the sad little man is reminiscing in his memories of the company and friendship of his old court while he sleeps. He yearns for companionship and longs to be back home and seems to regret going on this journey to find this treasure-giver.

lord/ king/nobleman who shared wealth.

this sounds like blood, so it appears that it's saying that wounds won't be his downfall but rather his depression.

The pessimistic and self-pitying person is doomed to only know sadness and despair.

Deprived, wretched, fetters, and gloom. This man is really depressed and seems to be wallowing in his sadness. He doesn't sound very optimistic for his journey to find this "dispenser of treasure" in the middle of winter on the open seas alone. What a pitiful image this paints for the reader.

Fetters- chains or bindings to secure a prisoner, to restrain. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/fetter?s=t Here the wanderer describes how he must restrain his own heart- this sounds like he's trying to suppress his sadness similar to those glory-seekers who suppress their sorrows in money.

This sounds as if the wanderer was exiled or banished from their home with how dreadful it sounds for him. He's far from home and is not happy about it.

"...those eager for glory..." are finding security and peace of mind in wealth. If coffer is a container for treasures and wealth, a coffer kept on the breast or on the person sounds like a coin purse.

This sounds like it's describing the "lone-dweller" carefully navigating the open seas with his boat and oar at God's mercy. He must be patient and careful as this was not the easiest or safest of tasks.

The love between Tristan and Iseult the Fair was so strong that even in death, the two cannot be kept apart. This is very reminiscent of the many instances in which it appeared by through divine intervention the two lovers would live on together. This ultimately ends with a few burning questions on my mind: was it truly a mistake and chance that brought these two together against their original intent? Or was there some other power that commanded their fate to drink the wine in place of King Mark? And, was it Tristan's own chivalry that brought upon him this roller-coaster adventure of love and sorrow by demanding he "keep his own sword" that would reveal his hand in the Morhalt's killing and ultimately lead him on this path? Would his decision to pursue the queen for King Mark out of his own loyalty be the turning point in his fate? Or would any of this have even occurred at all if he simply ignored the four "felons" as they begged the King for an heir? With examples of both choice and hinted divine intervention throughout this story it's difficult to pin whether it was by chance or by fate that these star-crossed lovers were destined to die by each other's sides.

He's easily been saved by the sea in this state before. It's curious that now suddenly he's unwilling to test his chances, though he couldn't have known before that he'd be cured of his ailment after he initially had openly accepted death or "healing" by the sea, however fate saw fit. Perhaps he's just losing his will to continue struggling as he has.

Another example of Tristan being stuck in this cycle as for the second time he is brought down by a poisoned weapon. There also appears to be many instances of duality- Tristan knows and is close with two Iseults, he has two father figures, he's saved by the sea twice, and now is wounded by poison again. This compares to the duality of emotions he feels in his love- both joy and sorrow for both King Mark and Iseult he Fair.

This story feels very cyclical for Tristan. Like at the beginning of the story we find that Rivalen was so great a companion to King Mark that Mark offered up Blanchefleur to be wed which brings Tristan into the world and into the cycle. Then Tristan will prove his worth to a new lord (Duke Hoël) and is offered his sister in similar fashion.

The Iseult in this castle is sewing with gold threads, similar to the gold hair that Tristan had woven into his armor previously in the story. It's also uncanny how many Iseults Tristan seems to run into.

This is very much a flashback to the beginning of the story where Blanchefleur awaits Rivalen's return but he never returns, starting the narrative for Tristan.

a Medieval torture/ execution method where the victim is tied to several horses and literally ripped apart. A pretty gruesome and extreme method of execution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismemberment#Tearing_apart

The King feels so incredibly betrayed here after he gave all that he had with love to his nephew and trusted him more than any other. He's acting rashly and hastily out of grief and passion, not able to understand how this could have happened or how Tristan could do such a heinous act. He feels that he has truly lost everyone close to him that he loved- the last of his family, the only wife he'd known, his most loyal of his court. He's now trying to fill that gap in his heart and the only way he knows is through what he believes to be justice. Because loving the gentle and kind people in his life didn't work out for him and betrayed him, he's now willing to love the "evil" and negative ones instead.

