The monster wrenched and wrestled with him (1269)
but Beowulf was mindful of his mighty strength, (1270)
the wondrous gifts God had showered on him: (1271)
He relied for help on the Lord of All, (1272)
on His care and favour. So he overcame the foe, (1273)
brought down the hell-brute. (1274)

But now his mother (1276)
had sallied forth on a savage journey, (1277)
grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge. (1278)

So the Shieldings’ hero, hard-pressed and enraged, (1573)
took a firm hold of the hilt and swung (1574)
the blade in an arc, a resolute blow (1575)
that bit deep into her neck-bone (1576)
and severed it entirely, toppling the doomed (1577)
house of her flesh; she fell to the floor. (1578)

Finally, when a chance came, the fire-breathing dragon caught the hero (2688/2690)
In a rush of flame and clamped sharp fangs (2691)
Into his neck. Beowulf’s body (2692)
Ran wet with his life-blood: it came welling out. (2693)

The great man (3035)
had breathed his last. Beowulf the king (3036)
had indeed met with a marvelous death (3037)

Of all the kings upon the earth (3180)
he was the man most gracious and fair-minded, (3181)
kindest to his people and keenest to win fame. (3182)