the booty defending,the war-spoil warding; but Wyrd o'erwhelmed himwhat time, in his daring, dangers he sought,feud with Frisians. Fairest of gemshe bore with him over the beaker-of-waves,sovran strong: under shield he died.Fell the corpse of the king into keeping of Franks,gear of the breast, and that gorgeous ring;weaker warriors won the spoil,after gripe of battle, from Geatland's lord,and held the death-field.Din rose in hall.Wealhtheow spake amid warriors, and said: --"This jewel enjoy in thy jocund youth,Beowulf lov'd, these battle-weeds wear,a royal treasure, and richly thrive!Preserve thy strength, and these striplings herecounsel in kindness: requital be mine.Hast done such deeds, that for days to comethou art famed among folk both far and near,so wide as washeth the wave of Oceanhis windy walls. Through the ways of lifeprosper, O prince! I pray for theerich possessions. To son of minebe helpful in deed and uphold his joys!Here every earl to the other is true,mild of mood, to the master loyal!Thanes are friendly, the throng obedient,liegemen are revelling: list and obey!"Went then to her place. -- That was proudest of feasts;flowed wine for the warriors. Wyrd they knew not,destiny dire, and the doom to be seenby many an earl when eve should come,and Hrothgar homeward hasten away,royal, to rest. The room was guardedby an army of earls, as erst was done.They bared the bench-boards; abroad they spreadbeds and bolsters. -- One beer-carouserin danger of doom lay down in the hall. --
At their heads they set their shields of war,bucklers bright; on the bench were thereover each atheling, easy to see,the high battle-helmet, the haughty spear,the corselet of rings. 'Twas their custom soever to be for battle prepared,at home, or harrying, which it were,even as oft as evil threatenedtheir sovran king. -- They were clansmen good.
Words in this poem 20
- 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.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- 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.]
- burg n.
- A fortified town. [AS. burh, burg, cf. LL. burgus. See 1st Borough.]
- casket v. t.
- To put into, or preserve in, a casket.
- geat n.
- The channel or spout through which molten metal runs into a mold in casting. [See Gate a door.]
- beaker n.
- A large drinking cup, with a wide mouth, supported on a foot or standard. [OE. biker; akin to Icel. bikarr, Sw. bägare, Dan. baeger, G. becher, It. bicchiere; -- all fr. LL. bicarium, prob. fr. Gr. wine jar, or perh. L. bacar wine vess]
- sovran a.
- A variant of Sovereign.
- corpse n.
- A human body in general, whether living or dead; -- sometimes contemptuosly. [OF. cors (sometimes written corps), F. corps, L. corpus; akin to AS. hrif womb. See Midriff, and cf. Corse, Corselet, Corps, Cuerpo.]
- gorgeous a.
- Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- jocund
- Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- 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.]
- prosper v. t.
- To favor; to render successful. [F. prospérer v. i., or L. prosperare, v. i., or L. prosperare, v. t., fr. prosper or prosperus. See Prosperous.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- 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]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part XVIII 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 XVIII, in Beowulf (1910), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #981, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beowulf/part-xviii.html, id L14206.
Form and metre
Part XVIII is 60 lines in 2 stanzas. 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.5 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% 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-BC-BC--C----------D-D-- greeting · gold · twain · noblest · around · dome · bore · necklace · he · eternal · swertingA · him · defendingA · him · sought · gems · waves · died · franks · ring · spoil · lord · field · hall · said · youth · wearB · thrive · hereB · mineC · come · nearB · oceanC · life · thee · mineC · joys · true · loyal · obedient · obey · feasts · not · seen · come · away · guardedD · done · spreadD · carouser · hall
- 2 -A-A----- war · thereA · see · spearA · so · prepared · were · threatened · good
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A CUP she gave him, with kindly greeting | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| and winsome words. Of wounden gold, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| she offered, to honor him, arm-jewels twain, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| corselet and rings, and of collars the noblest | 11 | /˘····/˘·/˘ |
| that ever I knew the earth around. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Ne'er heard I so mighty, 'neath heaven's dome, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| a hoard-gem of heroes, since Hama bore | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| to his bright-built burg the Brisings' necklace, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| jewel and gem casket. -- Jealousy fled he, | 11 | /˘··/˘/˘˘·· |
| Eormenric's hate: chose help eternal. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Hygelac Geat, grandson of Swerting, | 9 | ····/···· |
| on the last of his raids this ring bore with him, | 11 | ··········· |
| under his banner the booty defending, | 11 | ···/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| the war-spoil warding; but Wyrd o'erwhelmed him | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| what time, in his daring, dangers he sought, | 10 | ····/˘/˘·· |
| feud with Frisians. Fairest of gems | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| he bore with him over the beaker-of-waves, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| sovran strong: under shield he died. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Fell the corpse of the king into keeping of Franks, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| gear of the breast, and that gorgeous ring; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| weaker warriors won the spoil, | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| after gripe of battle, from Geatland's lord, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| and held the death-field. | 5 | ····· |
| Din rose in hall. | 4 | ···· |
| Wealhtheow spake amid warriors, and said: -- | 10 | ···˘//˘˘·· |
| "This jewel enjoy in thy jocund youth, | 10 | ·/˘˘/··/˘· |
| Beowulf lov'd, these battle-weeds wear, | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| a royal treasure, and richly thrive! | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| Preserve thy strength, and these striplings here | 9 | ˘/····/˘· |
| counsel in kindness: requital be mine. | 10 | /˘·/˘˘/˘·· |
| Hast done such deeds, that for days to come | 9 | ········· |
| thou art famed among folk both far and near, | 10 | ·········· |
| so wide as washeth the wave of Ocean | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| his windy walls. Through the ways of life | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| prosper, O prince! I pray for thee | 8 | /˘······ |
| rich possessions. To son of mine | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| be helpful in deed and uphold his joys! | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Here every earl to the other is true, | 11 | ·/˘˘···/˘·· |
| mild of mood, to the master loyal! | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Thanes are friendly, the throng obedient, | 10 | ··/˘··˘/˘˘ |
| liegemen are revelling: list and obey!" | 11 | ····˘/˘··˘/ |
| Went then to her place. -- That was proudest of feasts; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| flowed wine for the warriors. Wyrd they knew not, | 11 | ····/˘˘···· |
| destiny dire, and the doom to be seen | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| by many an earl when eve should come, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| and Hrothgar homeward hasten away, | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘/ |
| royal, to rest. The room was guarded | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| by an army of earls, as erst was done. | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| They bared the bench-boards; abroad they spread | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| beds and bolsters. -- One beer-carouser | 9 | ··/˘··˘/˘ |
| in danger of doom lay down in the hall. -- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| At their heads they set their shields of war, | 9 | ········· |
| bucklers bright; on the bench were there | 9 | /˘˘······ |
| over each atheling, easy to see, | 10 | ···/˘˘/˘·· |
| the high battle-helmet, the haughty spear, | 10 | ··/˘/˘·/˘· |
| the corselet of rings. 'Twas their custom so | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| ever to be for battle prepared, | 9 | /˘···/˘˘/ |
| at home, or harrying, which it were, | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| even as oft as evil threatened | 9 | /˘···/˘/˘ |
| their sovran king. -- They were clansmen good. | 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.