1. Review lines 1-36 of Boewulf. briefly discuss details that demonstrate the following: a) that Hrothgar is a successful king. b) that hrothgar is a specifically Christian king.
2. review lines 37-49, which contain pertinent details regarding Grendel? a) what kind of being is Grendel? b) where does Grendel live?
3. Beowulf travels from the land of the Geats to Denmark in lines 61-82. a) how many soldiers accompany Boewulf? b) about how long does it take to reach Denmark? c) what is their journey like?
4. Beowulfs first speech before hrothgar appears in lines 90-124. a) what two courageous deeds does Beowulf recount to the king? b) what request does he make to the king?
5. how does Hrothgar recieve Beowulf?
6. Unferth claims that Beowulf had been bested in a swimming match with Breca. Beowulf refutes this claim by giving his own version of the story. a) what does Beowulf say rreally happened? b) how does he critize Unferth for calling his abilities into question?
7. Beowulf encounters Grendel. a) why are swords ineffective against Grendel? b) how is Beowulf able to defeat Grendel?
8. Beowulf encounters Grendels dam. a) read carefully the summary after line 390. what sword is effective in killing Grendel’s dam? b) when blood rises to the surface of the pool, how does the reaction of the Geats contrast with that of the Danes?
9. study carefully lines 397-431,which contain the advice of Hrothgar to Beowulf. a) what is hrothgars main piece of advice to Beowulf? b) briefly describe two evil qualities Hrothgar foresees in a leader who rejects this advice.
10. who and what provoke the fire dragon to lay waste the land of the Geats during the last years of Beowulfs reign?
11. who leads Beowulf to the dragons lair?
12. Beowulf battles the fire dragon. a) contrast the actions of Wiglaf with those of the other thanes. b) how does Beowulf suffer his mortal wound? c) how is the fire dragon killed?
13. briefly describe two reflections that make beowulf “glad” as he faces death.
14. starting in line 475, Beowulf speaks to Wiglaf and makes two important parting requests. Describe these two requests.
15. following the last words and death of Boewulf, describe the details that conclude the epic. be precise in your description, noting important persons and events.
Part II
1. A kenning, put simply, is a renaming. it is a descriptive of figurative name used in place of the plain name of a thing, often translated as a hyphenated word or phrase. a kenning can emphasize an aspect of the thing it renames, or can be a metaphor for it. “heather-stepper” renames a deer, focusing on its action of stepping through heather. “sky-candle” renames the sun, likening it to a
candle in the sky. because they are names, kennings are nouns, not adjectives. review the entire text. quote six other kennings and write out their line numbers in parenthesis.
2. review the text and identify ten lines in which the translator is particularly successful in imitating the alliterative form of the original Anglo-Saxon verse. remember that a “particularly successful’ line of Anglo-Saxon poetry would have had between three and five repetitions of the alliterating consonant. please quote ten such lines and write out their numbers in parenthesis.
3. the hero of an epic embodies the characteristics of the ideal man of the country in which the epic was written. write a paragraph on Beowulf pointing out and discussing three distinct personality traits portrayed in him that the Christian Anglo- Saxon of the eighth century would admire. give at least one example showing Beowulfs words or actions for each trait.
4. although Beowulf is not meant to be read as a strict allegory, certain parallels may be drawn between Beowulf and Christ, and between beowulfs companions and Christs apostles, particularly in the section with the Fire Dragon. write a paragraph of at least 75 words, with a topic sentence, that identifies and discusses at least three specific parallels from the text.
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