Humanities
—
Mr.
Alper
Name____________________________________________ Beowulf
Part
I
Questions
Date __________________________ Period_____________ Beowulf Guided Reading Questions
Recall
and
Comprehension
Questions
1.
What
do
scholars
assume
about
the
origins
of
Beowulf?
2.
What
is
the
poetic
style
of
Beowulf?
3.
Who
was
Shild?
Why
did
the
Danes
love
him?
How
did
they
show
it?
4.
Who
is
Hrothgar?
5.
What
was
Herot?
Why
was
it
important
to
the
Danes?
6.
Who
was
Grendel?
What
is
his
background?
7.
How
long
does
Grendel
terrorize
the
Danes?
What
does
he
not
do
during
all
that
time?
8.
Who
is
Beowulf?
9.
What
reason
does
Beowulf
give
for
going
to
Denmark?
10.
What
does
Beowulf
tell
Hrothgar
about
himself
when
they
first
meet?
11.
What
does
Unferth
say
to
Beowulf?
How
does
Beowulf
respond?
12.
What
do
Beowulf’s
men
think
about
as
they
go
to
sleep
in
Herot?
13.
How
does
Grendel
react
when
Beowulf
seizes
him?
14.
How
does
Beowulf
defeat
Grendel?
What
does
Grendel
do
afterward?
15.
How
does
Grendel’s
mother
avenge
his
death?
16.
Describe
Grendel’s
mother’s
lair
17.
What
is
Hrunting?
What
happens
when
Beowulf
uses
it?
18.
How
does
Beowulf
ultimately
defeat
Grendel’s
mother?
19.
How
long
has
Beowulf
been
ruling
the
Geats
at
the
beginning
of
Part
III?
20.
What
prompts
the
dragon
to
attack
the
Geats?
21.
How
many
men
does
Beowulf
take
with
him
to
face
the
dragon?
22.
What
do
his
men
do
when
the
dragon
attacks?
23.
Who
is
Wiglaf?
What
does
he
do
that
distinguishes
him
from
the
others?
24.
How
is
the
dragon
defeated?
25.
Why
does
Beowulf
say
he
can
die
happily?
26.
What
do
the
Geats
do
with
Beowulf’s
bequest?
Analysis
and
Interpretation
Questions:
Part
I:
1.
In
the
first
part
of
the
poem,
the
Beowulf‐poet
portrays
a
successful
king.
Through
Hrothgar’s
achievements,
the
poet
suggests
his
own
system
of
values.
What
seems
to
matter
most
to
people
in
his
society?
2.
During
the
account
of
the
fight
between
Beowulf
and
Grendel,
the
narrative
point
of
view
keeps
shifting.
Whose
viewpoints
are
represented?
What
are
the
consequences
for
the
reader
of
this
shifting
perspective?
Part
II:
1.
In
the
accounts
of
Beowulf’s
victories
over
both
Grendel
and
his
mother,
another
man
dies
before
Beowulf
is
victorious.
This
puzzles
some
readers
who
think
Beowulf
should
have
prevented
these
deaths.
Why
might
the
poet
have
decided
to
include
these
deaths?
2.
The
poet
has
an
unusually
long
description
of
Grendel’s
mother’s
lair.
What
purposes
does
this
passage
serve?
Part
III
1.
There
are
a
number
of
parallels
between
Beowulf’s
youthful
fight
with
Grendel
and
Grendel’s
mother,
and
his
last
battle
with
the
dragon.
Compare
and
contrast
these
critical
features:
(a)
the
cause
of
each
monster’s
attack
on
humanity;
(b)
Beowulf’s
motives
in
countering
the
attack;
(c)
Beowulf’s
preparations
for
battle;
(d)
the
symbolic
details
of
the
fight
as
it
progresses;
and
(e)
its
conclusion.
2.
Compare
the
fidelity
of
Beowulf’s
men
in
the
three
major
battles
he
fights.
What
pattern
emerges?
3.
At
the
end
of
the
poem,
does
the
attitude
towards
the
rewards
of
treasure
and
the
value
of
material
wealth
shift?
4.
For
what
reasons
do
Beowulf
and
his
men
plan
and
carry
out
the
elaborate
funeral
at
the
poem’s
end?
5.
Now
that
you
have
finished
the
story,
reconsider
why
the
Beowulf‐poet
began
with
Shild’s
funeral.