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//Beowulf//
// Beowulf //, the longest Anglo-Saxon poem in existence, is a deceptively simple tale about the adventures of a sixth-century Germanic hero who fights three monsters in what is now Denmark and Sweden. Beneath this straightforward and, to a modern reader, somewhat simplistic plot, however, lies a highly structured work filled with historical and legendary allusions that subtly parallel, contrast, and foreshadow the poem's action. The work begins with the funeral of a great king, Scyld Scefing, the legendary founder of the Danish royal dynasty (**lines 1–63**). (It will end with the funeral of another great king—Beowulf, the poem's protagonist.) According to legend, Scyld was found alone in a boat laden with treasure when he was a child. Upon his death the Danes honor him by placing his body in another treasure ship and putting the ship out to sea. Scyld Scefing's subjects begin to call themselves the Scyldings and are well ruled by his son Beowulf (usually referred to as Beow to differentiate him from the hero of the poem). Beow, in turn, is succeeded by his son Healfdene, who has four children: Heorogar, Hrothgar, Halga, and a daughter whose name has been lost but who married Onela, a Swedish (or in Anglo-Saxon terms, Scylfing) king. Of these children, Hrothgar is especially successful in battle and becomes ruler of the Scyldings after Heorogar is killed (**lines 64–85**). Rulers at this time relied on the allegiance of warrior-retainers called thanes. Their relationship was embodied in the heroic code, which required of the thane unbounded courage in battle and absolute loyalty to the ruler. In exchange, a ruler was expected to protect and provide for his thanes (who, after all, could not support themselves if they were constantly away fighting). A ruler was supposed to share generously the wealth taken in conquest, giving lavish gifts to his thanes in reward for their services. In addition, he provided them with a mead hall—a place to live, with food, drink, and nightly entertainment. The elderly Hrothgar is a good ruler and builds the largest and most lavish mead hall ever seen, calling it Heorot. Although the poet alludes to Heorot's later destruction during a war—the result of "the sharp-edged hate of [Hrothgar's] sworn son-in-law"—at this point it is a welcoming place where the king holds feasts and hands out treasure. // Beowulf // abounds with similar allusions to future sorrows embedded in a joyful present. These references to grim events to come, which the poet's original audience would readily recognize, serve one of the poem's primary themes: the vicissitudes of life and the impermanence of all human endeavors. The noise and merriment of the festivities, particularly the song of a scop, or bard, praising God, proves a torment to one creature—Grendel, a powerful and evil monster who lives as an outcast on the nearby moors (**lines 86–193**). Grendel, the poem explains, is a descendant of the biblical character Cain, who killed his brother Abel and was cursed by God. All malevolent monsters are Cain's descendants; like Cain, they strive against God but ultimately in vain. Enraged by the happy sounds coming from Heorot, Grendel waits for night to fall. Then he creeps into Heorot, seizes thirty sleeping thanes, and takes "his slaughtered feast of men to his lair." The next night, Grendel attacks again, until the frightened thanes abandon Heorot and sleep elsewhere. For twelve years, Grendel terrorizes Heorot. Hrothgar is distraught at the deaths of his thanes, but the monster seems unappeasable. Although the Scyldings use Heorot during the day, at night Grendel takes up residence in the hall. Hrothgar and his men appeal to their heathen gods—a practice that // Beowulf //'s Christian author heartily condemns as ignorance of "God … our protector above, / the King of Glory"—but the "night-evil" continues. Word of Grendel eventually reaches Beowulf, a thane of the Geat king Hygelac (**lines 194–370**). Strictly speaking, Grendel is no concern of the Geats, a group occupying what is today southern Sweden. But by risking his life in a dangerous battle, Beowulf can win honor (symbolized by the gold he could expect to be given by Hrothgar) and fame—which, it was believed, was the only thing that endured beyond this ephemeral life. Beowulf resolves to destroy the monster and, gathering fourteen fellow warriors, sets off by ship for Denmark. The ship is spotted by a Scylding watchman, who hurries down to the shore to find out who the approaching warriors are. Impressed by Beowulf 's strong appearance and his explanation of why he and his men have come, the guard agrees to conduct the Geats to Heorot. The well-armed Geats enter the mead hall and sit down on one of the hall's many benches. They excite considerable curiosity, and Hrothgar's