Beowulf Review Checklist
CP English III Chiara THINGS TO KNOW…  What are some themes from Beowulf? • Good will always prevail over evil. • Loyalty must be earned through one’s actions.  What is the definition of an epic poem? What are the five elements of an epic? • An epic is a long narrative poem that recounts the adventures of a legendary hero in pursuit of a goal of national importance. The hero’s accomplishments reflect the values of his culture and usually figure prominently into the history or mythology of his people.  Epic hero  Quest  Valorous deeds  Divine intervention  Great events  What group of people wrote Beowulf? What are the characteristics of their society? • The Anglo-­‐Saxons wrote Beowulf. • They are known for…  Loyalty to the king  Courage (they were warriors!)  Fate—destiny/chance is in “control”  Glory & fame as motivation  Material things as markers for victory  Importance of kinship (family)  Flyting—the bragging/boasting done to boost one’s reputation  What two conflicting systems of belief are presented in Beowulf? What are some examples of this? • Old pagan culture versus new Christian religion  “Almighty God” helps win battles versus pagan “fates”  First the Danes prayed to God for help with Grendel, then they made sacrifices to pagan gods  What are the four characteristics of an epic hero? • Central character of the epic • Larger-­‐than-­‐life (charismatic, etc.) • Noble or semidivine • Fights against evil forces, is a symbol of goodness  What language was Beowulf originally written in? • Old English CP English III Chiara  What are the definitions of alliteration, personification, simile, symbol and foreshadowing? What is irony? • Alliteration: the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words • Personification: giving human characteristics to nonhuman things • Simile: a comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as” • Foreshadowing: giving a hint about what’s to come in the story • Irony: the difference between what is expected to happen and what actually happens  What is the basic plot of the three battles? What was the outcome of each? How does Beowulf prepare for each battle? • The Battle with Grendel: Fights Grendel with his bare hands (tears his arm off and nails it above the mead hall door) • The Battle with Grendel’s Mother: Fights and kills Grendel’s mother (cuts her head off and then finds dead Grendel to cut his head off, too) • The Last Battle: Fights and kills the dragon (fifty years later). Kills the dragon but is mortally wounded himself.  What is Beowulf’ last request? • Building a tomb at the water’s edge so that sailor can see this tower as the pays by (it will be a beacon for Anglo-­‐Saxon sailors)—the tower of an epic hero—Beowulf’s tower.