"Beowulf", translated by Burton Raffel, 1-10

At daybreak, with the sun’s first light, they saw
How well he had worked, and in that gray morning
Broke their long feast with tears and laments
For the dead.

And that night
Grendel came again, so set
On murder that no crime could ever be enough,
No savage assault quench his lust
For evil.

His misery leaped
The seas, was told and sung in all
Men’s ears: how Grendel’s hatred began,
How the monster relished his savage war
On the Danes, keeping the bloody feud
Alive, seeking no peace, offering
No truce, accepting no settlement, no price
In gold or land, and paying the living
For one crime only with another.

No one
Waited for reparation from his plundering claws:
That shadow of death hunted in the darkness,
Stalked Hrothgar’s warriors, old
And young, lying in waiting, hidden
In mist, invisibly following them from the edge
Of the marsh, always there, unseen.

Let them
Beware, those who are thrust into danger,
Clutched at by trouble, yet can carry no solace
In their hearts, cannot hope to be better!

So Beowulf
Chose the mightiest men he could find,
The bravest and best of the Geats, fourteen
In all, and led them down to their boat;
He knew the sea, would point the prow
Straight to that distant Danish shore.

Glittering at the top
Of their golden helmets wild boar heads gleamed,
Shining decorations, swinging as they marched,
Erect like guards, like sentinels, as though ready
To fight.

They marched, Beowulf and his men
And their guide, until they could see the gables
Of Herot, covered with hammered gold
And glowing in the sun—that most famous of all dwellings,
Towering majestic, its glittering roofs
Visible far across the land.

Where have you carried these gold-carved shields from,
These silvery shirts and helmets, and those spears
Set out in long lines? I am Hrothgar’s
Herald and captain. Strangers have come here
Before, but never so freely, so bold.

Then Hrothgar's man gave places to the Geats,
Yielded benches to the brave visitors
And led them to the feast.

Unferth spoke, Ecglaf’s son,
Who sat at Hrothgar’s feet, spoke harshly
And sharp (vexed by Beowulf’s adventure,
By their visitor’s courage, and angry that anyone
In Denmark or anywhere on earth had ever
Acquired glory and fame greater
Than his own):

But he’s learned that terror is his alone,
Discovered he can come for your people with no fear
Of reprisal; he’s found no fighting, here,
But only food, only delight.

She saluted the Geats’
Great prince, thanked God for answering her prayers,
For allowing her hands the happy duty
Of offering mead to a hero who would help
Her afflicted people.

Then Hrothgar left that hall, the Danes’
Great protector, followed by his court; the queen
Had preceded him and he went to lie at her side,
Seek sleep near his wife.

But Beowulf lay wakeful,
Watching, waiting, eager to meet
His enemy, and angry at the thought of his coming.