Questions for Beowulf, the Warrior, section 2.
Read the passage indicated before answering the questions. All work must be done on the laptop. Copy-paste these questions in a Word document to make your work easier.
Page 19 - the top break on page 22: The appearance of Grendel's Mother, Beowulf is asked by Hrothgar to destroy her.
1. For what reason does Grendel's Mother come to Heorot?
2. Why do the Danes not defend themselves? Why does Beowulf not fight her?
3. What epithet is used for Hrothgar on page 20?
4. Describe, in your own words, the setting through which Grendel's Mother passes on the way to her den and the "weird and evil" lake in which she lives (page 20). Include as many details as possible.
5. What epithet is used to describe Beowulf on page 23? What does this epithet mean?
6. Add to your own Hero document a description, in poetry, of the "lair" or "headquarters" of your antagonist (the bad guy you have created). This must be at least 14 lines long and contain good adjectives and at least one simile.
Page 22 - the break at the bottom of page 25: Beowulf, Hrothgar and the Swedes travel to Grendel's Mother's den, fight a monster, and Beowulf prepares for battle.
1. What epithet is used to describe Hrothgar's horse? Put this in your own words.
2. Explain the use of the word "plumage" on page 22: "trees, with their plumage of frost..."
3. Why do you think Grendel's Mother stuck the head of Aeschere on the cliff?
4. How is the cliff personified on the bottom of page 22?
5. What causes all the hideous monsters and dragons to empty the lake?
6. What is Beowulf feeling on page 25 as he prepares to battle Grendel's Mother? Put his speech into your own words.
7. What is Hrunting? What does it represent? What is ironic about Beowulf's gift to Unferth (if he dies)?
8. In your Hero document, write a speech for your hero, in prose, that he/she delivers just before going into battle with the antagonist. In this speech, have your hero talk about the possibility that he/she will die. Have him/her make an oral will (leaving important possessions to others) of some kind.
Bottom of page 25 - end on page 33: Beowulf battles Grendel's Mother, returns to Hrothgar's hall, then leaves for home.
1 What incident earlier in the epic allows us to believe that Beowulf can dive into a monster-infested lake in full armor and survive?.
2. Why is Beowulf not killed by monsters on his way down to the lake bottom?
3. Describe the den of Grendel's Mother. Compare it to Hrothgar's hall.
4. List at least 3 images from pages 26-27 that best describe Grendel's Mother.
5. What epithet is used to describe Hrunting? (page 26) What happens to Hrunting?
6. On the top of page 27, Beowulf is compared to a sailor trapped under sails in the middle of a storm. Put this comparison in your own words, in one or two good sentences.
7. For what 2 reasons does Beowulf survive the knife of Grendel's Mother?
8. What 2 wonders happen when Beowulf cuts off Grendel's head?
9. Why do the Geats and Hrothgar think Beowulf has died?
10. What "purges" the water of poison (bottom of page 28).
11. Locate and explain the simile on page 29 that describes Hrothgar's grief.
12, Add to your Hero document even more lines describing the fight with your antagonist. You might include some details of the setting of the fight, or a description of what your hero did afterword.
13. What promise does Beowulf make to Hrothgar?
14. What does Hrothgar say the future will bring?
Elizabeth Sky-McIlvain 1/25/03
Least
Tern 
