Question

What does the phrase, "Who With A Single Thwart Blow Cleft Asunder A Brace of Hulking Blustering Giants" mean?

Answer 1

Well, this phrase is to be interpreted with how you believe it would be. Let's break it down. Let's start with the beginning of our sentence; "Who with a single thwart." What does the word "thwart" mean.
Thwart: (verb) to prevent (someone) from accomplishing something.
So, we have this so far;
"Who with a single prevented blow."

Onto the next part, "Blow cleft asunder a brace"

Lets dive into the words "cleft" and "asunder."
Cleft: (adjective) split, divided, in two.
Asunder: (adverb) into pieces, apart

All together we now have; "Who with a single prevented blow split into pieces under a brace."

Lastly, we will define "of hulking blustering giants."

Lets break down this one more.
When I see the word "hulking" I think of the Incredible Hulk. So let's dive into that word, and the word beside it.

Hulking: (adjective) large, heavy, clumsy.
Blustering: (verb) talking aggressively, noisily

So now, we should have interpreted this as "Who with a single prevented blow split into pieces under a brace of large noisy giants."

Based on what we have rewritten this sentence, what do YOU think this means? I believe that they're talking about someone in comparison to the giants.

Have a great day :-)