Writing a Descriptive Essay

Glory or Death

INTRODUCTION
Attention grabber

The tall, heavily muscled man stretches himself on his bed in the once

Physical appearance

mighty hall. In the moonlight his blonde hair looks ghostly white, his pale blue
eyes almost black. Staring intently toward the distant ceiling, he can just make out
the huge wooden beams that support the hall's immense roof. Around him lie his
soldiers, young men who have come with him to this far kingdom across the sea.
Their bellies are stuffed with meat and mead from King Hrothgar's table, and the
sound of their regular breathing fills the hall like a soft breeze in the grass.

Figurative language

Beowulf wonders how many of them will live until the morning. "There is no glory

Thoughts

without risk," Beowulf reminds himself.

Glory, not sympathy for the plight of the Danes, is the reason Beowulf, hero
of the poem that bears his name, has brought these warriors so far to face danger. In

Background information

his world there is only one way for a man to distinguish himself: to prove his
strength and bravery in
battle. The desire to prove himself the strongest and bravest of men
motivates Beowulf's every thought, word, and action.

Thesis statement
BODY
Actions

Beowulf shivers as the night grows colder. He pulls up his warm blanket, and his eyelids
creep down. He wrenches his eyes open again. "You must not sleep tonight,"
he tells himself. "You must wait for the monster." He frowns as he thinks of

Interior monologue

Grendel, the foul beast that had broken into the hall night after night,
slaughtering the warriors within until finally the great hall was abandoned to
the evil monster. "Where is the monster?" Beowulf wonders. "Why doesn't he
come? I can't wait to teach the beast a lesson! Him and Unferth, too." Beowulf
remembers Unferth's sour face as he spat out the words boastful fool. "He'll
soon see whether I'm boasting or not."

Actions

To guard against falling to sleep, Beowulf props himself up on one elbow and
looks around at his comrades. Moonlight from the

Sensory details

windows gleams on the naked swords by their beds and the bright armor peeking out
from under their blankets. There is no sword beside Beowulf's bed and no breastplate on
his chest. Since the monster fights with only his hands, Beowulf has chosen to do the
same. "Where's the glory in killing the beast with a sword?" Beowulf asks himself. "Only

Thoughts

if I fight it hand to hand can I prove that I am the stronger."

Suddenly Beowulf hears the door break off its hinges and crash on the stone
floor. A huge shadow blocks the moonlight, and hard, scaly claws seize one of Beowulf's

Sensory details

sleeping comrades. As Beowulf watches, amazed, the great monster Grendel rips the man
apart and gobbles him down. Then Grendel bends over Beowulf, so close that Beowulf
can see the glittering eyes and smell the foul breath. Grendel's iron claw bites into
Beowulf's arm, but Beowulf grabs the beast's claws in his huge hands and leaps to his
feet. He holds on with all his strength as Grendel twists and pulls. Beowulf forces his
fingers to press harder, and he feels a bone snap in one of the monster's claws. Grendel
gives an ear-piercing howl of pain. "I must hold on," Beowulf tells himself. "I must show
that I am stronger than this fiend."
Roused by the monster's howl, Beowulf's men leap up, their swords in their
hands. They hack at the monster, but their blades bounce off his thick, scaly hide.

Interior monologue

Locked together by Beowulf's mighty grip, the monster and the hero slam against the
wooden walls and overturn the great wooden tables. The Danes hear the racket in their
beds and tremble. Now Grendel wants only to escape, but Beowulf holds him fast. He

Actions

struggles and twists, screaming so

horribly that Beowulf's soldiers cover their ears. At last, "the bleeding sinews deep in his

Sensory details

shoulder/ [Snap], muscle and bone split/ And [break]" (816818). Grendel wrenches
himself free and streaks from

the hall. His arm is still in Beowulf's hand. "Beowulf," says the poet, "Had been
granted new glory" (818819).
After the battle, Beowulf is showered with the recognition he craves.

Reactions
Exact words from
the poem

Hrothgar declares, "The woman who bore him . . . was granted a son for her
glory. . . . "(943945). Even Unferth, Beowulf's enemy, is forced to recognize his
greatness: "Unferth grew quiet, gave up quarreling over/ Beowulf's old battles,
stopped all his boasting/ Once everyone saw proof of that prince's strength. . . "
(980982). Hrothgar gives a lavish banquet for Beowulf and showers him with gifts.
For his part, Beowulf is "not ashamed to be praised" (1025). Hrothgar's queen,
Welthow, reassures Beowulf that he has achieved what he desires: "Your glory is too
great to forget," she tells him. "It will last forever, wherever the earth/ Is surrounded
by the

CONCLUSION

sea, the winds' home, / And waves lap at its walls" (12211224).
The ancient poem Beowulf gives us a fascinating glimpse into a world where
physical strength and courage are a man's most important traits, and fame is more

Importance of scene
Reference to thesis

important than life itself. Beowulf is the perfect embodiment of the value system
that the poet has his hero so eloquently express: "Each of us will come to the end of
this life/ On earth; he who can earn it should fight/ For the glory of his name; fame

Final statement/Speech

after death/ Is the noblest of goals" (13861389).