Who is Grendel? | a monster, who came from Cane, a demon and he is banished by god because of Cane murdering his brother Adel |
Identify Heorot. | Hrothgar’s mead-hall(HALL OF HART) |
Why does Grendel attack Heorot? | he hates the fact he can’t be in on their celebration, he is jealous of their happiness |
What is Grendel’s method of attack? | He waits till the men are asleep then kills them one by one under the cover of darkness |
Why did the Danes desert Heorot? | for fear of being killed and eaten by Grendel |
How many Danes did Grendel kill the first night he attacked Heorot? | he killed 30 men |
How many years had Heorot stood empty? | 12 years |
In what sense is wergeld an issue here? | Grendel is a monster and does not play by human rules and has no intention of paying wergeld |
Who is Healfdene? | father of Hrothgar |
Who is Hygelac? | King of Sweeden and Beowulf’s uncle |
Why did Beowulf go to help Hrothgar? | 1. he needed help2. Beowulf wanted to build his reputation 3. wanted to win the admiration of his men |
How many men(Geats) did Beowulf bring with him? | 14 |
Who is Ecgtheow? | Beowulf’s father, a famous solider |
Who is Hrethel? | father of Hygelac, grandfather of Beowulf |
Why does Beowulf tell Hrothgar of his past accomplishments? | to prove that he is strong enough to fight this monster |
Why does Beowulf tell the story of his battle with Breca? | He wanted to reveal the heroic nature of him and to pump his men up for action |
What did Beowulf ask Hrothgar to do if he should be killed by Grendel? | Take his armor and send it back to Hygolac |
With what weapon does Beowulf plan to fight Grendel? Why? | His hands, because he wants it to be a fair fight |
From the description of Grendel’s attack, list four words or phrases that describe Grendel. | He is evil demonCurse of GodSavage monster Shepard of sins |
To what are Grendel’s eyes compared? | to fire, flame |
Why does Beowulf only watch as Grendel kills one of his men? | To see his method of attack |
As Beowulf battles Grendel in a fierce battle, his men draw their swords to protect him if necessary. Why is the gesture futile? | Grendel has cursed all human swords |
What fatal wound did Beowulf inflict on Grendel? | Crushes several of Grendel’s bones and ripped his arm off |
Did Grendel die in the mead-hall? Explain. | No, he sacrificed his arm to go back home to the pool in hope of surviving |
What proof of victory did the Danes see? | Beowulf’s nailed grendel’s arm on the rafters of the mead-hall |
At the beginning of the poem, Hrothgar’s warriors are happy, whereas Grendel is consumed by hatred. What causes these differences in attitude? | Hrothgard’s warriors are living in a world where things are going well for them, grendel’s hate is fueled because he can never be apart of that happiness |
How does Beowulf’s remark “Fate will unwind as it must,” reflect the AS’s attitude toward fate? | Beowulf believes faith believes faith brought him and Grendel together and faith will decide what happens |
What traits of Beowulf and Grendel raise the fight between them to an epic struggle between two great opposing forces in the world? | Beowulf is the best of good fighting Grendel who is the worst of bad |
Grendel eventually realizes that he has been beaten: “Now he discovered-once the afflicter/Of men, tormentor of their days-what it meant/To feud with Almighty God.” What inference about Anglo-Saxon beliefs can one make from these lines? | The AS has become Christians and believed God was watching over them, so God would win over evil |
The Dans celebrate Beowulf’s victory over Grendel. How do Hrothgar and the Dans show their gratitude to Beowulf? | 1. give him gifts-an embroidered banner, breast-mail, an embossed helmet, and a sword, eight horses with gold bridles, one of which has a fancy saddle designed for a king in battle.2. praise him3. Hrothgard treats him as a son |
What elements of the poem make it similar to a fairy tale? | It shows an elevated hero fighting an exaggerated monster and there are super natural elements in this store |
Epic | 1. a long native poem 2. deals with great heroes and adventures 3. has a national world wide setting 4. involves super natural forces 5. written in a deliberately ceremonial style |
Kenning | memphors, a compound term that replace an ordinary term |
alliteration | the repetition of consent sounds, at the beginning of words or within words particularly in scented syllables, it can be used to reenforce meaning, unify thought or simply to produce a musical effect |
metaphor | figure of speech that makes a comparison without using life or as between 2 basically unlike things that have something in common |
foreshadowing | hint of what is to come |
inference | a conclusion one reaches based on various details in a work of lit. |
Scyld Scefing | the first great king of the Danes |
Healfdene- | Father of Hrothgar |
Hrothgar- | the present king of the Danes |
Heorot- | hrothgar’s mead-hall (hall of hart) |
Grendel- | monster |
Hygelac- | king of Sweden |
Beowulf- | Geat Hygelac’s thane |
Ecgtheow | -Beowulf’s father, a great solider |
Unferth- | a Dane who insults Beowulf about his swimming match with Breca |
Breca- | Beowulf’s friend who he has a swimming match with |
Hrethel- | the father of Hygelac, the grandfather of Beowulf |
Wealhtheow- | queen of the Danes Hrothgar’s wife |
English- Beowulf part 1
February 24, 2020