herald, Wulfgar, asks them who they are. Beowulf tells him and asks to speak to Hrothgar. Wulfgar, also impressed by Beowulf 's appearance, encourages his king to speak to them. Hrothgar, it is determined, knew Beowulf 's father, Ecgtheow, and has heard that Beowulf has "the strength of thirty [men] / in his mighty hand-grip." Hrothgar believes that God, "in the fullness of mercy," has sent Beowulf to deliver them from Grendel (**lines 371–490**). Although the author has revealed that these characters are not Christian, their religion—despite their earlier appeal to heathen gods—resembles the monotheism of the Old Testament Jews (rather than the actual religious beliefs of sixth-century Scandinavians). Hrothgar agrees to speak with the Geats, and Beowulf introduces himself, reveals his mission, and gives an account of his previous exploits, including vanquishing a family of giants and slaughtering sea serpents. Asking Hrothgar's permission to fight Grendel, Beowulf says that, like the monster, he will forsake weapons and use only his bare hands. Expressing a decided fatalism, he declares, "Whoever death takes / will have to trust in the judgment of God." All he asks is that Hrothgar send his "war-shirt" to his king, Hygelac, should Grendel triumph. In agreeing to let Beowulf fight the monster, Hrothgar reveals that he harbored Beowulf 's father after Ecgtheow had "struck up a mighty feud / … among the Wylfings" by killing a warrior named Heatholaf, and that Ecgtheow had sworn allegiance to him. Among Germanic warriors—as the poem's numerous accounts of blood feuds make clear—vengeance for the killing of a lord or kinsman was a moral imperative. Thus feuds created even more feuds, and a warrior without the protection of a lord was extremely vulnerable to acts of retribution. The Geats and Scyldings sit down to feast before night falls (**lines 491–606**). A jealous Scylding, Unferth, "who would not grant that any other man / under the heavens might ever care more / for famous deeds than he himself," tries to shame Beowulf. He asks if Beowulf is the same warrior who once lost a seven-day swimming match to a man named Breca and declares that he expects similar failure if Beowulf challenges Grendel. Beowulf reveals that he and Breca did engage in a swimming match—in full armor, no less—but he did not lose. Rather, after five days at sea, Beowulf was attacked by sea monsters. He slaughtered all nine and came to shore in Finland—quite a swim from Sweden. Beowulf then chastises Unferth, declaring, "I never have heard / such struggle, sword-terror, told about you." He goes on to recriminate Unferth—and his fellow Scylding warriors—for their lack of courage and ferocity, which has brought shame to them and made Grendel's reign of terror possible:
 * Date:** ca. 700–750
 * From:** //Beowulf//, Bloom's Guide.

"I'll tell you a truth … : never would Grendel have done so much harm, the awesome monster, against your own leader, shameful in Heorot, if heart and intention, your great battle-spirit, were sharp as your words. But he has discovered he need not dread too great a feud, fierce rush of swords, not from your people, the 'Victory-Scyldings.'" Tonight, Beowulf declares, he will show the monster "the courage and strength / of the Geats in combat." The Scyldings are heartened by Beowulf 's resolve (**lines 607–709**). Hrothgar's queen, Wealhtheow, comes forward and offers the mead cup to all the warriors, including Beowulf. Evening comes, and the Scyldings retire, leaving the Geats in the hall to face Grendel. Beowulf strips himself of his armor and weapons, and his retainers go to sleep fully expecting to be killed in the night. But God, the poet asserts, has granted the Geats "comfort and help, / a weaving of war-luck." Grendel glides into the hall, hoping to find a straggler or two (**lines 710–836**). Seeing a host of men, he exults in his luck, expecting to make a meal of them. Beowulf is quietly watching Grendel when the monster seizes and devours a nearby Geat. Grendel then reaches for Beowulf, who grabs the monster's arm in his mighty grip. Grendel quickly realizes that he is in trouble and attempts to escape, but the two engage in a tremendous fight that, the poem asserts, would have knocked down a lesser hall. Beowulf 's men try to hack the monster with their swords, but Grendel is charmed against "all weapons of battle." Grendel cannot shake Beowulf 's grasp, however, and Beowulf rips off the monster's arm at the shoulder. Mortally wounded, Grendel flees Heorot, never to return. Beowulf is left with the greater glory—and Grendel's arm, complete from the shoulder to the clawlike fingers. Morning comes, and the Scyldings are ecstatic to find that Grendel has been vanquished (**lines 837–924**). Some Scylding warriors follow the tracks of the wounded monster, who has returned to his den under a lake in the