Beowulf Reading Comprehension Questions

 Pre-reading considerations
1. What is your idea of a hero?
2. What is courage? How would you define it?
3. What qualities do you believe a good leader should possess?
4. What does it mean to be loyal?
5. Why is your reputation important?

ABOUT BEOWULF
 Setting: 6th c. AD in Daneland (modern Denmark), then in Geatland (Norway)

 Style: epic poem, including caesuras, strong 4-beat rhythm, alliteration

 Author: oral tradition at first, established by scops, then 2 priests in the early 11th
century wrote the only surviving manuscript

 Themes: Good vs. evil; the importance of loyalty

 Characters: (These are not in chronological order)

 Higlac—king of the Geats, Beowulf’s kinsman (uncle, probably)

 Herot—mead-hall of the Danes

 Beowulf—Geatish hero

 Hrothgar—wise, good king of the Danes

 Wiglaf—a Swede who changed sides to follow Beowulf; helped Beowulf defeat
the Dragon

 Grendel—monster who attacks the Danes for 12 years; descendent from Cain

 Grendel’s Mother—attacks the Danes after Grendel is killed

 Hrunting (The Battle with Grendel’s Mother)—the sword Beowulf takes into
the fen-pool; melts

 Nagling (The Battle with the Dragon)—the sword Beowulf takes to the
dragon’s lair; also destroyed

1
  Edgetho—Beowulf’s father, mentioned in kennings like “Edgetho’s son,”
referring to Beowulf

 Healfdane—Hrothgar’s father, mentioned in kennings like “Healfdane’s son,”

referring to Hrothgar

 Wealtheow—Hrothgar’s queen

 Geats—Beowulf’s people, from Geatland (modern Norway)

 Danes—Hrothgar’s people, from Daneland (modern Denmark

 Grendel Attacks the Danes

1. What is Herot? Mead-hall, characterized as paradise

2. Who is Grendel? Monster from the swamp

3. What does Grendel resent about Hrothgar and his men? Their joy, music, community

4. What does Grendel do at Herot? He eats several men, then takes up residence when

the Danes flee.

5. How long did Grendel’s wrath reign? 12 years

6. Why is Hrothgar’s throne untouched by Grendel? It’s holy, protected by God.

 The Coming of Beowulf

1. Who is Healfdane’s son? What is this an example of? Hrothgar, kenning (hyphenated
noun phrase in place of a noun)
2. Why does Beowulf come to Herot? He heard the songs about Grendel. Came to

defeat Grendel.

3. How many men does he bring? 14

4. Who meets his men on the shore? Danish sentinel or watchman

5. What does Beowulf’s way of identifying himself suggest about the values of a warrior
culture? He tells about his father’s and grandfather’s prowess on the battle field, and
his own heroic feats. Sets up boasting to achieve immortality through scops.
6. How does Beowulf convince the man of his heroics? He boasts of not only his own
successes on the battle field, but also those of his father and grandfather.
7. What does Beowulf say has brought him to battle? Songs from across the sea

2
8. How does he intend to make it a fair fight? He’s going to fight hand-to-hand, without

a sword.

9. If Beowulf dies, who will he blame? God or Fate

 The Battle With Grendel

1. What is the foreshadowing in line 310? That Grendel will die.

2. Where did Beowulf and Grendel battle? In Herot

3. What advantage does Beowulf have in the battle? He has the advantage of
surprise, catching Grendel unprepared for opposition.

4. What advantage does Grendel have in battle? (Lines 355-363) Beowulf’s men
can’t help. They don’t have super-human strength, and their swords don’t work
against Grendel.

5. How many men are left by the battle’s end? 13 of the original 14 (one was eaten

when Grendel came in)

6. Who is defeated and how? Grendel is defeated; has his arm ripped off.

7. What is left at Herot at the end? The arm, hung on the rafters as a trophy.

 The Monster’s Lair

1. In the interlude on page 34, who does Grendel’s mother attack? Hrothgar’s

closest friend

2. Where do the monsters live? In the fen-pool or swamp

3. What important about Grendel’s parentage? He’s descended from Cain (jealous,

murderer)

4. What do you know about the narrator/speaker from lines 479-484? He’s a
Christian; Beowulf is a Christian hero
5. What can you infer about his audience? Christian audience

6. How will the victor be rewarded if he succeeds? With justice

7. Why do you think the scops added this passage? Christ allegory: death, harrowing

Hell, and resurrection

3
 The Battle With Grendel’s Mother

1. What is the mood of lines 421-423? Urgency, righteous anger, blood-lust

2. What poetic device is “greedy she-wolf” an example of? kenning

3. What is important about the details of travels through the lake? Beowulf holds his
breath for hours. Superhuman strength. Also Christ allegory.
4. What won’t work against Grendel’s mother? Beowulf’s sword, Hrunting.

5. What does work against Grendel’s mother? The giant’s sword, found in her own

lair.

6. What finally becomes of Grendel? He died in the lair of blood loss. Beowulf takes

his head back to Herot.

7. What do the men erroneously assume of Beowulf? They believe he’s dead. It’s
been 7-8 hours since he went into the pool.
8. What does Beowulf return with? Grendel’s head and the hilt of the giant’s sword

9. Who is finally mentioned at the very end of this section? Wealhtheow. (It’s a bad

translation.)

 The Battle with the Dragon

1. What happens in the interlude on page 38? Hrothgar pledges friendship between
the Geats and Danes forever; Beowulf goes home to Geatland.

2. How has the setting changed in this segment? We’re now in Geatland, 50 years

later.

3. How is this battle like the previous two? Beowulf comes to the rescue of a

helpless people.

4. How is this battle different than the previous two? Beowulf is an old man now. The
people needing help are his own rather than strangers. Beowulf is king.

5. Who is Beowulf fighting? The Dragon

6. What does Beowulf’s speech (ln 733-760) suggest to you about Anglo-Saxon
values? Fearlessness, self-sacrifice, great physical strength

4
 7. Who is Wiglaf? A Swede who changed sides after a battle between the Swedes

and the Geats.

8. What does Wiglaf say to Beowulf’s men? He implores them to be loyal and give
their lives to their good, brave king.

9. What does Wiglaf do in the battle? He alone supports Beowulf against the dragon.
Wiglaf deals the death-blow to the dragon with his own sword, while he huddles
behind Beowulf’s shield.

10. What commentary does the author make about gold in this passage? “So
gold can easily triumph over man, no matter how deep it’s hidden.” Essentially
greed can overpower anyone.

11. What is Beowulf’s dying wish? All the dragon’s gold will be left forever in
the tower. This is wergild to repay Beowulf for the Geats’ cowardice.

12. What does Beowulf give Wiglaf? Beowulf’s own gold helmet, mail and rings
in order to pass the kingship to Wiglaf.

13. What does the last line of the section indicate about Anglo-Saxon values?
Loyalty is the most valuable of all characteristics.

14. In Beowulf’s death scene, what is shown about the importance in warrior
culture of the commemoration of individuals after death? This is how Anglo-
Saxons achieve immortality—in the memory of the living.

 The Farewell
1. Describe what the Geats did to Beowulf’s body per his request. Cremated in a
huge funeral fire; ashes sealed up in the tower by the sea, with all the dragon’s
hoard—lasting testament to the Geats’ cowardice.

2. What happened to all the gold? Walled up into the tower with Beowulf’s ashes.

3. How does Beowulf compare to modern heroes?

4. What kind of man did this culture value?

5. Did Beowulf live up to these values?