- Approximately when was the story of Beowulf written?
The exact date of when Beowulf was written is still not known, but scholars today speculate that it must have happened somewhere between 975 and 1025, during the Anglo-Saxon era of Britain. The actual writer still remains unknown – it is believed that many people rather than just one wrote it.
- What type of literature is the story of Beowulf?
The story of Beowulf is an epic, a narrative poem. Similar to ancient Greek epics of Iliad and Odyssey, Beowulf is one of the most important works of Old English poetry and literature in general. It was conceived at the very beginning of the English language and still remains a vital work of literature.
- What is Alliteration?
Alliteration is a figure of speech often used in poetry. It means that consonants in neighboring words are repeated over and over again in order for the poet to create a certain sound. It contributes to the rhythm of a poem or other literary work.
- What is Assonance?
As opposed to alliteration, assonance is actually the repetition of the same vowel in neighboring words. It is also a figure of speech often used in poetry with the aim to create a certain sound effect. But instead of repeating consonants, here vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y) are repeated.
- What is Onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech often used in both poetry and prose. It means that some sounds from nature are imitated through words. So, if you want to write down the sound of bells, you will write ‘jingle.’ If you want to write the sound a cat produces, you will write ‘meow,’ etc.
- What is Imagery?
Imagery is the use of descriptive words (such as very strong adjectives) in order to paint a certain picture in a poem or other literary works. The writer will create such a descriptive scene that the reader can imagine it vividly in his or her mind based solely on the words he or she has just read.
- What does the King of the Danes build that attracts the monster Grendel?
The King of the Danes, Hrothgar, built a large mead-hall called Heorot, which attracted the monster Grendel. This was the place where feasts were held, where many people came to celebrate and have fun, which is something Grendel was envious of given that he never got the chance to have that as he is a monster.
- What is the point in The Hero’s Journey after which he cannot go back to his old life?
The Midpoint is The Point of No Return for any Hero. This is a moment when he or she realizes that there is no going back to their old ways now. At this point, our Hero has to either achieve his or her goal that they’ve set out to achieve, or die trying. Usually, a Hero succeeds in his or her journey, but not always.
- How does Beowulf defeat Grendel?
Given that Grendel had some kind of magic which made him invulnerable to all weapons, Beowulf had to resort to using his own bare hands in order to defeat the monster. He threw away his axe and sword and attacked Grendel with his hands, thus managing to harm him and ultimately kill him.
- What is it that Hrothgar and his men are most worried about now that Grendel is gone?
They might be worried that Grendel’s mother is going to come for revenge. Grendel lived with his mother, and she was the only family he had. Obviously, when he died, she wanted to have her revenge on the Geats and those who killed her son. However, Hrothgar and his men had something else to worry about – the dragon which attacked them many years after Grendel’s death.
- Why did the dragon begin terrorizing the countryside in Geatland?
A slave entered the dragon’s lair and stole a jeweled cup from him. This angered the dragon, and he finally woke up after many years and started terrorizing the countryside in Geatland. Beowulf, who became king in the meantime, set out to kill him, but died himself in the process.
- How does Beowulf decide he is going to fight the dragon?
Given that Beowulf is now king of the Geats, he feels it is his duty to defend his kingdom and his people from a new monster. However, it has been 50 years since he defeated Grendel, and he is now an old man. Thus, he manages to hurt the dragon, but dies in the process himself, leaving Wiglaf to defeat the monster.
- What happens to Beowulf at the end of the battle?
Beowulf dies at the end of his battle with the dragon. Beowulf is an old man, having ruled Geatland for over 50 years after he defeated Grendel. Although he is still strong and a legendary hero, his strength was not enough to defeat the dragon, which is why he died, and the dragon was killed by Wiglaf.
- What is the name for the part of The Hero’s Journey when he must sacrifice himself?
Assuming you are referring to Joseph Campbell’s stages of The Hero’s Journey, I believe the part when he must sacrifice himself is called Ordeal/Crossing of the First Threshold – either one of those two. It is a stage in his journey which represents his final fight against evil forces – this is a matter of life and death, where he will either succeed and liberate his people or fail and die and doom the world.
- What is The Call to Adventure for the story of Beowulf?
Hrothgar calls Beowulf to help him defeat the monster which has been terrorizing Geatland for many years. Beowulf’s father and Hrothgar used to be friends, so Beowulf cannot say no to his plea. Also, Beowulf is a known hero already, so it would be disgraceful to refuse to help those in need.
- How does Beowulf vow to fight Grendel?
He tells everyone that he will fight Grendel unarmed. He understands that the monster cannot be killed using actual weapons, which is why he decides to rely solely on his bare arms to defeat Grendel. This turns out to be the right decision, given that he manages to kill him using only his arms.
- What is Beowulf’s “Ultimate Boon” in the story?
