I think it's A. It is definally not the climax as this happens when Beowulf kills the monster. It's not the resolution either as it is the first part of the text. Also, exposition seems a little unrelated.
Since you didn't provide the excerpt, I am going to assume that the answer you need is 'hearken'.
Answer:
verb
past tense: deemphasized; past participle: deemphasized
reduce the importance or prominence given to (something).
"the reform de-emphasized central planning and placed more power in the association of socialized industries"
Explanation:
Apparently it's from the 15th Century's Old French emploier, Latin implicāre to entangle, to engage, from plicāre to fold