[Prologue]
1. It was unusual how Shield came to be the ruler of Danes
as he started off as an abandoned orphan, but soon built his power to become
king. His funeral was a grand affair. He was shipped off in a boat filled with
treasures and gifts. Hrothgar is Shield's great grandson.
[Heorot is Attacked]
1. The magnificent work that Hrothgar undertook was a mead
hall, Heorot, dedicated to the enjoyment of him and his serving men. Grendel
attacked the hall slaying many of Hrothgar's men eventually taking over the
hall; it lasted for twelve years. In response, the Danes prayed at shrines
wishing harm on the monster.
[The Hero Comes to Herot]
1. When Beowulf hears news of Hrothgar's problems with
Grendel, he sets sail for Denmark with an army to kill the monster, Grendel.
2. The Geats first meet a Danish watchman who stops and
questions them. Beowulf explains that they arrived to help the Danish get rid
of Grendel.
[The Hero Comes to Heorot] (lines 189-490, pp. 36-42)
3. Hrothgar’s herald is Wulfgar of the Wendla tribe. He
first asks the Geats, why they carry so much armor, and then he infers that
they are there for adventure rather than primarily self-gain, because they seem
courageous. Wulfgar tells Hrothgar that he shouldn’t deny their help because
Beowulf is their leader. In reply Hrothgar says he knows Beowulf’s father, and
tells Wulfgar to go get the Geats. I’m not that surprised of Hrothgar and
Beowulf knowing each other, because Beowulf wouldn’t put his life and lives of
others in harm’s way if he didn’t know Hrothgar.
4. Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he is very skilled and
experience and he plans to take on Grendel without any weapons, and for
Hrothgar not to refuse him. Hrothgar paid off Beowulf’s father’s debts during a
warning period for the Geats.
[Feast at Heorot] (lines 491-661, pp. 42-46)
1. Unferth’s jealousy causes him to claim that Beowulf can’t
beat Grendel, and he brings up a time in the past when Beowulf lost a swimming
competition to Breca. Beowulf tells Unferth that he’s drunk and the true story
was that he was separated from Breca and pulled underwater by a sea monster,
that he later killed. This episode shows how brave and confident Beowulf is
throughout the story. Beowulf then accuses Unferth of him not being as brave as
he said he was supposed to be, and if he was then Grendel would’ve never came
to Herolot.
2. Queen Wealhtheow hands out mead Goblets to Hrothgar and
then to the rest of the men during the feasting. Then she thanks God for
Beowulf and after sits down next to Hrothgar.
The Fight with Grendel
1. Beowulf's preparations for his battle with Grendel differ
from normal heroes in poetry in that he shed his armor instead of putting more
on because he planned to fight Grendel with his bare hands instead of with a
sword and such.
2. When Grendel enters Heorot, he immediately begins to eat
the sleeping soldiers as he did many times before. Instead of eating Beowulf,
Grendel is surprised with a fight as Beowulf never fell asleep and Grendel
wasn't initially able to escape Beowulf's tight grasp. Despite Beowulf's death
grip, Grendel managed to escape, but not without leaving his arm behind.
Celebration of Heorot
1. Sigemund was a great hero who slayed a horrible dragon
that was a keeper of a treasure chest that hr won by slaying him. The treasure
won by Sigemund symbolizes the gold rewards that Beowulf earned from the
ring-giver, King Hrothgar. Sigemund's story is told to celebrate Beowulf and
compare both of their heroic acts. Heremod is known as an evil Danish king who turns
against his own people. This clearly resembles the reverse of Beowulf’s
characteristic and by comparing and contrasting Beowulf to two different kings,
the narrator indicates that Beowulf will be king later in the story.
2. Hrothgar responds to Beowulf's deed by celebrating him
and pronouncing him as both a son and man that will never be forgotten.
Hrothgar then goes on to give Beowulf many gifts, including a sword. Since
Beowulf was successful in his attempt to save the Danes, Unferth doesn't have
much to say to him as he has become much more humble.
3. The
singer sings of Finn during the feasting (lines 1070-1158). The exact details
of the Finn story are not clear, but in general, what happens? What does it
suggest about the wisdom of using a woman as bride to heal enmity between
tribes?
The singer sings the story of Finn during the feast.