moors. Then they ride back to Heorot, speaking of Beowulf 's tremendous deed. Along the way, a scop composes a poem celebrating Beowulf 's victory, thus assuring that word of the hero's deeds will survive him. The scop goes on to tell the stories of the heroic Sigemund, who slew a dragon, and the tyrannical Heremod, who killed many of his own subjects before meeting his end. The Scyldings return to Heorot as Hrothgar enters. Upon seeing Grendel's arm, Hrothgar thanks God and promises to love Beowulf as a son (**lines 925–1062**). Beowulf recounts the events of the night before, leaving the Scyldings, especially Unferth, appropriately impressed. A tremendous feast is held, during which Hrothgar gives Beowulf and the other Geats horses, armor, and treasure, including "the largest gold collar / ever heard of on earth." That gold collar links the present with the future as the poem reveals that the Geat king Hygelac will be wearing it when he dies in battle "that time he sought trouble, stirred up a feud, / a fight with the Frisians, in his pride and daring." The grisly battlefield and the joyous celebration in the mead hall are juxtaposed to great effect ("…warriors rifled the corpses / after the battle-harvest. Dead Geats / filled the field. Now cheers for Beowulf rose"), again emphasizing the vicissitudes of men's fortunes. During the celebration, a scop tells the tragic tale of a war between the Danes and the Jutes (**lines 1063–1250**). The account is especially sad because Hildeburh, the wife of the Jute king Finn was also the sister of the Danish king Hnaef. (Princesses often served as "peace-weavers"—they were given in marriage to rulers of other peoples as a way of settling conflicts.) But when war broke out between the two peoples, Hildeburh's brother and son fought on opposing sides, and both were killed. A short peace followed; then the new Danish king, Hengest, attacked the Jutes, killed Finn, and took Hildeburh back to Denmark. After the scop has finished the tragic tale of one queen, another Danish queen, Wealhtheow, speaks of the unity of her people: "Each noble here is true to the other, / every kind heart death-loyal to lord." The irony is keen, for as the poet has implied, the treachery of Wealhtheow's nephew Hrothulf will eventually tear apart her family just as Hildeburh's family was destroyed. The ominous tone is made more explicit as the thanes settle down in Heorot for the night (**lines 1251–1299**). One will be killed, the poet reports, because Grendel has a mother. As the thanes sleep, Grendel's mother comes to Heorot seeking revenge for the death of her son. Although not as strong or terrible as Grendel, she bursts into the hall and quickly kills a thane, escaping with his body—and with Grendel's arm. Beowulf is spending the night elsewhere, but when morning comes he goes to Hrothgar's chambers and hears the bad news (**lines 1300–1382**). Hrothgar is distraught at the death of his thane, Aeschere, who was a trusted counselor. But he knows who committed the dastardly act: a female monster who had often been seen accompanying Grendel as he stalked the moors and whose lair is known to be under a lake not far from Heorot. Hrothgar offers Beowulf more treasure if he will go to the lake and kill the monster. Beowulf agrees (**lines 1383–1472**). In a speech that succinctly expresses the warrior's fatalistic outlook in the pursuit of renown, Beowulf declares,

"Grieve not, wise king! Better it is for every man to avenge his friend than mourn overmuch. Each of us must come to the end of his life: let him who may win fame before death. That is the best memorial for a man after he is gone." Hrothgar, Beowulf, and a group of warriors set out for the lake, which is a sinister place in the middle of a foreboding landscape. When they arrive, they see signs of the previous night's carnage: The water is red with blood, and Aeschere's head is lying nearby. The lake is also seething with serpents. A Geat bowman kills one with an arrow, and the others haul it ashore with their spears to reveal its gruesome, monstrous form. Beowulf is nonetheless undaunted and gathers his armor, including a sword, Hrunting, lent to him by a repentant Unferth (**lines 1473–1590**). // Beowulf // contains many descriptions of famed swords and their histories. In this warrior culture, a well-made sword was more than a tool—it was a most prized possession, almost an object of veneration, and was passed down from generation to generation. Beowulf makes appropriate provisions for his treasure in case of his death and plunges into the water. Grendel's mother grabs him and pulls him toward her den, a cave at the bottom of the lake. Although protected by his armor, he cannot draw his sword and is beset by serpents. Once in the den, however, and free of the snake-infested lake, Beowulf seizes the initiative, striking