Because of the guilt that Brangien felt, she swapped places with Iseult to consummate the marriage to spare Iseult from the agony of sleeping with someone she did not love due to the love potion's powerful effects on Iseult.

I've never heard of a chimera of this sort before. Doesn't sound much like the "dragon" we are familiar with today.

war horse/ armored horse

They are claiming Tristan to be a heretic and believe the king is being manipulated by his evil intent, though the reader knows otherwise.

they were jealous of his exceptional treatment and favoritism

he was able to spin a tale for how he came to their shores to avoid immediate persecution. ie, he had to lie to save his life.

This is reminiscent of the songs of the siren that would take control of sailors and seamen and lure them into the deeps- an empty promise of love and fair women that would ultimately lead them to their deaths. With the themes of love throughout this story as well as the sorrow and pain it brings, it's an interesting allusion to draw.

Tristan picked up a horrible infection due to the poisoned barb he was stuck with. It was awful enough that it drove everyone away except for his closest loved ones in King Mark's court.

They were up against a literal giant in a suit of armor "whom no man had yet been able to overcome..." so not a surprise that these barons were not willing to test the giant's skills in combat knowing they were not going to live if they tried, and their efforts be in vain.

Due to the circumstances Tristan knows he cannot be in two places at once to keep Rohalt and his homelands safe while also serving the king who only has Tristan left as a living memory of his sister and Rivalen. To appease both parties and in an act of nobility he gives up his land and his title to Rohalt so that he may now be lord and have some well-deserved independence, and swears his service and "body" to King Mark so that his uncle may not be without his remaining family.

This is the narrator breaking the fourth wall to recapture the audience's attention to make the following point: Rohalt has been searching for his foster child (and his lord) all this time and successfully reunited with him once more. One must consider that because Tristan is technically his lord and because Duke Morgan has taken over the land, if Rohalt has been plagued by the Duke's reign and is acting out of love, yes, but also acting out of self preservation and survival.

King Mark loves Tristan as his nephew and as family while the loyal and chivalrous Tristan loves King Mark as his lord and king. More examples of the different types of love shown throughout the piece.

Tristan proves himself here to show a real appreciation towards the arts. He didn't just passively learn to play because it was expected of him, he showed an understanding and interest in the subject as well. There are many examples of love throughout this story and here we see a love and appreciation of talent and intangible beauty.

it's rather convenient for the tragic boy to be saved from a certain violent death by being miraculously spared from the thrashing waters. This hints at divine intervention in the form of the sea itself which feels very personified here through the emotion it's granted by the author. The sea is "angry" and judges the mariners for their crimes, as if the water was a conscious entity. granting only the righteous passengers its mercy.

I found it pretty ironic that for being represented as someone "pure" through the symbolism in her name, they'd "hardly been married" before she's revealed to be pregnant. Though it doesn't explicitly say how long they'd been married before this is revealed, the pacing of this paragraph certainly makes it feel like a matter of days.

This name literally means "white flower" which is symbolism for purity and innocence, suggesting Blanchefleur was "pure" and fair, and the name also invokes a sort of daintiness about her as if she were delicate and fragile.

In Launfal's refusal of the Queen's advances, she tries to out him as a homosexual, which was considered a sin so disgraceful and dangerous to other Christians that it invoked divine intervention as well as earthly punishment. It was basically treasonous, and in this time if you were accused of "sodomy" or homosexuality you were expected to claim your mistress publicly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanval#Form,_context_and_connections

There's a ton of imagery in this line here- "maze" is an interesting word choice as it invokes feelings of being lost or uncertain, and the fact that these roots are being "mirrored" makes it appear much more treacherous than it actually is as it doubles the size of this "maze's" appearance to the unsuspecting observer.

