1
A Beowulfian Poem of Day-Start Routine with a Break-down to Follow
Part 1: A Morning in Reverie
Awoken from a sleep
of the completest of kinds,
Where dreams did stir
none-too foul or scary,
But brought bright sun
soft sky-heat,
No battles progressed
5
on these peaceful of days.
Now off come the sheets!
A brave soul
Which had warmed and soothed
while entranced by death’s-cousin.
Now lead on will he
to the room day-preparance
To scrape stubble from face
but not yet before
Close inspection of hair-sword
10
Through all of the hairs
If the blade show rust
sprouted the day past.
or nick, or dullness
It must there be replaced
15
by one more well equipped.
Then pulled gently across
the formidable man’s chin
With such grace and skill
as to not cut the skin.
Yet in ages of yore
The face of a man
not a blade would come near
without cutting intent
With beard hung long
sword hilt in battle-grip,
And swing with pride
glory bound warriors fight.
Then from bathroom to closet
20
which must rightly slice
Feet thrust into snow-boots
To protect wholly from
For the strongest of men
to prepare for the out-world
the best of which could be made,
shock of ice-grass, deathly cold.
with the most constitutional might
2
May well fall victim to
Toes turned purple
25
that frozen ground plight
preposterous balance proposed
A great warrior defeated
by ankles that do not hold,
Collapsed to the earth
then consumed by the cold
And rigor mortis-stiff
no reaction comes from
Limbs once muscle-fit.
Of mid-winter plight
30
Yet the snow laden world
does not compare to the lands
Where these heathen men
For in these places
To blot out sky-fire
snow piles up high
and cover all with frost-skin.
Of which they would say:
In snow knee-deep
35
40
took up contests of might.
“I have done battle
in full battle-dress
Holding axe and shield overhead
and marched towards
The slaughtering plains
where many a noble man fell
By mine blade and wit.
Scores of horses and men
Did I dutifully conquer
over a fortnight of wakefulness
With no food or water.
And upon the journey back
To our greatest of mead-halls
lay seven dead thanes
Who were to be taken to the pyre.
3
Part 2: Stylistic Similarities in “Beowulf” and “A Morning in Reverie”
“A Morning in Reverie” has been written with reference to the style in which “Beowulf”
was constructed. The similarities between the poems include their use of caesura, kenning, a
third-person narration of a male-centric world, elegiac content; a tendency to present the poet’s
Christian beliefs, and the use of flyting. The poems cannot be said to be entirely built on the
same forms since “Reverie” lacks the use of the alliterative meter.
What is likely to be noted right away about the original “Beowulf” manuscript is the use
of caesura. Caesura is “a pause or break in a line of verse” (Black et al. 1632), and it is used
throughout the “Beowulf” transcript: “Hwæt wē Gār-Dena
in gear-dagum / þēod-cyninga
þrym gefrūnon,” (1–2). The caesura can take the form of a comma or period mid-line. In
“Reverie” is used in the same manner as in “Beowulf:” as a break in the middle of each line.
Kenning—the creation of compound words used to replace general terms—is frequently
used throughout “Beowulf” (Jones). For instance, the narrator calls the ocean the “whale’sriding” on line 10 of the Liuzza translation. In “Reverie” kenning is used in the same way, such
as when sleep is named “death’s-cousin” (6).
The “Beowulf” poet presents a third-person, heroic world centered around male
characters. This is a story of “bygone days” when the “folk-kings … did lofty deeds”
(Liuzza 2–3). The poet weaves an elegy of sorts for a time that was over before theirs’ had
begun. “Reverie” also looks back to the time elegized in “Beowulf.” In “reverie” the narrator
laments the loss of blades for battle as the hero begins to shave his face (15–16). The deeds in
“Reverie” must be a third-person narration of a male character’s actions to fall in line with the
style of “Beowulf.”
4
In being so removed from the setting the poet did not hold the same religious beliefs as
the characters in “Beowulf.” The poet was likely a Christian scribe since the poem was included
in a collection containing several re-workings of Christian tales (Black et al. 62). While the poet
does not outright condemn the Norsemen of “Beowulf” for their beliefs there are moments when
the poet does note what they would consider the ignorance of the characters:
At times the offered honor to idols
at pagan temples, prayed aloud
that the soul-slayer might offer assistance
in the country’s distress. Such was their custom,
the hope of heathens. (Liuzza 1750–179)
The narrator takes the same stance in “Reverie” by calling the warriors of the past “heathen men”
(30).
A sort of half flyting is present at the end of “Reverie.” It is only half because there is
only one character involved in the boasting. Generally flyting would consist of a bragging match
between two or more characters within the work. Section 8 of “Beowulf” is entirely dedicated to
flyting, as Beowulf and Unferth discuss Beowulf’s many days spent swimming through the sea
dressed in armor.
The final section will examine the aspects of “Beowulf” that were not re-created in
“Reverie.” The alliterative meter verse form which “Beowulf” follows is not present in
“Reverie.” In alliterative meter verse the poem does not have a rhyme scheme. The poem instead
has two alliterating stresses per half-line. The alliteration is often carried across the caesura.
“Beowulf” is one of the earliest pieces of known English literature (Jones). With such
antiquity comes a great deal of distance between the culture and ideals of the original oral story-
5
teller(s), the poet, and a modern day audience. The caesura and kenning are no longer common
devices, and the male-centric world is dated. Rhyme sees more use than alliteration, and modern
recordings of folk tales would likely be more careful to keep religious aspects intact. Perhaps the
most widely used of these old forms is flyting, which is found in rap music where writers
constantly make claims to their own accomplishments. “Reverie” was written in hopes of
creating a contemporary comparison to “Beowulf” that upholds the essence of the literary
tradition.
6
Works Cited
“Beowulf.” Edited by C. L. Wrenn, Bolton. University of Exeter Press, 1988, 1–2.
“Beowulf.” The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Translated by R. M. Liuzza, edited
by Joseph Black et al. Concise ed., 2nd ed., Broadview Press, 2011. 65–106.
Black, Joseph, et al, editors. “Glossary of Terms.” The Broadview Anthology of British
Literature. Concise ed., 2nd ed., Broadview Press, 2011. 1632.
Black, Joseph, et al, editors. Introduction. “Beowulf.” The Broadview Anthology of British
Literature. Concise ed., 2nd ed., Broadview Press, 2011. 62.
Jones, Miriam. “Beowulf Lecture.” English 2101, University of New Brunswick, Saint John. 13
September 2013. 62.