Spring 2012 Exam Study Guide
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Grendel
◦ Grendel has been terrorizing the hall of Herot for
12 years. King Hrothgar calls on Beowulf to help.
◦ Beowulf waits for Grendel to come to the hall one
evening for his nightly feeding, then Beowulf and
Grendel fight.
◦ Beowulf defeats Grendel by tearing off his arm.
◦ The wounded Grendel returns to his marsh.
◦ Grendel’s arm is hung up in the hall as a trophy.
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Grendel’s mother
◦ She goes to the hall and takes back her son’s arm.
◦ Then she kills one of the king’s closest friends to
avenge her son’s death.
◦ Beowulf goes to the marsh and fights her. He
delivers a blow to her neck which kills her.
◦ Beowulf then cuts off Grendel’s head.
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The dragon
◦ Beowulf returns to his home, and eventually
becomes king. He rules in peace and prosperity for
50 years.
◦ Then a dragon begins terrorizing the countryside,
so Beowulf, now an old man, faces the dragon.
◦ Beowulf is unable to defeat the dragon alone, so
Wiglaf joins Beowulf in the fight. Together, they
defeat the dragon, but Beowulf is seriously
wounded.
◦ The dying Beowulf leaves the kingdom to Wiglaf as
a reward for his loyalty.
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After the three rioters discover the gold, they come
up with a plan to carry the gold away.
Two of them will guard the gold, while the other goes
to get provisions (bread and wine).
While the third is getting provisions, the other two
come up with a plan to murder him and split the gold
between the two of them.
Meanwhile, the third one comes up with a plan to
murder the other two by poisoning their drinks.
When the third one rejoins the other two, they kill
him and then drink the wine to celebrate, so they die
as well.
The moral of the story: the love of money is the root
of all evil.
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Italian or Petrarchan
◦ 14 lines; two-part structure
◦ Octave (first eight lines) abbaabba
◦ Sestet (last six lines) cdcdcd or cdecde
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English or Shakespearean
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Spenserian
◦ 14 lines
◦ Three quatrains (four-line units) abab cdcd efef
◦ Final couplet (2 rhyming lines) gg
◦ Similar to English with three quatrains and one
couplet
◦ Interlocking rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd ee
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Conflicts
Internal: whether or not to kill
the king; haunted by Banquo
after ordering him killed;
External: vs. his wife; vs. fate or
supernatural; vs. Macduff
Internal: driven insane
by her guilt over her
involvement with all
the murders;
External: vs. her
husband
Motivations
To be king; to gain power
To be queen; to gain
power
Outcomes
Killed by Macduff on the
battlefield
Dies due to her guilt
(we assume she
committed suicide)
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At the beginning of the play, the three
witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis
(which he already is), then Thane of Cawdor
and King hereafter.
Shortly after this, Macbeth is given the title of
Thane of Cawdor, which inspires to make the
third prophecy come true by killing King
Duncan so he could become king.
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In Act Four, three apparitions appear to Macbeth
First – An armed head tells Macbeth to beware Macduff
◦ This is fulfilled when Macduff kills Macbeth
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Second – A bloody child tells Macbeth that “none of
woman born shall harm Macbeth”
◦ This causes Macbeth to dismiss the first apparition, until
Macbeth learns that Macduff was not “born of woman”, but
was ripped from his mother’s womb (C-section)
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Third – a child crowned with a tree in his hand tells
Macbeth he shall “never be vanquished until Great
Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against
him.”
◦ This is fulfilled when Macduff’s army camouflage themselves
with tree branches, so it looks like the forest is moving.