Beowulf Reading Questions
KEY
1. What project does Hrothgar order undertaken to ensure his fame? What is the name of that constuction project? TO BUILD A MEAD HALL/ HEROT
2. What typical activities do the people engage in at this place Hrothgar makes? CONGREGATING, MAKING MERRY, DRINKING, DANCING, SINGING, EATING…
3. What does the bard sing about inside the hall early in the narrative? GOD CREATING THE EARTH Why does this anger Grendel? GRENDEL DESPISES GOD
4. According to the story, from what famous person does Grendel trace his monstrous lineage? CAIN
5. How many warriors does Grendel eat on the first night he attacks Herot? 30
6. How long does Grendel haunt Herot until Beowulf comes to help the Danes? 12 YEARS
7. What is the one thing in the mead hall Grendel is unable to touch or ruin (see lines 83-84)? HROTHGAR’S GLORIOUS THRONE
8. What king does Beowulf serve? HIGLAC Why does Beowulf leave this king to help out Hrothgar? HEARS ABOUT GRENDEL What qualification or achievements does Beowulf have that make him suitable for fighting Grendel? MADE 5 GIANTS SLAVES AND CHASED RACE FROM EARTH; HUNTED MONSTERS OUT OF SEA AND KILLED ONE BY ONE
9. When Beowulf fights Grendel, what special weapon does he use to dispatch the monster? BARE HANDS
10. Give one example of a beot that Beowulf makes during the course of the story. BEOT – ANGLO-SAXON RITUALIZED BOAST TO PROCLAIM ONE’S ACCEPTANCE OF AN IMPOSSIBLE CHALLENGE TO GAIN GLORY FOR ACCOMPLISHING IT: 5 GIANTS, SEA MONSTERS, GRENDEL, GRENDEL’S MOTHER, DRAGON…
11. What is Unferth's reaction to Beowulf showing up to save the day? RIDICULES BEOWULF ABOUT HIS SWIMMING COMPETITION WITH BRECA (PUTS BEOWULF DOWN, SAYING HE RISKED HIS LIFE FOR PRIDE AND FOOLISH BOAST AND THAT BRECA BEAT BEOWULF IN SWIMMING) How does he challenge Beowulf? EXPECTS HIM TO LOSE IN BATTLE WITH GRENDEL
12. How is Beowulf's story about the swimming match with Breca different than Unferth's version of the tale? BEOWULF SAYS HE WON THE CONTEST WITH BRECA, DESPITE 1) THE SEA MONSTER’S HEAVY ATTACKS, 2) IT WAS WINTER AND THE WATER WAS FREEZING, AND 3) BEOWULF WAS IN FULL ARMOR AND CHAIN MAIL. (BEOWULF GOES ON TO ACCUSE UNFERTH OF BEING DRUNK AND HAVING NO REAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPETITION.)
13. What does Beowulf do to Grendel that mortally wounds the monster? RIPS OFF HIS ARM
14. What decoration or trophy does Beowulf stick on a spike over the entry-way to Herot? GRENDEL’S ARM
15. Who comes to avenge Grendel's death? GRENDEL’S MOTHER
16. Grendel's mother kills whom in retaliation for her son's death? HROTHGAR’S BEST FRIEND
17. Where does Grendel's mother live? IN A FIERY LAKE
18. What unusual supernatural features does the lake have? FROZEN SPRAY, BURNS AT NIGHT, OTHER MONSTERS LIVING THERE How do deer react when they are chased by hunters to the edge of the lake? THEY PREFER TO DIE ON THE SHORE THAN IN THE WATER How is that symbolic, given the name of King Hrothgar's hall? HEROT = HART, WHICH ALSO MEANS MALE DEER OR STAG. THE MEAD HALL/ HEROT IS THE HEART (HART) OF HROTHGAR’S KINGDOM. THE DEER REPRESENT ALL THE MEN THAT GRENDEL AND HIS MOTHER HAVE BUTCHERED IN HEROT, THE HEART OF DENMARK.
19. Who loans Beowulf a sword initially to go fight Grendel's mother? IRONICALLY, UNFERTH LENDS BEOWULF HRUNTING
20. How long does the text say it took Beowulf to reach the bottom of the lake? (See line 452.) HOURS
21. What happens when Beowulf uses the first borrowed sword to strike Grendel's Mother? NOTHING Where does he find a second weapon? HANGING ON THE WALL According to the text, who made this weapon? GIANTS When Beowulf retells his battle to Hrothgar, he lets us know what happened to the sword after it penetrated the female monster's skin. Although the hilt and handle and crossguard survive, what happens to the blade itself after fatally stabbing the monster? GRENDEL’S BLOOD MELTS THE BLADE
22. When Hrothgar examines the damaged blade, what decorations does he find on the sword? (i.e., what Biblical event is carved on it from the Old Testament?) ENGRAVED PICTURES TELLING THE STORY OF HOW WAR CAME TO INTO THE WORLD AND HOW A FLOOD DESTROYED A RACE OF GIANTS (SCANDINAVIAN MYTH)
23. According to the summary of excerpted material, how long does Beowulf rule as king over the Geats? 50 YEARS
24. According to the summary of excerpted material, what arouses the dragon's wrath and lures it from its lair to attack men? A SLAVE ENTERS ITS LAIR AND TAKES A CUP FROM ITS TREASURE HOARD
25. Where does the dragon make its lair? TOWER/ BARROW
26. Give a brief blow-by-blow of Beowulf's fight with the dragon. BEOWULF GETS A FATAL WOUND FROM THE DRAGON, WIGLAF IMPALES THE DRAGON’S BELLY TO REDUCE THE FLAMES, BEOWULF DEALS THE FATAL BLOW TO THE DRAGON, THEN BEOWULF DIES
27. Who is the one warrior that remains loyal to Beowulf when the others run away? WIGLAF
28. After Beowulf appoints Wiglaf king, what is Beowulf's last dying request? TELLS WIGLAF TO GO INTO BARROW AND BRING BACK TREASURE SO BEOWULF CAN LOOK AT IT What does he ask be done with his body when it comes to burial? BEOWULF ORDERS WIGLAF TO BUILD A BARROW FOR HIM ON THE COAST AFTER HIS BODY HAS BEEN BURNED SO HE CAN SEE THE SEA
29. What punishment does Wiglaf order for those men who fled from the scene of battle? CONDEMNS THEM FOR THEIR FAILURE OF DUTY AND ORDERS – EXILES THEM