Basically, in the story Finn, Lord of the Frisians, marries Hildeburgh, a Dane,
to end a feud between the two tribes. The idea was to use the bride to ensure
that the families wouldn’t feud anymore but obviously this was a bad idea. The
Frisians killed Hildeburgh’s brother when he came to visit her. Finn was also
eventually killed out of revenge.
4. When the
feasting resumes, what does Wealhtheow ask Hrothgar not to do?
.Wealhtheow asks Hrothgar not to give the throne to Beowulf,
but to trust in his biological son’s abilities to rule as king. She believes that the throne should stay in
the bloodline
5. Wealhtheow
gives Beowulf a large, broad necklace. What later happens to it? What does
Wealhtheow ask Beowulf to do?
It is foreshadowed that Beowulf gives the necklace to his
uncle Hygelac, who wears it until he dies in battle. She also asks Beowulf to guide and protect
her children, but not to take the throne from them when Hrothgar dies.
6. Why do so
many men remain in the beer hall to sleep? Why is it a mistake?
So many
men remain in the beer hall to sleep because they believe it is as safe as it
once was now that Grendel is dead. This
is a mistake because Grendel’s mother
comes to the hall for revenge for her son. She takes one of Hrothgar’s esteemed men and the arm of Grendel back to her
cave.
BEOWULF AND GRENDEL'S MOTHER
[Another Attack]
1. Grendel's mother came to Heorot to take her son's claw.
It was out of anger and vengeance, not exactly similar to Grendel's reason.
2. Hrothgar's response was asking Beowulf to go to her lair
and kill her, too. She had killed Hrothgar's best friend.
3. The mere (her lair) was an underwater lair under a dark
lake. It had an eerie feel and was described as being very dark.
[Beowulf Fights Grendel's Mother]
1. Beowulf tells Hrothgar to respond (if he should die) in a
caring way for his own men that he should leave behind.
2. Beowulf sinks into the water for a few hours before he
enters the mere.
3. He prepares for
the battle by telling Hrothgar what he desires just incase he dies. Beowulf
takes his ring-marked blade sword.
4. When Beowulf
enters the mere, Grendel's mother grabs him but his armor defended him. It's
surprising that it take half a day to get down there but those monsters have
each other.
5. The sword breaks
while Beowulf trys to strike Grendel's mother.
[Beowulf Fights]
6. At one point Beowulf is on the floor, with Grendel's
mother sitting on him and drawing her knife. How does Beowulf escape?
Beowulf
escapes because his mail protected him from the blow.
7. How does Beowulf kill Grendel's mother? What weapon does
he use? What happens when she dies? What does Beowulf take with him from her
home? What happens to the sword he used to kill her?
Beowulf
notices and uses an enchanted sword hung on the wall. He escapes by drawing the
unnaturally heavy sword built by giants and slicing Grendel's mothers neck with
it. When she died, the cave burned with light. The sword melted so that the
hilt was all that was left.
8. What happens when Beowulf returns to the surface? Did his
men expect him to return?
When Beowulf returned to the surface,
he found his men waiting, but none of the Danish. It is clear that the Geats
were skeptical of his return, so they were pleasantly surprised.
[Further Celebration]
1.What does Beowulf give to Hrothgar?
He gives Grendel's
head and sword hilt.
2. Hrothgar tells Beowulf an important story about how
someone good with deeds and intentions can just as quickly turn bad. Heremod
let greed take him over and that led to his ultimate demise. Hrothgar wants
Beowulf to know not to let the praise he is receiving go to his head.
3. Beowuld gives Unferth the sword before he leaves.
[Beowulf Returns Home]
1. Hrothgar is worried Beowulf may become too arrogant and
be unable to fight successfully if these small battle victories get to his
head.
2. She is Geat’s queen. Hygd is a good queen where as
Modthryth is a bad, evil queen.
3.Beowulf reports to Hygelac that Hrothgar may marry his
daughter Freawaru to Ingeld. Why does he plan to do that? What does Beowulf
expect the result will be? (Remember the Finn story, lines 1070-1158.) How does
Beowulf think the peace will be broken? Is this the type of report we expected
from the hero Beowulf, or are we seeing a new side of him?
- Beowulf reports to
Hygelac because he knows that the wedding could cause problems with the family.
