Beowulf
(ca. 750-1000)
Things to Consider:
- Anglo-Saxon History
- Heroic Code
- Heaney's translation:
Alliteration and Linguistic Choices
- Role of God and
Pagan/Heathen vs. Christian Ideals
- Joseph Campbell, The
Hero with a Thousand Faces
- Allegiances and Betrayals
- 1731: Manuscript from 1000
A.D. damaged in fire
Terms to Know:
- hapax legomena (38)
- wergild (39)
- synecdoche (42)
Discussion Questions (See Part
Two 
and Part Three ):
Introduction:
38:
- In what
ways, according to the editors,
does Beowulf
reflect "well-established Christian tradition" (38)?
40:
- What
are the three central targets for Beowulf in the text? Why
does he battle them?
Poem Proper:
43:
- Explain how God is portrayed
in lines 13-17.
- Explain: "Behavior that's
admired / is the path to power among people everywhere"
(24-25).
44:
- Why does Hrothgar build a
hall?
- Why does Grendel target the hall-watchers?
46:
- How are
Heathens and Christians distinguished in 175-88?
51:
- What
does Beowulf suggest is his motivation for fighting Grendel?
53:
- Why
does Unferth attempt to embarrass Beowulf? How does he do
so?
53-54:
- How does Beowulf respond?
What does his response reveal about his character?
Other Discussion Questions:
38:
- Explain: Beowulf revives "the
heroic language, style, and pagan world of ancient Germanic
poetry" (38).
- What is the geographical and historical setting of this
poem?
39:
- How,
according to the editors, do Hrothgar and Beowulf
"espouse . . . and affirm values of Germanic heroic poetry"
(39).
40:
- Explain how,
according to the editors, the poem can be seen as a
lament.
43:
- Explain the funeral rites for
Shield (28-50).
- Explain footnote 4.
44-45:
47:
- Why have the Geats come to
Heorot?
47-48:
- Explain the interaction
between Hrothgar's watchman and the Geats.
Part Two
Discussion Questions:
56:
- Why
does Beowulf remove his armor before confronting Grendel?
57:
- Explain:
"[T]he Lord was
weaving / a victory on His war-loom for the Weather-Geats"
(696-97).
59:
- Why can't the Geats' swords
harm Grendel?
62:
- Why is
Beowulf not fully pleased by his victory over Grendel?
63:
- What reward does Hrothgar
give to Beowulf?
70-71:
- Why has Grendel's mother come to Heorot? What does
she leave with? Why?
72:
- Describe the place where Grendel's mother lives.
76:
- How does Beowulf
ultimately defeat her?
77:
- What does Beowulf
bring back to Hrothgar? Why?
79:
- Why does Hrothgar tell Beowulf the story of Heremod?
Other Discussion Questions:
57:
- Explain: "[I]t was widely
understood / that as long as God disallowed it, /the
fiend could not bear them to his shadow-bourne" (705-7).
- Why does Beouwulf not attempt to stop Grendel from eating
one of his men?
59:
- What proof does Beowulf display for his victory
over Grendel?
60:
- Describe Grendel's death.
- Explain lines 857-62. Why
does praise of Beowulf
involve a reference to Hrothgar?
- Who is Sigemund? Why is he
being celebrated here?
61:
- Who is Heremod? Why is he
being discussed here?
62:
- Why does Hrothgar refer to Beowulf's mother (941-45)?
64-68:
- Who are Hildeburh, Finn, and
Hnaef? Why does the bard sing about them?
67:
- Explain the references to the
seasons in 1132-41.
68:
- Why is Unferth "under a cloud
for killing his brothers" (1166)? (See also 587-89.)
69:
- Who is Hygelac the Geat? How
is he historically significant?
69-70:
- Explain Wealhtheow's address
to Beowulf (1216-31).
73:
- Explain: "For every one of us, living in this world /
means waiting for our end" (1386-87).
74:
- What does Unferth give to Beowulf before Beowulf
battles Grendel's mother? Why?
77:
- What does Beowulf do when he
discovers Grendel's corpse? Why?
- Why does Beowulf's sword melt?
- What has happened to the creatures of the lake?
79:
- What is engraved on the hilt of the melted sword? Why
are these images significant?
80:
- What fatal archer does Hrothgar discuss (1743-47)?
Part Three
Discussion Questions:
82:
- What foreboding does
Hrothgar experience upon his taking leave of Beowulf?
83-84:
- Who is Queen
Modthryth? Why is she introduced here? (See also 1942-43.)
86:
- Explain:
"[G]enerally the spear / is prompt to retaliate when a
prince is killed, / no matter how admirable the bride may
be" (2029-31).
88:
- Why does Beowulf bestow his gifts from
Hrothgar on Hygelac?
92:
- Why does Beowulf fight the dragon? (See
also 96)
93:
- How has Beowulf gained the throne?
96:
- Why does Beowulf fight the dragon
alone? (cf. 2345-53)
103:
- Explain: "What God judged right would rule what
happened / to every man, as it does to this day"
(2858-59).
- Explain: "A warrior will sooner / die
than live a life of shame" (2890-91). (cf. the Bhagavad-Gita)
109:
- Explain: "They let
the ground keep that ancestral treasure, / gold under
gravel, gone to earth, / as useless to men now as it ever
was" (3166-68).
Other Discussion Questions:
81:
- Explain the promises
Beowulf makes to Hrothgar before returning home.
86:
- Why does Beowulf interrupt his story to
discuss the Heatho-Bards and Danes?
89:
- How does Hygelac
respond to Beowulf's gifts?
90:
- Explain the story of
the dragon and the gold: How has the gold gotten where it
is and why is the dragon guarding it?
94:
- Explain the story of
Herebeald and Haethcyn.
98-99:
- Why does Wiglaf
eventually join Beowulf?
101-102:
- Why does Beowulf want to see the
treasure before dying? (See especially 2749-51 and
2794-98.)
103:
- How does Wiglaf
address the men who've fled the battle?
104-6:
- Why does Wiglaf
believe that Beowulf's death will lead to
war?
107:
- Explain the spell
over the gold hoard.
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