2. The Giant Sword and the Ice

Chapter 2 initially surveys previous scholars’ comments on the poetic image of the waning sword of Beowulf, before Pettit challenges these interpretations as inadequate. He then looks at descriptions of swords in later Old Norse skaldic poetry, comparing them to the giant sword of Beowulf in terms of links to ice and icicles as well as their melting, ultimately finding many differences between their poetic images