Beowulf Study Guide
1. Characters and Places: Provide a physical description for each of the characters and places
listed below. Some characters may also require an explanation of their personality traits or
flaws. Know what significance each character has to the overall story of the novel. Be able to
tell which characters are Danes and which are Geats, and know if the places mentioned are in
the land of the Danes or the Geats.
Scyld Scefing
Denmark
The Danes
Hrothgar
Hall Heorot
The Fen
Wealhtheow
Unferth
Beowulf
The Geats
Brecca
Grendel
Grendel’s Mother
Aeschere
Sigemund
Fitela
Cain
Hygelac
Hardred
Firedrake
The Firedrake’s Cave
The slave who steals the
jeweled cup
Wiglaf
2. Sequence of Events: Know the major plot points and the order in which they happen. Also,
know the following subplots:





How Scyld Scefing comes to rule the Danes and Hrothgar succeeds him
Brecca and Beowulf’s swimming challenge
The story of Sigemund (and Fitela) and the Firedrake
How Beowulf becomes king of the Geats
How Beowulf dies and who succeeds him as king
3. Comprehension Questions: Know the answers to the following chapter questions (most
have been taken from your homework assignments):
1. Know the difference between the Danes and the Geats.
2. Describe Scyld Scheffing.
3. Why did Scyld want to go back out to sea when he was old? Describe the ceremony.
4. Describe Hrothgar. How did he prove himself worthy to be king at a young age.
5. Describe Hall Heorot.
6. Why did Hrothgar build Heorot?
7. Compare the description of Heorot to the description of the fen.
8. What types of creatures live in the fen?
9. Describe Grendel.
10. What happened in Hall Heorot after Hrothgar’s first banquet?
11. Describe Unferth.
12. Summarize the legend of Grendel.
13. Why or in what way is Unferth two-faced?
14. Describe Beowulf. Does he sound like a typical hero?
15. What did Beowulf leave on the hill and why is this important? What does the item look like?
16. What is the significance of the apples that Beowulf and his men collected from the grove on
their way to see Hrothgar?
17. Why did Beowulf and Brecca go swimming in the ocean?
18. What is Beowulf’s reason for not using a sword to fight Grendel?
19. Describe the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, including who won and how.
20. What memory does Grendel have towards the end of the battle and why is it significant?
21. Describe Unferth’s reaction to Beowulf’s victory and compare it with the Geats’ reaction to
Beowulf’s victory.
22. How does Hrothgar reward Beowulf? Be able to list multiple examples.
23. What is the significance of the story of Sigemund and the Fire Dragon?
24. Provide a physical description of Grendel’s Mother.
25. How does Unferth react to the coming of Grendel’s Mother?
26. What does Grendel’s Mother do when she comes to Heorot? Be specific.
27. What happened to Unferth?
28. What does Beowulf take with him to fight Grendel’s Mother?
29. Why does Hrothgar want to go with Beowulf to fight Grendel’s Mother? What does Beowulf
tell Hrothgar about a king’s duty to his people?
30. What does Beowulf tell his men before he jumps into the pool?
31. How does Beowulf survive the swim down to Grendel’s Mother?
32. What wakes Beowulf just before he succumbs to the squeezing tentacles of Grendel’s
Mother?
33. Why does Beowulf mention Cain as he is speaking to Grendel’s Mother?
34. How does Beowulf kill Grendel’s Mother?
35. What happens to the giant’s sword?
36. What do Beowulf’s men think when they see boiling blood bubbling up in the pool?
37. What does Beowulf bring with him to the surface of the pool?
38. How are color and light used when Beowulf emerges from the pool with Grendel’s head and
when four men carry it to the king and queen? (In other words, how does the fen change once
Grendel and Grendel’s Mother have been completely destroyed?)
39. What is the significance of the raven with the hoarse voice who sings three pure notes?
40. Why does Hrothgar wish for white birds to accompany Beowulf’s ship home? Why does
Beowulf say that he doesn’t care if the birds are black? What color birds actually do follow
Beowulf home?
41. How does the Coast Guard bring the story of Beowulf’s time with the Danes full circle?
42. What gifts does Beowulf give his uncle Hygelac? What gifts does he give Hygelac’s young
wife, Queen Hygd?
