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Hrothgar

2/3/2013

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1

& Hrothgar / builds largest meadhall known

in northland

central tower powering visibility & gasping awe

see that his meadhall’s gaping facade

one new penal centrality of this recent dominant chosen

king bigdick social order

“looky everyone in society has a place . . . ”

& for Germanic tribes / everyone has sum value

& wrongdoers offer hard cash / gold baby /

for expressing serious grief articulated from those unvoiced beasts

& see Hrothgar wants to give his people everything / except slaves & common land /

see he’s generally idealistic & wants his society up & utopic

but that eventually burned down / sometime in future / (hinted at in text)

& grand opening / this poet sings abt creation

creator made “awl dis fer us awl”

& GRENDAL / from that race of Cain cursed since origin

attacks Herot bc he’s excluded / velvetroped off

& again bc he’s powerful hungry

somewhat apish in posture / w/ slants for brows & hairy shoulders one ungrateful biped

& he rips 30 warriors to shreds while sleeping in deep drunken sleep

& he of course eats these pigs gassy piece by gassy piece

then turns for continuous regular rounds of sweeps & ultimately

ruins the good times of house of erection Herot Hall every night for twelve

agonizing dry years

& thusly Hrothgar’s civilization has problems w/ a monster impotence

so these Geats hear abt Grendal

& Beowulf proud warrior chooses fourteen of his best men

to travel to Herot & help helpless Hrothgar

safely redistribute his powerful hand over those

unexpected labor expenditures lost in Grendal’s troubling jaws

& these great Geats arrive / thank gods / for “helpin”

them make that cold path on black asphalted whaleroad

windy & winedark as documented / & as they toast their warm frothy meads

& rip into their bags of teriyaki jerky & spiced pistachios

as some coast guardian in a helmet arrives

& he notes something to himself

under his breath abt how one must judge a man’s words w/ his works

& this helmeted guardian’s dazed

by big Beowulf’s brassclub / BEOWULF / Edgetheow’s son / & Beowulf

pours out his mead into a figure eight on the cold ground

cold gray ground rocky & sez grimly “we’re Healock’s hearth

companions / we’re what ye call nobles” & from awestruck

to starstruck this helmeted guardian scratches his ass

& he then sez “well got-daim / whynt ye say so /

step yrself right disway” & they did step right that way

& straight away these warriors arrive at Hrothgar’s castle

shimmering gold / & the receptionist Wulfgar / some foreigner

receives them / “uma where’d you buy that magnificent bodyarmor?

But first state yr business”

& Beowulf: “shut up.”

& Wulfgar: “come again?”

& Beowulf: “let me tell that king who I am. He’ll be happy. Now shut the fuck up.”

Hrothgar knew Beowulf as a young buck

knew of Beowulf’s strength of thirty warriors / legendary enough

& Hrothgar reminds Beowulf he owes him a favor / plays Brando /

& Beowulf will pay his daddy’s deep debt

but mark there gazes cast B-ward from unpeaceful implacable nonsensical Unferth positioned at his majesty’s feet yea he’d heard of Beowulf’s swim

who hadn’t really? & Beowulf’s second place to Brecca

& well Unferth thinks his stance

stood firm & his thoughts strong so he recounts

sd swim match between Brecca & Beowulf / that horrific

swim for three days in complete armor & constantly

attacked by seamonsters . . . & who won that race again?

& B notices something in Unferth’s squinty constitution

sez he’s heard of Unferth around how he killed his own brother

& that’s criticism enough where I’m from . . . but

let us see what Geats can do since Danes aint done

a gotdamned thing & Beowulf turns to Queen Weltheow

& he sez it’s all or nothing baby

this brings hope to Hrothgar indeed & why wdn’t it?

2

everyone asleep                        except one                    Grendal out                  in dark              sees Herot’s                 high beams             reaching eating  his fingers

            touch                door                 it blows open                Grendal swipes one warrior                   two                  turns & reaches            Beowulf            Beowulf in return

            swipes Grendal             Grendal’s bloody shoulder                    & when

                                    Beowulf turns to stab Grendal

            Grendal . . . escapes                             yes Beowulf pulled off Grendal’s arm                                       

3

issue of monsters: but let’s go back just one moment

to unpeaceful Unferth & his teases toward Beowulf

that social pact of linguistic power enacted

& embodied in their communicative performances

historically situated / always already socially &c / & how later

after Beowulf blew him off Unferth took notes by candle’s

light in his study later that cold night to uncover

more digs to stick to this Geat warrior so badass

& when he sees Beowulf again he’ll give him another little

tease taste this time abt how it feels having a father

die of discontent / low blow o yea / esp bc everyone

knows no son can avenge his father’s death

if his father’s killer is that same son / little logical

paradox that maybe Dedalus wd sey leads

to Shakespeare’s third cousin Titus Andronicus

well let that pass let that be until that rearrives just keep all that in mind:

now / mind: Herot Hall that pleasure dome & stately palace

represents unity / a center of monumental sausage civilization

imposed on his own people by King Hrothgar

Hrothgar good lord who protects his Danes

& his Danes loyal to this lord’s sword

serve this lord

love this lord

Danes owe this lord total allegiance

& Hrothgar rewards his Danes for their allegiance he sez

by contracting his people against their wills to build

their hearts into Herot making his imagined penis visible for all this universe

that textured symbolic allegiance between masculine master & his divided people

weaver of peace & all his royal women married off to forge

alliances / symbolic specimens of peace / fine pieces

all for these big burly hairy men / & think of Grendal’s

mama / that unkeeper of peace / & how all queens pass

brimming cups of jeweled mead as peace treaties of sorts

                        that mystery . . .