Grendel's mother with Hrunting. But the blade does not "bite through to kill"—the first time, we are told, that "a word could be said against that great treasure." Undaunted by Hrunting's failure, Beowulf, "battle-furious," grabs Grendel's mother by the shoulder and throws her to the floor. She quickly gets up, knocks him down, and sits on him, pulling out her knife to finish him off. But her blade cannot penetrate his armor, and Beowulf gets back onto his feet, at which point, the poet asserts, God decides the struggle in favor of good. Looking around, Beowulf spots a large ancient sword, "longer and heavier than any other man / could have carried in the play of war-strokes." He grabs this "shearer of life-threads," draws it, and strikes Grendel's mother. The sword slices through her neck, killing her. The cave is then illuminated by a light of mysterious origin, "even as from heaven comes the shining light / of God's candle." Using this light, Beowulf explores the den and finds Grendel's body, which he decapitates. Meanwhile, the warriors standing around the lake see a tremendous amount of blood in the water and conclude that Beowulf has been killed (**lines 1591–1639**). The Scyldings return home, while the Geats maintain a mournful vigil. Beowulf, however, is experiencing even stranger events below. The blood from the monsters begins to melt the sword "in battle-bloody icicles" until Beowulf is left with only the jeweled hilt. Taking the hilt and Grendel's head, he leaves the den, rises to the surface of the lake, and swims ashore. His men are overjoyed to see him alive, and they return to Heorot, four of them carrying Grendel's oversized head on a spear. At Heorot, Beowulf recounts his adventure and presents Hrothgar with the sword hilt (**lines 1640–1884**). The king praises Beowulf for his valor but urges him not to become like Heremod, who began his career as an illustrious warrior and ended it a parsimonious tyrant. In a sermonlike speech, Hrothgar declares that a hero that God permits to "travel far in delight"—that is, to enjoy happiness and pleasure for a long time—can easily assume that his good fortune will last forever. His "portion of arrogance / begins to increase," and, as he succumbs to the sins of pride and covetousness, "[h]is future state"—death—"is forgotten, forsworn, and so is God's favor." Hrothgar implores Beowulf to "guard against that awful curse … and choose the better, eternal gains." For though his "fame lives now," "sickness or war … or sword's swing / thrown spear, or hateful old age" will one day level Beowulf, just as he, Hrothgar, has been humbled by the twelve years of suffering and sorrow Grendel brought him. After Hrothgar's speech, a feast is served, and when night falls, the guests sleep peacefully in Heorot. The next day Beowulf returns Hrunting to Unferth with thanks and takes his leave of Hrothgar. The two swear friendship, and Hrothgar gives Beowulf many gifts. With tears running down his face, the old king clasps Beowulf 's neck and kisses him, expecting "that never again would they look on each other / as in this brave meeting." The Geats return to their ship, load their treasure, and set sail. They quickly reach their lord's lands (**lines 1885–1962**). The poem praises their hall; their king, Hygelac; and especially their young and generous queen, Hygd, who is compared favorably with Modthrytho, a fourth-century queen who in her youth had any thane who looked at her face in the daytime put to death. Beowulf and his men sit with Hygelac in his hall, and Beowulf recounts his adventures, praising Hrothgar's hospitality (**lines 1963–2199**). Beowulf also discusses the hostilities between Hrothgar's Danes and the Heathobards, a people from southern Denmark. Hrothgar is planning to have his daughter, Freawaru, marry the Heathobard prince Ingeld, in order to ensure peace between the two peoples. But Beowulf is not convinced that their enmity can be overcome by such a match. (His caution, as the poem's original audience would know, is justified. In 520 Ingeld attacked and burned Heorot before being routed by the Danes.) Beowulf then brings in the treasure he was given by Hrothgar and presents it to Hygelac. In sharing his booty with his king—as in his conduct on the battlefield and in the mead hall—Beowulf shows himself to be a paragon of virtue, the poet maintains. He is "ever loyal" to Hygelac, his lord and kinsman, and generous toward Hygelac's queen, Hygd, giving her the gold necklace that Wealhtheow had bestowed on him. He has gained renown in battle but has "no savage mind"—he never kills "comrades in drink," reserving for its appropriate use on the battlefield "the gift / that God [has] given him, the greatest strength / that man ever had." Yet in his youth, the poet reveals, Beowulf had shown no signs of future greatness. The Geats "were convinced he was