Gilstrap 1

Madeline Gilstrap

Dr. C. Kovich

En 1150

1 November 2013

Thoughts on Beowulf Lines 1650-2160

Summary: After last section we left off with the fight with Grendel’s mother. Beowulf beats the

mother by using the sword in the swamp that had the power to kill it. Only Beowulf’s men, the

Geats, were there to wait for him. The sword of the monster started to melt and burn from the

blood of Grendel. He takes Grendel’s head in his other hand and goes to the surface. Everyone is

overjoyed for Beowulf’s success. The Danes were very happy at the success and Beowulf

presents the head and sword to Hrothgar, showing him that he will bring them security. Hrothgar

praised Beowulf and delivers the longest speech about being a good and wise ruler. He promises

to give Beowulf great treasure. Another banquet happens with a big feast. Beowulf then leaves to

sleep. In the morning, he returns Hrunting to Unferth and tells Hrothgar that he must return home

to Geatland. Hrothgar thanks him again and then gives him twelve treasures. They sail back to

Geatland and return to Hygelac. There they return to King Hygelac and Queen Hygd. The

narrator tells the story of the Queen Modthryth who tortured and killed many innocent people

she imagined were offending her. Hygelac has a formal greting and Hygd pours mead for the

warriors on their return. Beowulf tells his tale of Grendel and the mother. He then gives the king

a big portion of his treasures and gives Hygd a necklace (the torque from Wealhtheow) and three

horses.

Thoughts
 Gilstrap 2

Lines 1650-2160 were not as fun to read as the last section. I think I was kind of tired so I did not

really enjoy reading and it got kind of long. I do not like how stories get thrown in randomly like

the story of Heremond. The stories kind of get long and stray away from the main idea. I did like

how loyal Beowulf is portrayed in the story. If I had a battle that was extremely hard to win and I

almost died from, I do not think I would give any of my treasures away to my king or queen. The

loyalty in this book is so strong compared to loyalty today. I like how highly the Geats think if

Beowulf and how much they respect him for what he does. I think it is cool to see that his men

stayed the whole time during the fight when everyone else went back to Heorot. I think this is

noble and just shows how much they honor him.