I believe Beowulf’s “Ultimate Boon” happens after he defeats Grendel’s mother. After mortally wounding Grendel, Beowulf follows him into an underwater cave where he fights Grendel’s mother. He manages to kill her as well, and brings Grendel’s head on a stick as proof of his victory.
- What is Beowulf’s final request?
Beowulf’s last request is that Wiglaf bring him some of the dragon’s gold to see. The dragon has accumulated a lot of gold throughout his life, and now that the dragon is dead, the entire treasure belongs to the Geats. Beowulf wants to see it before he dies, and he wishes that a burrow be made for him on the coast after his body is burned in a funeral pyre.
Hamlet
- Where does the story take place?
The story takes place in Denmark, which Hamlet is the prince of. Hamlet’s father was the king of Denmark, which means that Hamlet is the prince. Or at least he used to be until his uncle married his mother, thus becoming the new king of Denmark, leaving Hamlet with practically nothing.
- What does the night watch spot that frightens them?
The night watch spots a ghost and that frightens them. What they see is the ghost of the late king, Hamlet’s father. Everybody believes that he died of natural causes, when in fact, he was killed. This is something the ghost explains to Hamlet and bids him to have his revenge on the murderer.
- What is Hamlet’s relationship to Claudius at the beginning of the play?
At the beginning of the play, Hamlet still doesn’t suspect anything about his uncle. He is unhappy that his uncle married his mother, but other than that, he doesn’t have extremely negative feelings about Claudius. However, that is about to change the more we progress through the play.
- Why is Hamlet so furious with his mother so quickly at the start of the play?
Hamlet is so furious with his mother because she remarried so quickly. Her husband, Hamlet’s father, died just a few days before that, and she decided to remarry just a couple of days after his funeral. This drove Hamlet mad, not only because she remarried, but because she married his father’s own brother on top of that.
- Why is Fortinbras threatening to attack Claudius at the start of the play?
Fortinbras is the king of Norway, and Denmark once belonged to his father. However, his father unfortunately lost that land, which now Fortinbras wants to regain from Claudius. This is the reason why he is threatening to invade Denmark, which he never does, until the end, when he is crowned king because everyone else is dead.
- Why does Polonius tell Laertes, “Give everyman thy ear, but few they voice.”?
What Polonius means when he tells Laertes to listen to many people, but talk to few, is that he should be careful of who he is around and what he is telling them. They are living in a world of conspiracies, where a man can kill his brother just to become king, and so Polonius wants to protect his son.
- What does Hamlet mean when he tells Horatio, “The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.”?
He is trying to say that his mother remarried quite quickly. As I’ve already stated, his father died just a couple of days before his mother married his uncle. So he is saying here that the food they made for his father’s funeral is still there for his mother’s wedding, meaning it was happening too soon.
- Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?
Hamlet kills Polonius because he was startled. He saw someone hiding behind a curtain and thought it was Claudius trying to kill him. However, it turns out it was Polonius who was trying to hear the conversation between Gertrude and Hamlet, but ended up dead in the aftermath.
- Why does Ophelia kill herself?
Ophelia kills herself because of many reasons. First and foremost, Hamlet drove her mad. He didn’t love her, he called her ugly names, which drove her to madness. Additionally, her father was killed, so she was overwhelmed with the news of his death as well. All that led her to commit suicide.
- Who is Yorick?
Yorick was a court jester at his father’s court whom Hamlet loved when he was a kid. Yorick died many years ago, but Hamlet kept his skull which he held onto in his famous speech ‘To be or not to be.’ The skull represents the finality of death, which is imminent for every living being.
- How is Hamlet killed?
Hamlet is killed by Laertes in a fight. At the end of the play, there is a feast where everybody dies. Gertrude drinks poison wine Claudius meant for Hamlet. Laertes slashes Hamlet across the chest with a poisoned sword, and Hamlet does the same thing to Laertes. He then proceeds to kill Claudius.
- Committing suicide an especially bad thing in Hamlet’s time for what reasons?
We’re talking about Elizabethan England here, where there were some strong values everybody had to adhere to. The influence of the Church was strong, and Church forbids crime against self. Honor was an important quality at the time, and suicide was considered something dishonorable.
- Why does Hamlet put on a play for the royal court?
He puts on a play for the royal court so as to reveal the truth about his father’s murder. He suspects (or rather knows at this point) that his father was murdered by his own brother, Claudius, and he wants to recreate the events of the murder through the play in order to see Claudius’ reactions and confirm his suspicious about him being the culprit.
- What is Claudius’ final plan to kill Hamlet?
Claudius’ final plan to kill Hamlet is thwarted given that he poisoned a glass of wine he wanted Hamlet to drink, however, Gertrude took that glass and died of poisoning. However, he also thought about possible failures, which is why he poisoned swords which Laertes and Hamlet used to kill each other. It didn’t help him, however, given that Hamlet managed to kill him as well. Everyone important died at the end of the play.