Dragons are consistently given this role - the guard of great riches. This is probably why the dragon in the Hobbit has this same role.

I love this imagery. I assume soul-gore to be the mental and emotional aspect of great pain. The use of "waves" here alludes to there being a lot of blood, so this was a mighty strike. The addition of "boiled" makes me imagine that as the blood spewed out it boiled as it came in contact with the flames or heat from the flames. The boiling blood could also be a reference to his anger or war itself, meaning that metaphorically his blood was already boiling.

He is viewed as more than human for all his victories and abilities. Unlike the Odyssey, the human heroes are praised for their seemingly God or fate aided accomplishments without the actual Gods or forces at hand being named or given credit.

anything at all

This enemy might symbolize war itself since it breathes fire which is synonymous with anger, fighting, and war.

A beautiful description of grieving for the fallen warriors that creates a tone of nostalgia for those who have died. The happy memories "as of yore were familiar" meaning they are now in the past and in the minds of those who miss them.

Is the jewel-prince Hrethel? What does this title mean? Is it just a reference to him being royalty or is there a deeper meaning?

This is another trope that I am familiar with in fantasy stories. Treasures are often cursed, especially large heaps of them, and the moment you take from it, the moment you are destined to pay. I take this to mean that spiritually nothing is truly free.

A nice mirrored, paradoxical metaphor - winter (as I have learned from reading the other poems) is synonymous with sadness and loss and usually "boiling" refers to anger, so the grief of loss becomes anger within him. This is a very relatable feeling.

breathing-spell: a pause or rest to think before acting or speaking // I believe this is saying that the beautiful wife was a good distraction from violence. A woman's beauty or perhaps just marriage has the ability to soften anger and unite people.

Marriage being used to unite two kingdoms - the phrase "pay with the woman" places her as the object of truce instead of the marriage itself. This kind of language when referring to marriages, especially arranged marriages, is quite common.

We haven't yet seen much insight on the poet's view of women and their role. I find it telling that it says "though lovely" because a woman with some of that mainly trait of murder (as implied in this poem) is not ladylike. The remark means that she is still lovely at heart despite this want for revenge. Obviously there is a different set of traits that apply to honorable women.

Sable: black // They slept until a raven gleefully awoke them just before sunrise.

This brings new meaning to all the time spent celebrating in these heroic epics. The glory of being a hero is the only kind of indulgence they are allowed to have since they live each day expecting to die and are not able to enjoy the normal pleasures of other people.

In this whole passage, Beowulf is being compared to Heremod's failures in order to further lift him up and praise him. Then I think Hrothgar goes on to criticize men who live in luxury and enjoy earthly pleasures, lucky to live such an easy life, who become arrogant inside and passive to danger. This line I have highlighted is the fate he suspects for men like this. They let their pride get the best of them and they will die because of it. this implies then that the most noble of men live in constant fear and cannot fully enjoy life. This was a theme is the other Anglo-saxon poetry too - that living less favorably while alive is more honorable and holy. This mention of sleeping soundly also reminds me of Beowulf's comment to the king before.

Magical items are often said to have writing upon them that grants its power. I think it comes from the idea of spellcasting (or whatever the earliest form of that may be) because in casting a spell, a set of words spoken can alter reality or create magic. Prayer works in a similar way, so the idea that words can create (as in "let there be light") is an ever present idea in literature and beliefs. Written words often bind these spells, charm, or curse to objects. the examples of magical weapons I gave before follow this pattern and there are many more such as the ring in Lord of the Rings.

I recently watched "Ragnarok" on Netflix, so Norse mythology is fresh in my mind. The weapons from the ancient times, made by the giants are supposed to be the only things that can kill them. In the show, a giant is killed quite easily with an ancient weapon even though he was impenetrable before - just like Grendel's mother.

He believes the sword was given to him or brought to his attention by God - the forces of good are on his side.

glorified violence

The treatment of Grendel is so different than his mother. It's like they don't see her as that big of a threat even though she had put up a good fight. I suppose Grendel is the bigger symbol of evil.

I love the high fantasy of this world. Weapons like these in folklore or mythology often disappear in some way after one important use. (Again I'm reminded of the sword of Gryffindor but this trope exists in a lot of other media both old and new.) These weapons are only for those who are worthy, such as Thor and his hammer. The other side to this is that the blood of the creature is like acid; so incredibly inhuman. Altered blood is often associated evil and devil-like characters. For instance, their blood is black or it has special properties like that of a vampire.

This is another trope that comes up with magical or ethereal villains in mythology and folklore. Creatures such as vampires and characters like medusa must have their head removed to ensure they cannot respawn after being killed. I wonder what the origin is of this trope.

This kind of weapon is present throughout all of storytelling. I think of Excalibur used by Arthur Pendragon and even more modern examples such as the sword of Gryffindor.

Beowulf is always prepared to die and seems to even view it highly as he will likely die at battle while trying to help others.

downward sloping

This world is riddled with evil beings.

Is he being condescending here? To me it seems he asks this as if to say "how did you rest my lord, as people were dying beneath your nose?"

Much of this narrative is the reward and celebration that follows accomplishment. This is a very ominous line that tells the reader this feeling of glory and safety is false. Even though they are always ready for battle, they can't be prepared for all horrors.

I like the use of rhyme here. The repeated references to fire make me think of the fire within her. Her love for them both burns within and this ceremonial act of burning them together binds them further. It's a powerful image and their corpses in flames reminds me of their fate to be taken from a hellish creature.

Hrothgar feels humiliated by being saved by Beowulf because his people were not able to accomplish it even though Beowulf was able to do it so swiftly and excellently.

His fear grew

They are questioning God's role in fate and battle. Either the fate is decided by him or he allows whatever may happen to happen, regardless of his wants. The ambiguity of the Lord is a common theme so far that feeds into feelings of uncertainty and helplessness. Perhaps that is why Beowulf is so liked - his personality is that he is overly sure of himself.

Will something happens that humbles Beowulf since he is so proud and sure of himself at the start? Or is his character so brave that he will never be shaken?

Men who battle for good are congratulated at the highest degree.

He tells his fantastical stories (like in Greek mythology) to show his worthiness to the people, especially their ruler or the one with the most ego and doubt of him.

Again this is like the Odyssey - the hero comes to a new place and feasts, rewarded before the upcoming battle.

He is prepared to die to the beast.

What about his appearance is so heroic looking? Is it a supernatural kind of aura or is his actual appearance?

brave and persistent

grayish white

It's very bold promise to say that he will save them from the monster.

portend or bode a specific outcome

It sounds like they are saying that their current situation is so bad that even the devil could bring some light to their world.

shade: a spirit or ghost // This monster is an ethereal being and this title suggests he is the ghost of death itself, possibly like a kind of grim reaper.

surfeit: excessive amount of something // sally: set out to do something // Alliteration is used here to emphasize the abruptness of the joyous activities coming to a halt by death.

This event reminds me of the cyclops in the Odyssey. Will Beowulf be a clever trickster like Odysseus?

staying longer than intended / delayed leaving

Cain was banished and his evil festered and developed into the giants that would forever grapple with the Gods. God could have killed him, but he didn't, so his evil was able to live on.

Has this demon been here from the beginning of creation? I wonder if Grendal is supposed to represent a specific character from a religious text.

paradoxical statement - was he charmingly grumpy?

It seems there is a lack of confidence or some uncertainty in their idea of the afterlife

identity and value heavily associated with battle

What do they define as praise-worthy? So far it seems successful combat is the most honorable feat. I'm curious to see how honor and praise is handled throughout the story.

previously / formerly

man of noble birth or rank