Beowulf’s Last 2 Battles: p. 45-60 Name:

Period:

Date:

Directions: In groups, read p. 45-60 in your textbook and answer the following questions. Keep this paper in your English binder to study for your test.

1. What is the poet describing in lines 400-405?

2. Who does Grendel’s mother seize? Why do you think the poet has her take who she does?

3. Why do you think Grendel’s mother takes his claw?

4. Lines 425-432: What sort of place is the underwater lair of Grendel’s mother?

5. How does the translator’s use of alliteration make this description more effective?

6. What characteristic of an epic hero does Beowulf display in lines 450-454?

7. How does the underwater setting contribute to the mood of the scene?

8. Lines 490-492: How important is fame to Beowulf?

9. What do Beowulf’s followers think when they see the bloody water?

10. Lines 473-474: What does the fiery lake symbolize?

11. Lines 477-478: What does “The iron sang its fierce song,/ Sang Beowulf’s strength” mean?

12. Lines 489-525: Summarize the action.

13. What is Beowulf able to carry by himself that it takes 4 of his warriors to carry?

14. Lines 593-594: Why do you think the Geats want the Danes to see the monster’s skull?

15. What heroic action does Beowulf perform in this part of the poem?

16. Does the behavior of Grendel’s mother seem as wicked or unreasonable as Grendel’s behavior? Explain your answer.

17. Lines 610-614: What do these lines foreshadow about the outcome of Beowulf’s last battle?

18. Lines 614-632: What do Beowulf’s remarks reveal about his personality and attitude toward danger?

19. Why is it significant that the poet uses “still” in lines 633-634?

20. What does “hot words” mean in lines 623-624?

21. Lines 670-671: Why does Beowulf keep fighting?

22. Lines 694-696: What literary term and important concept of Anglo-Saxon life is being undermined here?

23. What heroic quality does Wiglaf display? How is he different from Beowulf’s other comrades?

24. 717-723: What does Wiglaf suggest is the reason Beowulf has failed to defeat the dragon?

25. Lines 810-812: What do Beowulf’s gifts to Wiglaf suggest about Wiglaf’s future?

26. On the basis of your reading of Beowulf, what qualities or values do you think the Anglo-Saxons admired?

J. Martin 2