The metric system was not in play until around 1965, so the imperial system was the primary measurement system starting around the middle ages until it was replaced. Just a fun fact. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Imperial-unit

Thanes were land holders that served a king or nobleman (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thane) so these men were grieving the loss of the man who generously gave them land and power.

To thank him for his service, Hygelac gives up his dauther to Eofor to wed

linked rings sounds like it's describing chain-mail

Haethcyn is killed in combat and eventually gets the justice his father could not deliver, but also leaves only Hygelac and Beowulf as the only remaining members of the family and the only two left to potentially become the heirs to the throne.

This heavily implies that after the devastation of losing his first son Herebeald, the king chose to kill himself knowing full well that he could not choose to bring harm or justice to his other son, Haethcyn who was responsible for the atrocity. He'd rather die than to "punish the killer" although he "felt no love for him" because the thought of losing another son was too much for him to bare.

Herebeald being the eldest son of King Hrethel meant that he was next in line to receive the heir of the king. By killing the oldest son, Haethcyn removed his largest competition in his inheritance.

Beowulf knows that death looms overhead and though he's expecting not to make it out of this fight alive and knows he must save his people from this threat as the alternative would be far worse, he's still not comfortable coming to terms with his own demise. It seems that through all of his bravery and all of his successes in battle his true enemy and sole fear is his inability to fully cope with his own inevitable death and the mystery that awaits him thereafter.

This line is an oxymoron- it's certain that Beowulf will not survive unscathed in this coming battle but it's also apparent that Beowulf is not fully certain what to expect in his death. This "brave hero" that we've seen scoff at the implication of danger is not entirely prepared to journey into the realm of the unknown- death itself.

a cave or cavern

This just screams Tolkien, it's plain to see where he was inspired to write Lord of the Rings.

Calling back to Beowulf's encounter with Grendel and his mother, these lines show that Beowulf is not at all nervous or fearful of his coming battle, and instead shows great confidence in regard to his projected win against the dragon. This stanza largely serves to examine his bravery and set the reader up to expect an easy win over the dragon.

The lookout felt threatened by the crew coming ashore brandishing full armor and weapons and tells the crew that this was a very bold yet rude introduction to have shown up out of the blue (literally) without word or permission or concern if they would even be welcome.

In this line blundering is used as a way to describe Grendel's sloppy and clumsy movement, but "blunder" is also another word for mistake- so this hints that Grendel is largely messing up by running off with these slain humans and will largely come to regret this later.

This is actually a sort of flag, mast or sail that the crew is using to set him off to sea in a very common type of viking mourning ceremony.

Another allusion to Jesus here as the god-sent son is bestowed on humanity to guide them through their troubles. This also sets up Beowulf as a powerful and righteous individual who is sent to the nation to serve its people.

Here it describes a gift to the nation in the form of a god-sent child to guide them through their struggles. This has very religious overtones from the start and heavily alludes to Jesus.

This woman is taking control of her sexuality and embracing her own beauty and power by summoning this man to her side at her own command. But, it's still quite taboo in this time as they are not married, so she must keep the affair secret so as not to draw negative attention and shame.

Here he swears his silence on the affair and will exercise his loyalty to this promise and the maiden immediately.

"If you are as virtuous as you are handsome"

Sir Launfal is so trusting of these maidens without question that he is willing to leave himself vulnerable to them without a means of escape by leaving his horse unattended and exposed.

Sir Launfal displays chivalry upon realizing these unfamiliar women have business with him and rises to his feet so as not to be rude.

White fabric is associated with upper class and the wealthy due to the likelihood of it getting stained, as only the wealthy were able to afford it. These women are granting Sir Launfal some very, very generous gifts of gold treasures and valuable linens. The white linen as well as the maiden's "younger" age represents purity and innocence.