Summary of Slaying Monsters

The summary of “Slaying Monsters”

In the nineteen- twenties J.R.R Tolkien translated “Beowulf “ even though he probably wasn’t the most qualified person to translate it. He had learned and translated it at an early age. He loved Beowulf and especially medieval ones, with lots of wayfaring and dragon-slaying- activities, which was prominent in his books “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” He finished the translation of Beowulf in 1926 but once he was finished it he put it in a draw and never published it. But 40 years after his death His son Christopher had brought it out. People think Beowulf was most likely written in Britain and by which we don’t know who wrote it in the eighth century.

The Plot is simple Beowulf is a prince of the Geats. He is peerlessly noble, brave, and strong. In each hand he has the strength of 30 men.

“Beowulf” is the story of the hero’s defeat of three successive monsters. The first one is Grendel. The Geats are allies of the Danes, and Beowulf , and by this time he seems to be around thirty, decides to go to Denmark and defeat the beast. It is hard for us to know what Grendel looks like. He is supposed about four times the size of a man. He has to enter Hearot by a door. When he is wounded he bleeds which Beowulf soon finds out after he tears off Grendel’s arm with his hands. Then he hangs the arm from the rafters in the mead hall. Grendel is a bit child like because he has a mother and when he goes home to die his mother goes on a rampage. So Beowulf has to suit up again. His mother lives in a chamber below a swap. Beowulf dives right in with his gear on but his men are to scared and wait at the ledge. Once he reached her she was waiting with a gang of sea monsters which tear at him to soften him up. Then Grendels mother takes over and Beowulf finds that his sward doesn’t affect her but he sees a sword forged by the giants- which no man can pick up-except for him. He waves it through the air and cuts through her neck and breaks her neck bone. Before he leaves the den Beowulf beheads Grendel’s corpse. Then swims to the surface with it and hands it to his men. When they get back to the mead hall, they pull it around by its hairs, as a game.  

Beowulf’s third fight, which is at home in Geatland is with a dragon. He is fifty feet long and breaths fire. He has wings- he can fly – and lives in a nice cave where he guards a treasure that has been there for three hundred years. But now someone has come and stolen a jeweled cup. This enrages him and begins incinerating the Geatish countryside.

It has been many years since Beowulf had killed Grendel and his mother. It has been fifty years that he has been ruling the Geats and he is eighty years old now and tired. Still to protect his people he must fight the dragon. He reviews his great deeds. He bids them farewell. As always he insists on going into the contest alone. The knights snick off into the forest. The dragon comes out of the cave Beowulf brings his huge sword down on the monsters body but as with Grendel’s mother it doesn’t make a dent. The Dragon sinks his teeth into the Hero’s neck. His blood was gushing out.

Not all of his men ran into the forest. One young knight Wiglaf stayed and unbeknownst to the King followed him close behind. Seeing Beowulf hurt he rushes forth and stabs the dragon which Wiglaf took better aim than Beowulf did, which weakened the dragon to the point where the old man could go for the kill. Beowulf ripped up the serpent. The Geatish knights unceremoniously dump the body over the cliff. Wiglaf takes Beowulf helmet and bathes his wounds to no avail. In the end of the poem you see the knights in tear riding their horses in a circle around Beowulfs tomb.

DJ 9-12

1.)  Lines 1355 to 1357 when it says, “ They are fatherless creatures and their whole ancestry is hidden in a past of demons and ghosts.” I think it is telling us that when they say fatherless it means Grendel and his mother don’t have god on their side because they have been banished from his kingdom because they come from hell. 

2.)  Lines 1557 to 1562 “ Then he saw a blade that boded well, a sword in her armoury, an ancient heirloom from the days of the giants, and ideal weapon, one that any warrior would envy, but so huge and heavy of itself only Beowolf could wield it in a battle.” In these lines I think that the sword was put there on purpose like it was fate such as if god had put it there.

3.)  1688 to 1693 “It was engraved all over and showed how war first came into the world and the flood destroyed the tribe of giants. They suffered a terrible severance from the Lord: the Almighty made the waters rise, drowned them in the deluge for retribution.” In this quote I think it is talking about how God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights and created the huge flood that supposedly wiped out the giant.

4.)  Lines 1818 to 1839 it is Beowulf Telling the Danes that “If ever I hear from across the ocean that people on your border are threatening battle as attackers have done tome to tome, I shall land with a thousand thanes at my back to help your cause,” and I think it is a foreshadow that Beowulf is going to have to come back and help the Danes again. 