slow, or lazy, / a coward of a noble." As a result "he got little honor, / no gifts on the mead-bench from the lord of the [Geats]." Now that he has proved his mettle, however, Beowulf receives ample reward from Hygelac, who gives him his father's gold-covered sword—the most prized among the Geats—as well as land, a hall, and a throne of his own. Beowulf is now a lord. Several years pass, and Hygelac is killed in battle (**lines 2200–2277**). His son, Heardred, is also killed, and the kingdom passes to Beowulf. Beowulf 's rule is a prosperous time that lasts fifty years, until a fugitive stumbles into a vaulted barrow filled with treasure and—while its guardian, a dragon, sleeps—makes off with a precious cup. Under the dragon's watchful eye, the hoard—the combined wealth of a people destroyed by war—had been undisturbed for three hundred years (**lines 2278–2311**). But now, as the fugitive brings the cup back to his lord as a peace offering, the dragon awakes, sees the intruder's footprints, and, checking his treasure, realizes that he has been robbed. Though the dragon (who is not presented as a particularly intelligent creature) has no idea what the treasure is and certainly cannot use it, the theft angers him. That night he seeks retribution, burning houses, including Beowulf 's hall, the "gift-throne of the Geats" (**lines 2312–2344**). To Beowulf, this causes "great anguish, pain deep in mind"—in large part because he fears that it might be divine punishment for some sin he has committed. Though filled "with dark thoughts strange to his mind," he promptly readies himself to battle the beast. Realizing that the traditional wood shield will be of little use against the dragon's flames, he orders a special shield of iron made. This will not be enough to save him, for, as the poet reveals, Beowulf is destined "to reach the end of his sea-faring days, / his life in this world, together with the serpent." As in Beowulf 's younger days, when he singlehandedly fought Grendel and Grendel's mother, the old ruler scorns the notion of approaching his enemy "with troops, with a full army"; having "endured / much violence before, taken great risks / in the smash of battles," he does not fear the dragon. At this point, the poem reflects upon the highlights of Beowulf 's illustrious career before he became king (**lines 2345–2509**). After the battle in which Hygelac was killed (which took place in Frisia, in what is now the Netherlands), Beowulf swam back to southern Sweden, carrying as trophies the armor of no less than thirty warriors he had slain. He so impressed Hygd that she offered him the throne over her own son, Heardred. The ever-noble Beowulf turned her down, however, and supported Heardred "among his people with friendly wisdom, / kept him in honor, until he grew older, / [and] could rule the Geats." When a usurper, Onela, seized the Scylfing throne and exiled the rightful heirs—Eanmund and Eadgils—Heardred gave them refuge, and Onela attacked his hall and killed Heardred and Eanmund in retaliation. Beowulf then became the Geat king and supported Eadgils in his successful attempt to retake the Scylfing throne. "And so he survived," the poet says, "every encounter, every awful conflict, / heroic battles, till that one day / when he had to fight against the worm [dragon]." Having heard how the feud with the dragon began, Beowulf sets out for the dragon's lair with eleven retainers, guided reluctantly by the fugitive who had stolen the cup (**lines 2510–2601**). When they reach the lair, Beowulf, his spirit "sad, / restless, death-ripe," speaks to his men of events important to his life and to the history of the Geat people. Central to this speech are the concepts of vengeance and honor. Beowulf recounts the story of how Haethcyn, his uncle, accidentally killed his own brother Herebeald—an act made all the more horrible because it could not be avenged, as that would involve murdering a kinsman. Brokenhearted, Hrethel—who was Haethcyn and Herebeald's father as well as the king of the Geats—died, and the Scylfings seized the opportunity to attack the Geats (an event that will presumably happen again after Beowulf 's death). "My kinsmen and leaders avenged that well," Beowulf says, though in the battle Haethcyn, who had assumed the Geat throne, was killed. The next day "the third brother," Hygelac, "brought full vengeance / back to the slayer" when Ongentheow, the Scylfing king, was killed. Beowulf then touches on the exploits he performed in service to Hygelac, including his slaying of the champion of an enemy people, the Hugas, with his bare hands. "I wish even now," he declares, "to seek a quarrel, do a great deed." He insists on fighting the dragon alone and commands his men to wait nearby. Although this demonstrates that Beowulf has not lost his valor or desire for renown, some commentators view it as