Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Grendel -- Anonymous

Guest poem submitted by Vivian Eden:

Herewith, something from near the roots of the family tree of Auden's Ogre
and Tennyson's Kraken:
(Poem #897) Grendel
 Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark,
 nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him
 to hear the din of the loud banquet
 every day in the hall, the harp being struck
 and the clear songs of a skilled poet
 telling the mastery of man's beginnings,
 How the Almighty had made the earth
 a gleaming plain girdled with waters;
 in his splendour He set the sun and the moon
 to be earth's lamplight, lanterns for men,
 and filled the broad lap of the world
 with branches and leaves; and quickened life
 in every other thing that moved.

 So times were pleasant for the people there
 until finally one, a fiend out of hell,
 began to work his evil in the world.
 Grendel was the name of the grim demon
 haunting the marches, marauding around the heath
 and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time
 among the banished monsters,
 Cain's clan, whom the Creator had outlawed
 and condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel
 the Eternal Lord had exacted a price:
 Cain got no good for committing that murder
 because the Almighty made him anathema
 and out of the curse of his exile there sprang
 ogres and elves and evil phantoms
 and the giants too who strove with God
 time and again until He gave then their reward.

 So, after nightfall, Grendel set out
 for the lofty house, to see how the Ring-Danes
 were settling into it after their drink,
 and there he came upon them, a company of the best
 asleep from their feasting, insensible to pain
 and human sorrow. Suddenly then
 the God-cursed brute was creating havoc:
 greedy and grim.
-- Anonymous
 From Seamus Heaney's translation of "Beowulf," Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
New York, 2000.

 The entirety of Heaney's "Beowulf: A New Verse Translation" is compelling
both narratively and poetically, but of course too long for this forum.  The
poet-translator's introduction to the volume is a masterpiece in its own
right. This extract (lines 86-120) come after the description of a towering
"hall of halls" built by Hrothgar, leader of the Ring-Danes, a center of
power, wealth and culture. Composed something over a thousand years ago,
these lines from the Old English saga  are fascinating for their synergy of
the monotheistic history of the world and more ancient embodiments of evil,
with the sensuous hints of a "Mother Earth" in the "gleaming plain girdled
with waters" and "the broad lap of the world [filled] with branches and
leaves." Grendel himself, incidentally, has a truly horrible mother, whose
lair is much like the Kraken's. As we used to say at the end of our book
reports in fourth grade, if you want to find out what happens - read the
book.

Vivian.

[Minstrels Links]

Old English poems:
Poem #145, Ice  -- Anon. (Old English, 10th century)
Poem #326, The Seafarer  -- Anon. (Old English, pre-10th century

Poems by Seamus Heaney:
Poem #883, Personal Helicon -- Seamus Heaney
Poem #61, Song -- Seamus Heaney

Minstrels subscriber Matt Chanoff commented on "The Road Goes Ever On"
(Poem #4 on the Minstrels) that Tolkien alchemized many elements of the
Beowulf saga in the tale of Bilbo Baggins. Other Tolkien poems on the
Minstrels include:
Poem #46, Lament for Boromir  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #93, Eärendil was a mariner  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #142, He chanted a song of wizardry  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #220, Lament for Eorl the Young  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #257, Three Rings for the Elven Kings  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #318, Tall ships and tall kings  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #370, Troll sat alone on his seat of stone  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #440, Bregalad's Lament  -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #643, The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon -- J. R. R. Tolkien
Poem #736, The world was young, the mountains green -- J. R. R. Tolkien

Matt also submitted his own (different) set of excerpts from "Beowulf" for
inclusion on the list; we'll run them some day soon.

[Erratum]

Yes, we goofed. Badly. There was a misplaced apostrophe in Friday's poem - a
very noticeable one, too:
   "Among it's desperate and slain,
   The Ogre stalks with hands on hips"
Ugh. As one of our readers said, Mr Auden would not have been amused.

Thanks to all the Alert Readers who wrote in to point out the error. We'll
proofread our posts more carefully in the future.

44 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

DudiOke - Blogger Indonesia said...

