The sea in Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poetryIs the sea mentioned only in Beowulf or is it a common element throughout Anglo-Saxon poetry? Is the sea described in the same way as in Beowulf? In Beowulf there is reference after reference to the sea. When Scyld died, "his people took him out to sea, which was his last request", where he drifted into the afterlife on a "death ship". In the land of the Geats Beowulf, a "cunning sailor," and his men "propelled the well-armed ship on the voyage of which they had dreamed" to save the Danes from Grendel. “From far beyond the expanse of the sea,” came the Geats, “brave men who reach beyond the waves of the sea.” In his welcoming speech Hrothgar recalls that the hero's father “sought us Danes beyond the rolling waves,” and his warrior Unferth recalls that the hero “wrestled with Brecca [youthful companion] in a wide sea in a swimming contest ... risked their lives in the deep waters... they hugged the sea, gliding through the boiling waves... they toiled seven nights at sea." A Dane "took every courtesy" for Beowulf, because "such in those days he could expect a seafarer." King Hrothgar and Queen Welhtheow offered rich gifts "to those who on the mead bench made the sea voyage." In the Finnburh episode, Hengest had to spend the winter months with Finn because he "could not govern the his ring-prowed ship on the cold sea." "Guthlaf and Oslaf spoke of their grief after the sea voyage." The Danes carried Hildeburh, the Danish-born queen, "over the sea." "The rushing waters" they welcomed Beowulf as he swam after Grendel's mother. During the battle Hrothgar and his retinue stared out at “the troubled water.” Eventually Beowulf returned, “protector of sailors, strong swimmer, to the land.” Hrothgar, I... middle of the paper... we cross expanses of water: much warmer to demonstrate the kindness of the Lord than this life of death he has lent us on earth. . . The Mariner concludes with a rather long prose exhorting his listeners to place their hopes in heaven. The characters in the Old English poem Beowulf certainly delighted in the seas. From this essay it can be appreciated that their attitude towards the sea is conflicted and comparable to that expressed in other Old English poems. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alessandro, Michael, translator. Early English Poems. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A bilingual edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977.TheSeafarer. In The Early English Poems, translated by Michael Alexander. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.