DJ 8

Lines 1029-1041 "An embossed ridged, a band lapped with wire arched over the helmet: head-protection to keep the keen-ground cutting edge from damaging it when danger threatened and the man was battling behind his shield. Next the king ordered eight horses with gold bridles to be brought through the yard into the hall. The harness of one included a saddle of sumptuous design, the battle-seat where the son of Halfdane rode when he wished to join sword-play: wherever the killing and carnage were the worst, he would be to the fore fighting hard." In these lines it is showing you that Hrothgar is an example because a good king is supposed to reward someone for great deeds like what Beowulf did.

DJ 6-7

Line 620-624 "So the Helming woman wen on her rounds, queenly and dignified, decked out in rings, offering the goblet to the ranks, treating the household and the assembled troop until it was Beowulf's turn to take it from her hand." In this quote it is telling us she is a Helming woman and her husband is Hrothgar who is a Dane so it is telling us that she was a peace pledge between them.

Line 590-594 "The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly as keen or courageous as you claim to be Grendel would never have gotten away with such unchecked atrocity, attack on your king, havoc in Herot and horrors everywhere." Beowulf is saying that if Unferth is such the good warrior as he says he is he should have killed Grendel already and Beowulf wouldn't have had to come to there rescue.

1-5 DJ

1.)“They decked his body no less bountifully with offerings than those fist ones did who cast him away when he was a child and launched him alone out over the ways.”

In this quote the narrator is talking about Shield Sheafson and how he was sent out into the sea when he was very young with gold and treasure. I think he was sent out as an offering to a higher power or he could possibly sent to the Danes and it was fate for him to end up there and help the Danes.  

2.)Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes, a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes. This quote and the previous quote is showing us how Shield started from nothing and worked his way up. Such as taking out near by places and conquering them and making them pay him. He changed the Dane dynasty.

3.)”They had seen me bolstered in the blood of enemies when I battled and bound five beast, raided a trool-nest and in the night-sea slaughtered sea brute. I have suffered extremes and avenged the Geats (their enemies brought it upon themselves, I devastated them.)” In this quote Beowulf is showing the king how he is worthy of going after and fighting Grendel.

4.)”He was four times a father, this fighter prince: one by one they entered the world, Heorogar, Hrothgar, the good Halga and a daughter, I have herd was Onela’s queen, a balm in bed to the battle-scarred Swede.” It is telling us how she was used as a peace treaty between the Swedes and the Danes. This is also an example of the role of woman back in this time.

5.) Line 166 to 169 “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.” I think this means that Grendel couldn’t get close to the throne because the king is supposed to be chosen one like they were appointed there by god. Then sense Grendel represents evil he can’t get to it because god banished it from his kingdom.                                                               

english questions

1.) Cet and Efnisien are alike because they both play the trouble maker character in their stories.

b.) Matholwch and Conchobhar are alike because they both aren’t very good rulers. Because when Conchobhar was about to go into battle and the girls started calling him over so they could look at his figure he went over them even with what was going on. Then when Matholwch just listens to the people and he does whatever they want him to do like get rid of the giants even though they hadn’t done anything wrong. 

2.) In the Death of Conchobhar the conflict is person vs. person because Meis-Gerghra said he was come back and kill whoever killed him and when Conchobhar got mad and started cutting down trees Meis-Greghra’s brain popped and it killed him.

In Branwen Daughter of Ller the conflict is person vs person because after Branwen sent the message by bird to Bendigefran of her being imprisoned he comes with his whole army to fight Matholwch.

3.) King Bendigefran is the best king because he was able to lead his army to victory and told them what to do before he died. Conchobhar on the other hand is not a very good king because he just left his men right before battle to go talk to the ladies that were all over him. The role of woman in Branwen Daughter of Llyer Branwen didn’t really have a choice in marring Matholwch she was forced to inorder to bring the to kingdoms together. In The Death of Conchobhar they are used as a distraction to distract Chonchobhar so Cet can hit him over the head with the brain ball. The Role of magic in Conchobhar is when Meis-Gerghra said he would come back and avenge anyone who killed him which is saying he would come back from the dead. In Branwen Daughter of Llir Branwen is able to talk to the bird to send the message. In The Death of Conchobhar the beginning of the story it seemed as more of a pagan story with Meis-Gerghra avenging him self after he dies which would mean more like coming back from the dead. The later in the story it seems like a christian had either finished or changed the end of Conchobhar because he got up set that the Jews crucified Jesus which was very unlike him. In Branwen Daughter of Llyer it is a very pagan story with all the giants, Branwen talking to birds, and how the cauldron could bring people back to life if you put them in it but they would be able to talk.  

4.) Both of the Kings die

5.) My favorite part in The Death of Conchobhar is when Conchobhar became mad that the Jews crucified Jesus and in Branwen daughter of Llyer is when the botcher would come and slap Branwen on the ear.

6.)