Page 3 of Semester Exam 2000

Class Set

Matching:

1. Herota. his ashes are buried in a tower

2. Grendelb. Beowulf's father

3. Hruntingc. helps Beowulf kill the Fire Dragon

4. Wiglafd. Beowulf's uncle and king

5. Edgethoe. owns throne protected by God

6. Hrothgarab. stalks Herot eating people for years

7. Higlacac. its rafters hold Grendel's arm

8. Beowulfad. Unferth's sword loaned to Beowulf

A. ALLITERATION B. SIMILE C. BIBLICAL ALLUSION D. KENNING

1. “shadow of death”
2. “in secret sessions, talking of terror”
3. “wild boar heads. . .Erect like guards, like sentinels”
4. “shelterer of warriors”
5. “of Cain...punished forever for...Abel’s death”
6. “light and life fleeing together”
7. “Lord of the Heavens”
8. “where mist steams like black clouds”
9. “greedy she-wolf”
10. “when darkness had dropped, Grendel went. . . wondering what the warriors would do"
11. “It was a weird and wonderful sight”
12. “Almighty”
13. “hell’s captive”
14. “At night that lake burns like a torch”
15. “Geat’s ring-giver”
16. “As he dove through the dragon’s deadly fumes.”
17. "But his breath will be burning"
18. "fire-spitting terror"

Matching Kennings:“A”

A. Grendel B. Beowulf C. Hrothgar D. finely crafted metalwork E. sun

AB. Higlac AC. Wiglaf AD. ocean BC. Grendel's mother BD. Herot

1. hell-forged hands
2. mankind’s enemy
3. sea-road
4. smith’s high art
5. strong-hearted wakeful sleeper
6. guardian of crime
7. shield and protector
8. greedy she-wolf
9. heaven's own candle
10. shepherd of evil
11. gray-bearded lord
12. famous ring-giver
13. gold shining hall

1. Grendel had been terrorizing Herot and the Danish people for (a) 10 years

(b) 12 years (c) 15 years (d) 20 years.

1. The only thing in Herot that Grendel would not touch was Hrothgar’s (a) sword

(b) wife (c) cattle (d) throne.

1. Beowulf came to help the Danish people and promised to fight Grendel with his

(a) hands (b) mighty sword (c) dagger (d) whip.

43. Grendel dies after battling Beowulf due to losing his (a) leg (b) foot (c) arm

(d) patience.

1. Grendel returns to his lair to die, and when Beowulf finds him, he is

(a) asleep (b) waiting for him (c) dead (d) hiding behind his mother.

1. When leaving the monsters’ lair, Beowulf brings only two things. (a) both of their

heads (b) Grendel’s head and battle shield (c) Grendel’s jeweled sword hilt and his head.

46. Beowulf’s final battle was with a (a) dragon (b) witch (c) shark (d) Geat.

47. As he is dying, Beowulf asks that something be built in his memory. (a) mead hall

(b) castle (c) tower (d) pyramid.

48. The language of the Anglo-Saxons is now called (a) Old English (b) Middle English

(c) Modern English.

49. The professional poet who performed the poem was the (a) elegiac (b) scop (c) mead

(d) Frigga (e) Tiw.

1. The only surviving manuscript of the poem dates from 1,000 AD; however, it was

probably composed during this century: (a) 8th (b) 7th (c) 18th (d) 17th.

Use the Word Bank to bubble the correct answer.“A”

The Anglo-Saxon period lasted from 449 A.D. to __51__. The legendary King Arthur may have been the leader of the Celtic people who were driven to Wales. Anglo-Saxon England ended with the invasions of the __52__. The Anglo-Saxon influence survives through the names of our weekdays: Tuesday from __53__ (god of war); __54__ from Woden; Thursday from __55__ (god of thunder); and __56__ from Frigga (goddess of the home).

Henry II founded the royal house of Plantagenet. Thomas Becket, a friend, defied him and was murdered by the king’s knights. To atone for the murder the king made a __57__ to Becket’s tomb at Canterbury. Anglo-Saxon literature began with __58__ not with books. The early stories fell into two categories: heroic and elegiac. Beowulf is a long, heroic __59__ that tells of a __60__ warrior known for his courage, strength, loyalty.

It is the first work composed in the __61__ language. The only surviving manuscript dates from 1,000 AD; however, the epic was probably composed during the __62__ century. Some of the characteristics of Beowulf as a heroic epic include kennings that are metaphorical compound words. Whale road is an example of a kenning that renames

“the __63__.” The poem would have been recited by a traveling minstrel called a scop , who served as the memory and historian of his tribe. Like all epic poems, its traditional scenes include the banquet, the __64__, the boast, the voyage, and the funeral. The poem is serious owing to the vision the people had of evil in the world where fate had the power to rule human __65__. The poem contains both pagan and __66__ elements. The poem opens with the Danish King, __67__. His Mead Hall is called Herot. The name of the hall is derived from a drink/mead made of fermented water and __68__. The hall was a gathering place of peace and community. The hall itself is a symbol for __69__ and interdependence of lord/Hrothgar and faithful followers/soldiers.

Beowulf contains the literary elements of alliteration, simile, metaphor, kennings, and Biblical allusions. The main characters, Beowulf and Grendel, are classic examples of the universal theme of __70__ or superhero versus criminal.

Word Bank:

1. loyalty

30 points

Write a short story about yourself as a hero who saves someone.

It must include: one kenningto replace your name (10 POINTS)

two sentences with alliteration (10 POINTS)

two sentences that have a simile (10 POINTS)

HIGHLIGHT THE KENNING, ALLITERATION, SIMILE.

______