4

            —as to why Cain slew

his brother was he angry w/ God or not pleased

w/ his offerings of veggies or jealous of his brother

                         whom he felt God loved more?

5

Beowulf (short sayings)

fight between Grendal & Beowulf / constant focalizing shifts

to maximize drama like an early film

            meanwhile . . .

at that awards banquet

Beowulf sits himself down between Hrothgar’s sons

Hrothgar starts calling Beowulf Sun / his Sun

& Beowulf perceives receiving many many futures of gifts

& Weltheow looking on asks Beowulf to please

support her boys if need be—& around his thick

neck she clasps a gold & emerald necklace / one fine one mind

found lost in battle / from one of Beowulf’s ancient kings’

lines so strong love all around until

Grendal’s angry mama appears after her monsterprice

& she takes at least one person one of Hrothgar’s good

no name meading buddies & Beowulf says

no good / it’s better to avenge death in this case

for fate often saves the undoomed man if his courage is good

so we’ll fight & let our lord god decide

Beowulf sez to Hrothgar / watch over mis güeyes here

if I die . . . well . . . chingao  & he turns . . . & to Unferth he gives his old sword

to use in battle / sword forged by giants folks sey

but let us recall that monsters can’t get to Beowulf bc of his mail

            his grandfather’s mail

so Beowulf goes ahead & seizes a giant sword from the wall / cuts

Grendal’s mama in two then another third / then finishes

off Grendal cutting off his head & as he does so

              this sword melts to its hilt

6

on shore the folk see hot blood bubbling

at sea surface

©

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       ©                 ©©©

              ©          ©                 ©

& lament for Beowulf Beuwolf is dead

O why not me O why not me?

     & Danes get set to leave but these Geats sey wait on & let’s just wait & see

7

four carry Grendal’s head on spears

throw head on meadhall floor

& Beowulf hands his sword’s hilt to Hrothgar

& Hrothgar pontificates his parting speech / to Beowulf he sez

you’d be a good king yes

& Beowulf please do send yr kids by when they’re older

don’t you be a stranger

leaders like us can offer one another sound protection & rewards

when others offer us their allegiance & we split profits

     think it over my burning Sun

8

     a new entity—a birthday cake

     & not some other kind of cake

9

equal opportunity structured unequally in Bardic societies bc competition inherently creates strategies for undermining equality

regarded as an exception

strengths for his literary prestiges

hundreds of readers

envy envy

all this world & some hate him

for his outbursts & anger

& how his features for himself

& his mainstream characters

& his beaconhood of literary mirrors

& his process begun in his earliest pomes

& his interesting reflections & much great prizes

10

B returns U’s sword

& basks in his own graces & curtsies

kindly cuz he cd have been snide

after all B wdn’t be one of those unthoughtful warriors

NOW Beowulf goes home

to Healot’s Hall / praise Danes /

gives his intelligence report

gives his report on Hrothgar’s daughter

who’s engaged for diplomatic purposes they sey

w/ Hethobards—“nay” sez Beowulf

“it’ll never work . . . ” & he describes

why / & that princess as we all know

wd take her bodyguards w/ her

& Hethobards will see guards w/ swift swords

& surely surely surely they’ll be something angry

no doubt

11

for Beowulf his king killed

so Beowulf becomes king

King Beowulf sees his kind king die in battle

so to protect his king’s boy / this dead king’s son / B swims home

carries the armor of like a dozen warriors

& when he charges up to this castle

fully erect his queen sez be w/ me Beowulf

be my rey

                        what else cd Beowulf sey?

he sez “nay madame / not if yr boy’s still

alive” but that son dies so Beowulf becomes

KING BEOWULF & rules in peace for fifty years

12

sewn swirled together like can-do Celtic graphics

snaky winds around itself

13

            slave thrown out by master

discovers cave where there’s much

treasure guarded by some dragon                      & treasure does nothing if not circulating

            this foul dragon hoarding

gold & while sleeping this valorous

slave steals a cup & this certainly

wakes this dragon who proceeds

to devastating the countryside

& destroying Beowulf Hall

            & Beowulf keeping w/ that family

tradition decides to fight this dragon

14

makes a metal shield along w/ that slave who stole that cup

15

beginning of fights w/ dragon / leads men

Wiglaf calls them chickenshits / goes to help

Beowulf / Beowulf tries to stab dragon

w/ sword / useless / & that bastard

bites Beowulf on his neck

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    Chaley Chastitellez

    Annals of Aztec demigods, Chican@s more Dedalusians in slouches, Quetzalcoatls in jumpsuits.

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