STILL, even then his life might have been forfeit in the unequal combat, had he not chanced to espy among the armour lying scattered about the hall, an old cutlass of huge size and strength of blade, larger than an ordinary man could have carried, let alone used in battle, — the handiwork of giants. On this Beowulf blindly seized — beside himself, despairing of his life — and struck in his fury; the blow caught the beldame* in the neck, severed the bone, she dropped on the pavement, — the work was done.
He was alone. He now had leisure to scan the apartment with his eye; he slowly walked all round it, along by the wall, the magic weapon swung aloft by the hilt, for fear of surprises. Suddenly, he came upon a hideous object — Grendel, bereft of life, lying where he fell, as he reached his lake home on that fatal night. The hero’s blood boiled at the sight; he at once decided he would bring back to the upper world a better trophy than a hand and arm:* so, raising high the cutlass, he struck off the head. Then, before his eyes, there came to pass a thing whereat he marvelled much; no sooner had the blade touched the monster’s black gore, than it began to melt away, even as ice when the spring breathes upon it.
Paraphrasing ‘Beowulf’
* A now archaic word from Old French, originally meaning ‘beautiful lady’ and hence ‘grandmother’, but usually used ironically to mean an ugly and spiteful hag.
* In his wrestling match with Grendel at the hall, Beowulf had torn the creature’s arm from his shoulder. Despite her haste, Grendel’s mother had managed to retrieve the severed arm when, in revenge for the death of her son, she snatched Hrothgar’s unlucky warrior-friend.
Précis
The fight fared ill for Beowulf, until his glance fell on a huge sword among the weapons scattered about the cave. With it he swept off the hag’s head, and after a moment to recover himself struck the head off Grendel’s corpse too for a trophy. Yet no sooner was it done, than the blade melted away before his eyes. (60 / 60 words)
The fight fared ill for Beowulf, until his glance fell on a huge sword among the weapons scattered about the cave. With it he swept off the hag’s head, and after a moment to recover himself struck the head off Grendel’s corpse too for a trophy. Yet no sooner was it done, than the blade melted away before his eyes.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, despite, if, may, or, since, whether, who.
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Word Games
Jigsaws Based on this passage
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.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Boil. Mighty. Need.
2 Behoove. Mansion. Touch.
3 Cutlass. Found. Much.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homonyms Find in Think and Speak
Each of the words below has more than one possible meaning. Compose your own sentences to show what those different meanings are.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Spring. 2. Still. 3. Sink. 4. Pass. 5. Stand. 6. Bore. 7. Object. 8. Well. 9. Even.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
glds (5+1)
gilds. glades. glides. golds. guilds.
gelds.
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