“After he died, Sigemund was shaped
into story-glory for his crowning kill,
cutting through the hide of a hoard-holder,
a dragon whose cave he’d crawled inside,
outrageously alone, without even Fitela.
He was fortunate in his fortune-hunting:
his sword stabbed the serpent, and sliced it
like butter, straight through scale to stone,
and the dragon died, leaving bounty
and bones to Wael’s son, who claimed
the treasure for himself. He loaded his ship
with glitter. The dragon, even dead,
was so embittered it melted, smelting
dark intention into the metal.
Directions:
Select approximately 100 lines from the Beowulf poem to annotate. In your annotations, which include highlights and margin notes, identify the poetic devices contained in your lines. At the end of your chosen section, please author a section summary where you describe IN YOUR OWN WORDS the facts and circumstances portrayed in your section. Please make a copy of this document and include your chosen section of approximately 100 lines and accompanying annotations.
