Quote 1
"I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea.
As I sat in the boat with my band of men,
I meant to perform to the uttermost
what your people wanted or perish in the attempt,
in the fiend's clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose,
prove myself with a proud deed
or meet my death here in the mead-hall." (632-638)
It's all or nothing in this fight to the death: the good warrior Beowulf against the evil demon Grendel. Things can't get much more clear cut than that.
Quote 2
"I have wrested the hilt
from the enemies' hand, avenged the evil
done to the Danes; it is what was due." (1668-1670)
The battle between good and evil is a necessary part of Beowulf's life; it consists of fighting for justice, for "what was due" to a people who have suffered wrongs. Notice that, in this passage, good is not just the opposite of evil – good is actually the process of avenging evil that has been done in the past. That's a dangerous belief, because it leads to unending feuds and wars among the different Scandinavian and Germanic tribes.
Quote 3
"I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea.
As I sat in the boat with my band of men,
I meant to perform to the uttermost
what your people wanted or perish in the attempt,
in the fiend's clutches. And I shall fulfil that purpose,
prove myself with a proud deed
or meet my death here in the mead-hall." (632-638)
Having explained who he is by explaining what he's done in the past, Beowulf stakes his identity on what he's going to do in the future.
Quote 4
"At seven, I was fostered out by my father,
left in the charge of my people's lord.
King Hrethel kept me and took care of me,
was open-handed, behaved like a kinsman.
While I was his ward, he treated me no worse
as a wean about the place than one of his own boys." (2428-2433)
It's interesting to notice that we don't hear about Beowulf's childhood until the very end of the epic. For modern readers, the fact that Beowulf was raised as a foster son by King Hrethel probably seems really important; but for medieval audiences, Beowulf's deeds as an adult are more important than his princely youth.
Quote 5
Beowulf spoke, made a formal boast
for the last time: "I risked my life
often when I was young. Now I am old,
but as king of the people I shall pursue this fight
for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only
abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open." (2510-2515)
Even at the end of his life, Beowulf makes sure that he's continuing to add to his reputation and fame by his brave deeds. As he faces death, he sustains himself by continuing to think about the name that he's made for himself.
Quote 6
"Order my troop to construct a barrow
on a headland on the coast, after my pyre has cooled.
It will loom on the horizon at Hronesness
and be a reminder among my people –
so that in coming times crews under sail
will call it Beowulf's Barrow, as they steer
ships across the wide and shrouded waters." (2802-2808)
The final measure of Beowulf's successful establishment of an identity as a warrior and a king is his memorial, Beowulf's Barrow.
Quote 7
"I have heard moreover that the monster scorns
in his reckless way to use weapons;
therefore, to heighten Hygelac's fame
and gladden his heart, I hereby renounce
sword and the shelter of the broad shield,
the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand
is how it will be, a life-and-death
fight with the fiend." (433-440)
Beowulf makes his battle with Grendel more than a simple slay-the-monster task. By announcing that it will be a hand-to-hand combat, he gains extra glory for himself and the Geatish king, Hygelac, turning the contest into a feat of strength as well as a fight against evil.
Quote 8
Beowulf, Ecgtheow's son, replied:
"Well, friend Unferth, you have had your say
about Breca and me. But it was mostly beer
that was doing the talking. The truth is this:
when the going was heavy in those high waves,
I was the strongest swimmer of all." (529-534)
It's important for Beowulf to show strength even when there isn't an important heroic task to be accomplished. When there aren't demons or dragons to fight, he gets into these, er, "swimming contests" with other warriors.
Quote 9
"I would rather not
use a weapon if I knew another way
to grapple with the dragon and make good my boast
as I did against Grendel in days gone by.
But I shall be meeting molten venom
in the fire he breathes, so I go forth
in mail-shirt and a shield." (2518-2524)
Beowulf is careful to explain why he allows himself the advantage of armor and weapons in his battle with the dragon: it's because the dragon has its own special advantages: poisonous venom and the ability to breathe fire. It's not enough for Beowulf to battle the dragon. He has to emphasize that, in doing so, he really is meeting the creature on a level playing field, demonstrating his own strength and prowess, not just using better weapons.
Quote 10
"The fact is, Unferth, if you were truly
as keen and courageous as you claim to be
Grendel would never have got away with
such unchecked atrocity, attacks on your king,
havoc in Heorot and horrors everywhere." (590-594)
Beowulf scores one off of Unferth: Unferth can talk smack about Beowulf's past deeds, but the truth is that Unferth himself doesn't have any great deeds to boast about. Beowulf suggests that Unferth shouldn't go around insulting other warriors' courage until he's done something courageous himself. After all, Unferth never got the better of Grendel, so why should he sneer at Beowulf for trying?
Quote 11
"You are the last of us, the only one left
of the Waegmundings. Fate swept us away,
sent my whole brave high-born clan
to their final doom. Now I must follow them."
That was the warrior's last word.
He had no more to confide. The furious heat
of the pyre would assail him. His soul fled from his breast
to its destined place among the steadfast ones. (2813-2820)
With his last words, Beowulf recalls the now-deceased members of his clan, passing on their history and fame to Wiglaf. Death is not always just the loss of a single life; eventually whole clans, whole tribes, and whole nations are lost.
Quote 12
"Time and again, foul things attacked me,
lurking and stalking, but I lashed out,
gave as good as I got with my sword.
My flesh was not for feasting on,
there would be no monsters gnawing and gloating
over their banquet at the bottom of the sea.
Instead, in the morning, mangled and sleeping
the sleep of the sword, they slopped and floated
like the ocean's leavings." (559-567)
Beowulf's swimming contest with Breca is made more impressive by the addition of dozens of writhing sea-monsters, turning this straightforward athletic contest into an adventure worthy of being included in an epic.
Quote 13
"I have heard it said by my people in hall,
counsellors who live in the upland country,
that they have seen two such creatures
prowling the moors, huge marauders
from some other world. One of these things,
as far as anyone ever can discern,
looks like a woman; the other, warped
in the shape of a man, moves beyond the pale
bigger than any man, an unnatural birth
called Grendel by country people
in former days. They are fatherless creatures
and their whole ancestry is hidden in a past
of demons and ghosts. (1345-1357)
Earlier in Beowulf, the narrator explained that Grendel and his mother are the descendants of Cain, connected to an Old Testament story and a Christian way of understanding the world. However, in this passage they seem more like Halloween creatures – "demons and ghosts."