Beowulf is an epic tale of heroism and valor,
It follows the journey of a brave, legendary warrior of Gaetish descent.
A relentless pursuit of glory drives him, and he conquers fearsome monsters plaguing his homeland.
With his mighty strength and strategic prowess, Beowulf triumphs over the monstrous Grendel and his vengeful mother.
But he tragically falls to a fiery dragon after five decades of peaceful reign as king.
Beowulf’s saga, painted against a war-ridden society seeking hope, explores the nature of courage, the price of glory, and the inevitability of fate.
Beowulf Quotes With Page Numbers and Line Numbers
“Behaviour that’s admired
is the path to power among people everywhere.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Prologue, verse 20, Page 3
“And a young prince must be prudent like that,
giving freely while his father lives
so that afterwards, in age when fighting starts
steadfast companions will stand by him
and hold the line.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 20, Page 3
“A ring-whorled prow rode in the harbour,
ice-clad, outbound, a craft for a prince.
They stretched their beloved lord in his boat,
laid out by the mast, amidships,
the great ring-giver. Far fetched treasures
were piled upon him, and precious gear.
I have never heard before of a ship so well furbished
with battle tackle, bladed weapons
and coats of mail. The massed treasure
was loaded on top of him: it would travel far
on out into the ocean’s sway.
They decked his body no less bountifully
with offerings than those first ones did
who cast him away when he was a child
and launched him alone over the waves.
And they set a gold standard up
high above his head and let him drift
to wind and tide, bewailing him
and mourning their loss. No man can tell,
no wise man in hall or weathered veteran
knows for certain who salvaged that load.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 30, Page 3
“The hall towered,
gold-shingled and gabled, and the guest slept in it
until the black raven with raucous glee
announced heaven’s joy, and a hurry of brightness
overran the shadows.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 80, Page 5
“…for who could be blind
to the evidence of his eyes, the obviousness
of that hall-watcher’s hate? Whoever escaped
kept a weather-eye open and moved away.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 140, Page 7
“That was their way, their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts they remembered hell.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, verse 170, Page 8
“Oh, cursed is he
who in time of trouble has to thrust his soul
in the fire’s embrace, forfeiting help;
he has nowhere to turn. But blessed is he
who after death can approach the Lord
and find friendship in the Father’s embrace.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 180, Page 8
“Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed offerings to idols, swore oaths that the killer of souls might come to their aid and save the people. That was their way, their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts they remembered hell.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verses 170-80, Page 8
“Over the waves, with the wind behind her and foam at her neck, she flew like a bird until her curved prow had covered the distance…”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 210, Page 10
“So they duly arrived
in their grim war-graith and gear at the hall,
and, weary from the sea, stacked wide shields
of the toughest hardwood against the wall”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 320, Page 14
“Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what’s said and what’s done.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Chapter 4, verse 280, Page 15
“You are free now to move forward
to meet Hrothgar, in helmets and armour,
but shields must stay here and spears be stacked
until the outcome of the audience is clear.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 390, Page 16
“Fate goes ever as fate must.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 450, Page 18
“Fate will unwind as it must!”
~Burton Raffel, Beowulf, Chapter 6, verse 455, Page 21
“Time and again, when the goblets passed
and seasoned fighters got flushed with beer
they would pledge themselves to protect Heorot and wait for Grendel with whetted swords.But when dawn broke and day crept in
over each empty, blood-spattered bench,
the floor of the mead-hall where they had feasted
would be slick with slaughter. And so they died,
faithful retainers, and my following dwindled.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 480, Page 21
“Instead, in the morning, mangled and sleeping
the sleep of the sword, they slopped and floated
like the ocean’s leavings.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 560, Page 23
“Often, for undaunted courage,
fate spares the man it has not already marked.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 570, Page 23
“In off the moors, down through the mist beams, god-cursed Grendel came greedily loping.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, verse 710, Page 30
“…a baleful light,
flame more than light, flared from his eyes.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 720, Page 30
“…bolted down his blood
and gorged on him in lumps, leaving the body
utterly lifeless, eaten up…”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 740, Page 32
. “Let whoever can win glory before death.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 1380, Page 60
“It is always better
to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning.
For every one of us, living in this world
means waiting for our end. Let whoever can
win glory before death. When a warrior is gone,
that will be his best and only bulwark.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Chapter 21, verses 1380-1385, Page 60
“He was swiftly overwhelmed in the shallows,
prodded by barbed boar-spears,
cornered, beaten, pulled up on the bank,
a strange lake-birth, a loathsome catch…”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 1430, Page 61
“I shall gain glory or die.”
“I will shape glory with Hrunting, or death”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, verse 1490, Page 65
“Meanwhile, the sword
began to wilt into gory icicles,
to slather and thaw. It was a wonderful thing,
the way it all melted as ice melts
when the Father eases the fetters off the frost
and unravels the water-ropes. He who wields power
over time and tide: He is the true Lord.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verses 1600-10, Pages 68, 69
“O flower of warriors, beware of that trap.
Choose, dear Béowulf, the better part,
eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride.
For a brief while your strength is in bloom
but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow
illness or the sword to lay you low,
or a sudden fire or a surge of water
or jabbing blade or javelin from the air
or repellent age. Your piercing eye
will dim and darken; and death will arrive,
dear warrior, to sweep you away.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verses 1750-60, Page 75
“Great Queen Modthryth
perpetrated terrible wrongs.
If any retainer ever made bold
to look her in the face, if an eye not her lord’s
stared at her directly during daylight,
the outcome was sealed: he was kept bound
in hand-tightened shackles, racked, tortured
until doom was pronounced—death by the sword,
slash of blade, blood-gush and death qualms
in an evil display. Even a queen
outstanding in beauty must not overstep like that.
A queen should weave peace, not punish the innocent
with loss of life for imagined insults.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verses 1930-40, Pages 84, 85
“…a battle-scarred veteran, bowed with age,
would begin to remember the martial deeds
of his youth and prime and be overcome
as the past welled up in his wintry heart.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verse 2110, Page 92
“And so he mourned as he moved about the world, deserted and alone, lamenting his unhappiness day and night, until death’s flood brimmed up in his heart.”
~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verses 2260-70, Page 100
“I’ve never known fear; as a youth I fought/ In endless battles. I am old, now,/ But I will fight again, seek fame still,/ If the dragon hiding in his tower dares/ To face me”
~Burton Raffel, Beowulf, Chapter 35, verse 2510, Page 103
“Quickly, the dragon came at him, encouraged
As Beowulf fell back; its breath flared,
And he suffered, wrapped around in swirling
Flames — a king, before, but now
A beaten warrior. None of his comrades
Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble
Followers; they ran for their lives, fled
Deep in a wood. And only one of them
Remained, stood there, miserable, remembering,
As a good man must, what kinship should mean.”~Burton Raffel, Beowulf, Chapter 35, verses 2590-2595, Page 106
“Beloved Beowulf, remember how you boasted,
Once, that nothing in the world would ever
Destroy your fame; fight to keep it,
Now, be strong and brave, my noble
King, protecting life and fame
Together. My sword will fight at your side!”~Burton Raffel, Beowulf, Chapter 36, verse 2660, Page 109
“The fabled warrior in his warshirt and helmet
trusted in his own strength entirely
and went under the crag. No coward path.”~Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, Verses 2540-50, Page 113
