The little dagger that could.

In the book, constant references are made to Beowulf's strength. In the fight with Grendal, he refuses wepons and kills him with his bare hands. When he fights Grendal's mother, he tries to use a sword but it does not work. He then uses a giant's sword to kill her, but it melts. Now when he fights the dragon, his sword fails him again.

It says on page 181, line 2682, "It was never his fortune to be helped by the cutting edge of wepons made of iron." This says somthing about his honor. He is so great that wepons made of mere iron could not help him.

But at the very end, on page 183, he kills the dragon with a small dagger. Did not the other, more powerful sword do no damage, but this little dagger does?

Little Dot jumps in.

On page 151, line 2220, there is some odd spacing and many dots.

"But he soon began
to shake with terror;......in shock
the wretch...........................
............... panicked and ran
away with the precious ..........
metalwork."

These dot could mean a pause, but this does not make any sense.  "The wretch *long unneeded drawn out  pause* panicked". Or "Precious *gasp breath huff* metalwork"?

Maybe the writer put the dots in so he could rhyme correctly without having to change the wording.

Or maybe Little Dot from the comic strip was created much earlier than we think.

Old man Beowulf, a few words, and 'bone-houses"

Old Age

On page 151, line 2208 - 2210, it says, "[Beowulf] ruled it well for fifty years, grew old and wise as the warden of the land." So Beowulf ruled as king of the Geats for fifty years -- how old is he now? Let's say he was 20 when he defeated Grendel. Now he's over seventy, and taking on a dragon?

Perhaps the poet is using age to portray greatness, like some believe with Moses' age. Admittedly, no one is claiming that Beowulf is 120 years old, but perhaps the poet is using the same concept?

Few Words

Also, on page 153, line 2246 - 2266, it says, "[The man who buried the treasure's] words were few: 'Now, earth hold what earls once held and heroes can no more; it was mined from you first by honorable men. My own people have been ruined by war; one by one they went down to death, looked their last on sweet life in the hall. I am left with nobody to bear a cup or burnished plated goblets...(long speech continues)...Pillage and slaughter have emptied the earth of entire peoples.'" His words were few? Is this the poet's idea of sarcasm?

'Bone-house'

Lastly, on page 169, lines 2506 - 2508, there are some beautiful and figurative lines of poetry. "No sword blades sent him to his death, my bare hands stilled his heartbeats and wrecked the bone-house." Wow, that is some very strong and cool language. I especially love how the poet renames the skeleton a 'bone-house.'

~Hannah

Accept the hospitality, but kill them later.

On page 72-81 of Beowulf, the story of the Danes is told. The Fins and Danes fought and when the Fins came on the brink of being victorious, a truce was made. The Fins kindly board the Danes for the winter, because their leader was killed in the fight. When spring comes, the Danes rise up agansit the people who had given them their hospitality for the cold winter season, kill their leader, and carry off his wife.

The odd part of the story is that the Danes are the ones who are the heros. How could you look up to someone after they turned on the people who refrained from killing them and kept them safe for many months? Talk about a problem with your mortality!

Fin

Saint Augustine had many great ideas, giving us many tricky problems to attempt to sort out. Some of which we did, and some we could only guess at. This was a great book for us to get started on reading for more meaning and understanding. The other books now will (hopefully?) be easier. :)

Saint Augustine's "The Confessions"
Fin

Good bye, Saint Augustine

Hurray! We've finished The Confessions of Saint Augustine! Although his language was dated, his ideas were still very real and apply to us today. I enjoyed reading this book because he pondered every little concept and gave his opinion, allowing readers today to get to know him.

Bye for now, Saint Augustine! Nice meeting you!

~Hannah

Beowulf, the Prideful

So far, I have noticed that Beowulf seems very proud and egotistical. When describing his swimming contest with Breca to Unferth, he said, "Now I can't recall any fight you entered, Unferth, that bears comparison. I don't boast when I say that neither you nor Breca were ever much celebrated for swordsmanship." (pg 39 and 41, lines 582 - 586) I hate to say it, Beowulf, but that sounded an awful lot like boasting to me.

Ironically, it is Beowulf's pride which actually allows him to beat Grendal. He decides not to use any weapons when attacking the monster, flaunting his strength and ability. Fortunately, this is exactly what will defeat Grendal, since no sword can cut through him.

~Hannah, the critical judge of overly proud heroes