43. What is the only gift Beowulf keeps for himself? Who gave this gift to him?
44. How does King Hygelac reward his nephew Beowulf?
45. Beowulf passes the next few years keeping bees. Why do the bees never sting him?
46. How does King Hygelac die?
47. Why does Beowulf refuse the throne when Queen Hygd urges the people to make him king?
48. What is King Hardred’s undoing? Explain how Beowulf becomes king.
49. Why does Beowulf kill Onela?
50. Beowulf rules in peace for forty years after the death of Onela. During that time he tends his
bees. He says that the bees taught him to rule wisely. What habits do bees have which exhibit
order and might be applied to the world of humans?
51. Why does the disgruntled slave steal the jeweled cup? What does he think it will do for him?
52. What does the Firedrake do in revenge for the theft of his cup?
53. Beowulf volunteers to go against the Firedrake. “Beowulf’s body had shrunken with
age…But his heart, thought Wiglaf, was as big and brave as it had always been…” Based on
the earlier part of the book, which of these facts do you think is more important? Explain.
54. What happened to all of Beowulf’s loyal followers, his warriors?
55. Why does Beowulf tell Wiglaf the story of Sigemund and Fitela? What do Sigemund and
Fitela use that Beowulf plans to use with Wiglaf against the Firedrake?
56. Describe Beowulf and Wiglaf’s attack on the Firedrake. How do they outwit him? Describe
how the Firedrake is killed.
57. How does Beowulf, now an old man, change his views on fighting from those he believed as
a young man?
58. Does Beowulf expect the world to understand him? Why or why not?
59. How does Beowulf die? Who becomes king after Beowulf? Does the one who becomes king
ever tell the story of the bees?
60. What happens to Beowulf’s body after his death?
4. Vocabulary: Know the definition of these words as they are used in Beowulf: A New
Telling, by Robert Nye.
1. stride
2. sufficient
3. spoils
4. sneeringly
5. sinister
6. vengeance
7. honed
8. indomitable
9. shrewd
10. insinuated
11. apprehensive
12. sustenance
13. stifle
14. vicious
15. pandemonium
16. trinket
17. debris
18. illumination
19. frailties
20. incensed
21. wanton
22. strained
23. obsequious
24. succumbed
25. malevolent
26. Disconsolately
27. Triumphal
28. Surly
29. Sanctuary
30. Lob
31. Exile
32. Venture
33. Clamber
34. Fissure
35. Hoard
36. Ruinous
37. Pestilence
38. Absentmindedly
39. Cunning
40. Agile
5. Consider these concepts in relation to Beowulf: A New Telling:
1. Courage - What do you think courage is? Is it the opposite of fear? Can a person have both fear
and courage?
2. Loyalty - What do you think loyalty is? Does loyalty have to be deserved?
3. Reputation - What factors influence a person’s reputation? Is a person’s reputation as important
today as it once was? Why or why not? Is it more important in some cultures than it is in others?
4. Generosity - What does generosity mean? Does it always refer to material goods? Is generosity
ever a shortcoming or flaw? Why or why not?
5. Leadership - What are important qualities for a good leader? Are they the same qualities that a
hero should possess? What is the difference between a good leader and a hero?
6. Be prepared to respond in BCR form to one of the two prompts. Your BCR must have a
thesis statement with a theme statement, title/author, and mention at least two examples you
are going to use to make your point. Each example must be explained in the body of your
paragraph and your conclusion must restate your thesis. Your BCR must be a minimum of 6
well-constructed sentences.
1. In literature, an author often uses dichotomy to create conflict that leads to at least one
theme. Identify a dichotomy that illustrates a theme in the novel. Use at least two
examples to show what Robert Nye accomplishes or shows the reader by setting up these
dichotomies in his novel, Beowulf: A New Telling?
2. The ancient Anglo Saxon stories and legends were more than just fireside entertainment.
They taught people how to behave and what society’s expectations of them were. Stories
also taught individuals what could happen to them if they did not behave in accordance
with their society’s rules. Identify two characters in Robert Nye’s Beowulf: A New
Telling. One character must be an example of bad behavior while the other is an example
of good behavior. Explain how these characters illustrate a theme in the novel.