The one who stood guard Was dangerous and watchful, warden of that trove Buried under earth: no easy bargain Would be made in that place by any man.
this was not going to be a simple/easy battle to take on.
635 Matching Annotations
- Jun 2019
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earlybritishlit.pressbooks.com earlybritishlit.pressbooks.com
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thwarted
prevent this from happening
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To shake with terror…………..in shock The wretch……………………………. ………………………..panicked and ran Away with the precious………………….
Why did he use so many periods here?
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earlybritishlit.pressbooks.com earlybritishlit.pressbooks.com
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And the goods he hoarded and inherited by another Who lets them go with a liberal hand.
others will not always cherish your earthly possessions like you
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His old possessions seem paltry to him now. He covets and resents; dishonors custom And bestows no gold
people who succeed and gain power in their earthly life will continue to crave that validation and want more whether it is an award, honor, or stuff, until they die and realize what actually matters
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swan
is this swan instead of swam?
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Holy God Decided the victory. It was easy for the Lord, The Ruler of Heaven, to redress the balance Once Beowulf got back up on his feet.
God now helps beowulf win the fight because that is the plan he has laid out or the fate he has decided
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The strongest of warriors stumbled and fell.
Even the strongest people will fail
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Beowulf was quickly brought to the chamber: 1310 The winner of fights, the arch-warrior,
the second line just reiterates the first, beowulf is the best fighter
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She had snatched their trophy, Grendel’s bloodied hand. It was a fresh blow
finding your dead sons arm being paraded around like a trophy would be infuriating to anybody
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Counselors
what did counselors mean in this time period?
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So must a man do Who intends to gain enduring glory In a combat.
there he goes about glory again
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They are fatherless creatures, And their whole ancestry is hidden in a past Of demons and ghosts.
Very dark ideas surrounding the heritage of the monsters
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With that the old lord sprung to his feet And praised God for Beowulf’s pledge
He is praising God for Beowulf instead of praising Beowulf
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I shall gain glory or die
Again he talks about achieving glory or death, there are no other options
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They were leaderless In forced allegiance To his murderer. So if any Frisian Stirred up bad blood With insinuations Or taunts about this, The blade of the sword Will arbitrate it.
I think this is saying they were not allowed to disagree or cause trouble or else the new leader would kill them
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Past and present, God’s will prevails.
I feel like I have heard this phrase in many other places
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He is hasped and hooped and hirpling with pain, Limped and looped in it.
rhyming and alliteration
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From any of my burdens: the best of houses Glittered and reeked and ran with blood.
is glittered bad in this phrase?
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Entwining
Interweaving words
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His fatal departure 840 Was regretted by no one who witnessed his trail
Nobody was sad the monster was dead/dying
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The howl of the loser, the lament of the hell-serf Keening his wound.
lament- passionate expression of grief hell-surf- servant of hell keening- a prolonged high-pitched sound that expresses grief the loud cry of the loser that was the servant to hell mourning his wound
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spoiling for action
wanting action
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I meant to perform to the uttermost What your people wanted or perish in the attempt, In the fiend’s clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose, Prove myself with a proud deed Or meet my death here in the mead-hall.”
He believes he will do well and defeat the monster. He needs to do this to feel proud of himself again so he is okay with the idea that he might die trying
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My flesh was not for feasting on, There would be no monsters gnawing and gloating Over their banquet at the bottom of the sea.
very proud and egotistical of all that he has defeated
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hen morning light, Scarfed in sun-dazzle, shines forth from the south And brings another daybreak to the world.”
What is 'sun-dazzle', is it just sunshine or is it treasures
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You waded in, embracing water, Taking its measure, mastering currents, Riding on the swell. The ocean swayed, Winter went wild in the waves
Beowolf learned to master the currents and swim in his last test. There is also a personification of winter saying it "went wild"
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Fate goes ever as fate must.”
Saying if death is my fate then that is how it should happen
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Then news of Grendel, Hard to ignore, reached me at home:
This part seems choppy, but it is very straight forward and to the point
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“We are retainers From Hygelac’s band. Beowulf is my name. If your lord and master, the most renowned Son of Halfdane, will hear me out And graciously allow me to greet him in person, I am ready and willing to report my errand.”
This is the first time Beowolf has spoken. He calls this task an "errand"
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No elder denied him, dear as he was to them. Instead, they inspected omens
Elders looked for a message from God. Omens were believed to tell the future
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So Grendel waged his lonely war, Inflicting constant cruelties on the people, Atrocious hurt. He took over Heorot, Haunted the glittering hall after dark, But the throne itself, the treasure-seat, He was kept from approaching; he was the Lord’s outcast.
To me this means that Grendel could be as horrific and evil as ever, but after killing so many and Haunting a place, he would still never be revered. He is inherently evil so even after getting what he wanted it still left him unfulfilled
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weather-eye open
to maintain an awareness of Grendel
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oy-child
is "Boy-child" used to state the gender of the child or is it saying the baby is more mature. Calling the child a boy instead of an infant makes me think of the baby as more mature
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while some scholars point to a particularly Christian or pagan reading of the text, what is certain is that there are only allusions to the Old Testament and Christ is never mentioned.
Are the references to God in this text about a pagan God or a Christian God?
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