Beowulf expects the wedding to recreate family tension and violence and Hygelac
to not like the idea. We would expect this from Beowulf because he likes to
stop situations before they occur and likes to plan for the problem If it can't
be fixed.
4.How does Beowulf
report about his own adventures? Does he report accurately?
-Beowulf reports
about his own adventures as slightly exaggerated, but mostly accurate in the
ways they are told.
5.What does Beowulf
do with the treasure he was given? What does Hygelac give him?
-What Beowulf does
with the treasures he is given is he offers them to his Lord and gives it to
other people also. What Hygelac gives Beowulf is land, a large house, and the
sword of the Geats.
BEOWULF AND THE
DRAGON (lines 2200-3182, pp. 79-99)
[The Dragon Wakes]
(lines 2200-2509, pp. 79-86)
1.How much later does
Part 2 take place? What kings have died in the meanwhile? What danger now
exists?
-Part 2 takes place
fifty years later. The king that have died in the mean while are King Hygelac
and King Heardred. The danger that now exists Is a dragon
2. The dragon is angry because someone stole its treasure
even though the man only took the cup because he was scared by the dragon. The
treasure was put there by a lord who had lost all of his friends and family.
3. He destroyed everything as he searched for the thief.
4. Beowulf thinks he is being punished for something he has
done. He decides to order a new shield
and fight the dragon with only a few people.
5. Hygelac died fighting a monster and after Beowulf swam
through the ocean with 30 sets of armor. Queen Hygd offered Beowulf the chance
to become king but he declined and decided to advise Heardred.
6.) Heardred was killed along with his father at the shield
wall fighting the Heatho-Scilfings. After Heardred's death, Beowulf was
ascended to the throne. Under his reign, the feuding with the Sweden terminated
when Beowulf avenged Hygelac and his sons deaths. Conscious of avenging his
fellow lords, Beowulf befriended Eadgils (one that was provided shelter by
Heardred but was part of his death) and assembled an army to scrutinize Onela.
7.) Beowulf was
accompanied by 11 others when approaching the dragon.
8.) Herebeald was
killed by his brother on accident. Hrethel was devastated to see his young son
be sent to the heavens so early on in his life. From this devastating loss on,
Hrethel grieved his sons death and gradually lost his passion, love, and care
of his kingdom. War sprung up between Swede's and the Geats over waters which resulted
in the death of Haethcyn, a Geat member. In revenge for Hygelac's death,
Beowulf attacked the dragon with a sword, failing to harm the monster, and was
blasted by the enraged dragon's fierce, powerful, and poisonous fire Breath,
bitten on the neck by the dragons sharp teeth and was killed.
[Beowulf Attacks the
Dragon]
1.) Beowulf tells his
companions to not fight the dragon because he knows it will be his very last
battle.
Courtney
Beowulf’s Funeral
1. The
messenger tells the city of Beowulf’s death. After Ongentheow killed Haethcyn,
the Geats were threatened by Ongetheow, but they were saved by Hygelac the next
day. Hygwlac proceeded to then kill Ongetheow and his men to avenge the death
of his kin even though that morning Ongetheow and his men retreated the area.
The messenger said to not get involved with the gold because it was cursed and
anyone who steals it will get the punishment on the to. The final image of the
messenger’s speech was the dragon that killed Beowulf.
2. Wiglaf
tells the crowd that if Beowulf listened to the people then he still would be
alive. He also states that Beowulf was a brave and honorable man and not to
think less of him or what he did. Although this was a disappointment, he was
still given a proper burial because he was a military warrior/hero.
3. The
dragon that killed Beowulf is pushed of a cliff by Wiglaf’s men and falls into
the ocean and everyone was relieved.
4. During
the funeral celebration (weird) everyone is sad of the great loss of Beowulf
and mourns. It is ten days long and everyone places rings and jewelry to give
respect to the fallen hero. After the funeral celebration, the people of
Beowulf’s kin praise him and talk of his achievements.
5. At the
end of the poem, the Geats said that Beowulf was the “kindest of kings,
friendliest, and most honorable man.” He was a most honorable man because he
fought for his kin and people and was unselfish in his duties and gratitude.
The description of friendliest and kindest is deceiving because although the
Geats thought he was kind, Beowulf’s enemies did not think so. He killed them
with no mercy and no regrets so his characteristics are based on perception.
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