Then a powerful demon, a prowler through the dark,
nursed a hard grievance. It harrowed him
to hear the din of the loud banquet
every day in the hall, the harp being struck
and the clear songs of a skilled poet
telling the mastery of man's beginnings,
How the Almighty had made the earth
a gleaming plain girdled with waters;
in his splendour He set the sun and the moon
to be earth's lamplight, lanterns for men,
and filled the broad lap of the world
with branches and leaves; and quickened life
in every other thing that moved.
..
Very Good words.

viagra online said...

Nice poem, love the personification given to the demon, it resembles the attitude of a human being.

xl pharmacy said...

this poem was mi inspiration and specially my support to leave the use of drugs. I was so fucked up, but as I told you I felt identified with this poem, and I decided to do something to myself and to get a better future.

Ideas de negocios said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, but I am firmly convinced of this and love to learn more about the subject. If possible, acquire knowledge, would you update your blog with more information? It is very helpful to me

lowongan kerja said...

I get a lot of referrals from this site.
I also wrote in a blog: lowongan kerja 2013, lowongan kerja terbaru and info lowongan kerja.

Секс Знакомства said...

Секс Знакомства секс знакомства , Интим Знакомства секс знакомства , Знакомства для СЕКС секс знакомства , секс знакомства

Anonymous said...

E cigs that іn no way appear to be cigs can be efficiently applied to ԁisguiѕe the fact thаt
1 has a ѕmοking habit.

Here is my blog :: v2 cigarettes coupon

Bandar Bola said...

You got numerous positive points there. I made a search on the issue and found nearly all peoples will agree with your blog. Agen Bola Sbobet Agen Bola Online

Agen Casino Online said...

Hey, just looking around some blogs, seems a pretty nice platform you are using. I'm currently using Wordpress for a few of my sites but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it? Sbobet Ibcbet

Prediksi Bola said...

Thank you for sharing to us.there are many person searching about that now they will find enough resources by your post.I would like to join your blog anyway so please continue sharing with us. Agen Sbobet Sbobet Casino

Casino Online said...

This is the perfect blog for anyone who wants to know about this topic. You know so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really would want...HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great! Judi Bola Online Bandar Bola Online

jas almamater said...

Hrmm that was weird, my comment got eaten. Anyway I wanted to say that it's nice to know that someone else also mentioned this as I had trouble finding the same info elsewhere. This was the first place that told me the answer. Thanks

aqiqah jakarta said...

Great post! I?m just starting out in community management/marketing media and trying to learn how to do it well - resources like this article are incredibly helpful. As our company is based in the US, it?s all a bit new to us. The example above is something that I worry about as well, how to show your own genuine enthusiasm and share the fact that your product is useful in that cas

baju toga wisuda said...

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often

kambing aqiqah jakarta said...

What I love about your blog is your article with the most amazing materials. I have been following your articles since the first time of manufacture. and you get a positive response from commentators that are here. great

toga wisuda said...

Great post! I?m just starting out in community management/marketing media and trying to learn how to do it well - resources like this article are incredibly helpful. As our company is based in the US, it?s all a bit new to us. The example above is something that I worry about as well, how to show your own genuine enthusiasm and share the fact that your product is useful in that case

Ibcbet Online said...

I'm now not sure the place you are getting your information, but good topic. I must spend a while finding out more or understanding more. Thank you for fantastic information I used to be searching for this info for my mission. Agen 338A

kata kata romantis said...

I have not much time to visit many websites. But today I found this site accidently. Thanks!

Tempat Tidur Anak said...

Makasih Atas Informasinya
semoga bermanfaat bagi saya dan si pembaca kususnya

fotocopy murah jakarta said...

Good writing and interesting to note, also visit the website jasa fotocopy murah I take care of that today. Thank you,

Unknown said...

Thats interesting fact, thank for sharing, can you explain the method? i thing this is new for me and i plant to visiting this regularry
obat herbal
crystal x asli
obat keputihan
crystal x
Ciri crystal x
I think you mean Portsea! :)

kata kata bijak said...

