Grendel’s Mother
After driving the man-eating ogre Grendel from Hrothgar’s hall, Beowulf must now deal with Grendel’s anguished and vengeful mother.
?700s
After driving the man-eating ogre Grendel from Hrothgar’s hall, Beowulf must now deal with Grendel’s anguished and vengeful mother.
?700s
This post is number 3 in the series Scenes from ‘Beowulf’
Beowulf has driven Grendel, the man-eating ogre, from Hrothgar’s hall and mortally wounded him. Thinking his mission complete, Beowulf took his leave of Hrothgar, only for the creature’s anguished mother to steal into the king’s hall and snatch his bosom friend in revenge. Now she has vanished beneath the waters of a mire, but Beowulf is not to be put off. Commending his soul to God, Beowulf leaps after her.
paraphrasing ‘Beowulf’
HE leaped from the bluff — the eddying flood engulfed him. So deep was the mere, that it took some time before, sinking, he reached the bottom. Soon the grim creature that for a hundred seasons had kept house in the watery realm perceived that one of the children of men was coming from above, exploring the goblins’ home. She made a grab at him and clutched him in her grisly talons, but could not pierce the well-knit ring mail which fenced him around. But she bore him to her mansion at the bottom of the lake, so swiftly that, although his heart did not fail, he was powerless to use his weapons, the more that countless water-beasts harassed him in swimming, battering at him with tusk and claw.
At length the earl felt the grip loosened on him, and as he hurriedly cast his eye around, he perceived that he was in a vast hall, high-roofed, and protected from the water on all sides; it was light, too, with an eerie, bright lustre, something like firelight.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Beowulf meant to fight Grendel’s mother. She lived in a cave at the bottom of a lake. Beowulf jumped into it.
See if you can include one or more of these words in your answer.
IBattle. IIThrow. IIIWhere.