an essentially irresponsible act, an example of the kind of pride Hrothgar had warned him against years before. For Beowulf 's death, which might have been unnecessary, will bring calamity to his people. When Beowulf heads to the entrance of the dragon's lair with a shout to announce his presence, the dragon comes out breathing flames. Beowulf 's armor protects him from the fire, but when he strikes the beast, his sword fails him and the dragon is only slightly wounded. The two rush together again, and Beowulf is hurt. In the meantime, Beowulf 's men have deserted him and run off into the woods. One, however, a young man named Wiglaf, who is a kinsman of Beowulf 's, remembers the favors the king has shown them and implores his comrades to come to Beowulf 's aid (**lines 2602–2705**). No one responds, so Wiglaf alone takes up his sword (an old family heirloom) in Beowulf 's defense—the first time the young retainer has fought for his lord. As Wiglaf joins Beowulf, the dragon charges again and burns up the thane's wooden shield. Wiglaf takes refuge behind Beowulf 's shield while Beowulf strikes the dragon with all his strength—only to have his sword shatter on the dragon's skull. The dragon charges again, biting Beowulf with his huge teeth and burning him with his fire. Wiglaf proves resolute, and despite the flames, he strikes the dragon. His blow lessens the dragon's fire, giving Beowulf the chance to pull out his knife and deliver the killing stroke to the dragon's belly. The dragon is vanquished, but Beowulf has been fatally wounded, for the dragon's bite is poisonous (**lines 2706–2820**). Wiglaf washes Beowulf 's wounds, and the king, recognizing that he will soon die, laments the fact that he has no son to take his place. He professes joy in his fifty-year reign, however, for during this time no foreign ruler had dared to "seek out a battle, / make any onslaught, terror, oppression, / upon Geatish men." Nor had Beowulf sought any intrigue, sworn deceitful oaths, or harmed his kin. Just as he had previously been an ideal thane, Beowulf, it seems, has been an ideal ruler. Beowulf now directs Wiglaf to bring out some of the dragon's treasure—so that he "may more easily give up [his] life / and the dear kingdom that [he has] ruled long." Wiglaf obeys, but by the time he returns, Beowulf has lost consciousness. Wiglaf revives him with some water, and Beowulf, seeing the treasure, declares,

"I give thanks aloud to the Lord of all, King of Glories, eternal Ruler, for the bright treasures I can see here, that I might have gained such gifts as these for the sake of my people before I died." With his last breaths, he directs Wiglaf "to watch / the country's needs" and gives instructions for his funeral and for the creation of a large barrow on a cliff to serve as his memorial. Then he gives Wiglaf (who is the last of the Waegmundings, a family to which Beowulf also belongs) his gold necklace, helmet, rings, and mail-shirt. After observing that fate has swept away all his noble kinsmen and he must follow, Beowulf dies. Wiglaf is saddened by his lord's death, although the poem points out that Beowulf performed an important service to his people by killing the dragon (**lines 2821–3027**). Wiglaf returns to the cowardly retainers, accusing them of desertion and predicting that their ignominy will haunt them for the rest of their lives. He then sends a messenger to relay to the Geats news of Beowulf 's death. The messenger does so, predicting that their enemies—especially the Scylfings—will attack them now that their protector is gone and summarizing the feud between the Geats and Scylfings. The Geats gather to see Beowulf and the dragon, whose treasure is revealed to have been cursed (**lines 3028–3182**). Wiglaf leads some of the Geats into the dragon's cave, where they gather treasure to bury with Beowulf. They then push the dragon's body into the sea. Beowulf 's people bury the remains from his funeral pyre, along with all the treasure, in the memorial barrow they construct. They bemoan the loss of their leader, who was "of the kings in this world, / the kindest to his men, the most courteous man, / the best to his people, and the most eager for fame." (In Old English poetry, each line was divided into two halves, which were separated by a pause, or caesura. For the sake of typographical simplicity, the caesura has not been rendered here. All quotations are from Howell D. Chickering Jr.'s 1977 translation.) 

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 * Text Citation:** Bloom, Harold, ed. "//Beowulf//." //Beowulf//, Bloom's Guide. Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. //Bloom's Literary Reference Online//. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BGB012&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 4, 2009).

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