I was very encouraged to find this site. I wanted to thank you for this special read. I definitely savored every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.

mua thuoc tot said...

Giảm cân có nhiều cách , nhưng cách giảm cân bằng ăn các loại thức ăn được nhiều người dùng đến , món ăn giúp giảm cân, thực đơn giảm cân cấp tốc sẽ giúp bạn có được thân hình đẹp và thon gọn. Khó ngủ hiện nay đang gặp phải ở rất nhiều người , cả già và trẻ .bi kho ngu phai lam sao ? Có nhiều cách trị khó ngủ .Gan là bộ phận lọc các chất độc trong cơ thể người , chính vì vậy việc giải độc gan rất quan trọng . thuốc giải độc gan tốt sẽ giúp bạn có được gan khỏe mạnh . Collagen giúp trẻ hóa làn da và ngăn ngừa các nếp nhăn , kéo dài tuổi thanh xuân, thực phẩm có nhiều collagen sẽ giúp bạn có được làn da đẹp và trẻ mỗi ngày .

media online indonesia said...

Thank you write this article for me see, I asked permission to write on the website diakui.com wish you deign to allow it

Birthday Invitations Templates said...

What I love about your blog is your article with the most amazing materials. I have been following your articles since the first time of manufacture. and you get a positive response from commentators that are here. great. Please review my site on Design an Birthday Invitation

jual kawat bronjong said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

Unknown said...

This is my very first see below. I was so amusing stuff in your blog site, specifically its discussion. From the lots of knowledge on your write-ups, I guess I'm not the just one to have all the convenience below! Remains to function well. For a very long time I wanted to create something on my website and also I gave it a thought

www.graduationinvitationtemplates.info
Printable Graduation Cards
Custom Graduation Announcements
Graduation Invitation Templates
Diy Graduation Announcements
Free Graduation Announcement Templates

Admin said...

This is my initial visit below. I was so entertaining things in your blog site, especially its conversation. From the tons of understanding on your articles, I presume I'm not the just one to have all the leisure here! Remains to work well. For a very long time I intended to write something on my site and I provided it a thought

www.babyshowerinvitationswording.org
Cute Baby Shower Invites
Baby Shower Invitations Wording
Baby Shower Invitations For Twins
Baby Shower Invite Template
Cute Invitations Baby Shower

Unknown said...

This is my primary see here. I was so amusing stuff in your blog website, specifically its conversation. From the lots of understanding on your reviews, I presume I'm not the merely one to have all the comfort below! Remains to work well. For a long time I wished to develop something on my site and also I gave it a thought, please give some remark for my website

modernlivingroomdesign.net/
Living Room Ideas
Living Room Windows
Cheap Living Room Decorating Ideas
Living Room Remodel
Living Room Paint
Living Room Ideas Pinterest

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

Unknown said...

This is my initial visit below. I was so entertaining things in your blog site, especially its conversation. From the tons of understanding on your articles, I presume I'm not the just one to have all the leisure here! Remains to work well. For a very long time I intended to write something on my site and I provided it a thought

http://www.babyshowerinvitationswording.org
Cute Baby Shower Invites
Baby Shower Invitations Wording
Baby Shower Invitations For Twins
Baby Shower Invite Template
Cute Invitations Baby Shower

Unknown said...

This is line is my favored that is released in tis poetry My excellent religion is a belief in the blood, the flesh, as being wiser compared to the intelligence. We can fail in our minds. However what our blood really feels and thinks as well as states, is constantly real. The intellect is just a bit as well as a bridle.

First Boy Birthday Invitation
90th Birthday Invitations Ebay
1st Birthday Boy Invitation Cards
18th Birthday Invitations Free Printable
Sample Birthday Invitation Letter
Free Birthday Invitations

JUNO said...

i love this comment section hope this will be long section thanks Click

cetak online said...

buruan cek harga termurah di aqur printing.
kami melayani jasa cetak buku manasik. buku yasin. undangan. novel. id card. nota. dan masih ada yang lainnya

Post a Comment