Beowulf Rap

I was going through an old filing cabinet and found something that gave me flashbacks to my English-teaching days—a rap I wrote in 1988 so my 8th graders would understand Beowulf better. Granted some with more literary talent than I possess have done translations, but I figured mine might work for 8th graders. Plus the movie version of Beowulf wouldn't come out until 2007, and even the animated version wasn't available back then:

Anyhow, here's my rap version. If you're an English teacher desperate to get your students more involved, feel free to use it: 

The Beowulf Rap

By Becky Mushko © 1988

Old King Hrothgar built Heorot Hall,

And him and his homeboys had a ball

’Til Grendel came upon the scene.

Man! This dude was big and mean—

Big red eyes, twelve feet tall—

Listen to what I’m tellin’ y’all!

Grendel chowed down on twenty guys—

Only a snack for a dude his size!

Every night he came again

And chomped and crunched up more and more men.

Poor old Hrothgr was reallin illin’

’Cause Grendel really got into killin’.

This went on for twelve years long

Until Mr. Beowulf came along.

Now Beowulf was one cool cat,

And he wondered where old Grendel was at.

A dude named Unferth put him down,

But Beowulf would prove he ain’t no clown.

Hrothgar said, Get it on, Man,

But you got to kill him with your own bare hand!”

They feasted and drank and went to sleep drunk,

And along came Grendel, the ugly punk.

He chomped one dude and slurped his blood

And said to himself, “Mmm-mmm, that’s good!”

But as he reached for another to harm,

Beowulf grabbed him by his arm

And slung him back and forth like a rocket

’Til he ripped his arm right outta its socket.

Grendel ran back to his bloody lake

’Cause he’d had about all that he could take.

Beowulf nailed his arm to the wall,

And they partied and boogied in Heorot Hall.

Hrothgar gave him gold and stuff

’Cause that’s what you get when you’re good and tough.

I hope you understand the poem of Beowulf

’Cause I think I’ve done rapped enough.

I can't guarantee that it'll work, though.

~