In line 662, Hrothgar and his men leave the hall in a procession. We can imagine the quiet and dark they left behind, as the last door closed and only fifteen young men occupied a much larger hall than they had ever seen. It was customary for the fighting men to sleep in the hall. Benches were moved back, tables set aside; commonly, at the side of a hall there were raised platforms like window-seats, running along the walls. Fighting men were used to sleeping on the floor or on these platforms, and perhaps carried with them a cloak or blanket, like a cowboy with his bed-roll. Line 688 suggests that the Danes provided pillows of some kind, probably stored in chests along the wall.
The narrator takes a moment to show us Beowulf getting ready for bed. For the feast, he has been wearing his full armor. Now, with the fires dying down, and the scraps of food cleaned up by the last dogs, the feast is over and he can take this off. He gives his helmet and chain-shirt to his servant (did the fifteen warriors travel with servants, or was this servant a squire among the warriors?). We can almost see Beowulf stretch, perhaps comb the wind-blown tangles out of his hair, and prepare to sleep. Few of us would be able to sleep, in these conditions. Beowulf, says the narrator, did not.
But he puts aside his sword to make it a fair fight. The narrator suggests a deep faith in God in this passage. Both Beowulf, and then the narrator’s voice, state that God rules over all and will give the victory as he wishes. In this we can probably hear the voice of the poet more than the voice of a historical Beowulf, if such existed. Perhaps the poet does not want Beowulf to be accused of pride, and so he is careful to remind the audience that as much as Beowulf trusts in his own strength, he has a greater reason to be confident. Surely God will not let down the champion who pursues the feud of Seth against Cain! And so all (but one) of the Geats fall asleep after their journey, and are fast asleep when the moment comes.
The camera’s eye swings outside the hall, as though we are watching a movie. We have watched the Danes fall asleep, and seen one glimpse (702-3) of Grendel’s slow creep in the dark. The camera moves back into the hall, to check on the men, and as they are motionless, the camera now moves outside again. It follows Grendel’s point of view…
“Then out of the night/Came the shadow-stalker, stealthy and swift…
…In off the moors, down through the mist-bands/God-cursed Grendel came greedily loping./The bane of the race of men roamed forth,/Hunting for a prey in the high hall./Under the cloud-murk he moved towards it/Until it shone above him, a sheer keep/Of fortified gold…”