Characters
Who is the main character
Beowulf
Does beowulf win the battle with Grendel
Yes
This legendary Geatish hero travels to Denmark to rid King Hrothgar's hall of the monster Grendel.
Who is Beowulf
What does whale-road mean
The ocean
Anglo-Saxon poetry relied on alliteration—repeating these initial sounds across a line of verse—instead of end-rhymes.
What are consonant sounds?
Who is the descendant of Cain
Grendel
How does Beowulf decide he will defeat Grendel
hand to hand combat
Beowulf decides to fight Grendel without these items, choosing instead to rely solely on his natural strength.
What are weapons (or armor/swords)?
What is a ring-giver
A generous king
In Anglo-Saxon poetic structure, a typical line of verse is divided in half by a distinct pause called this.
What are consonant sounds?
This Queen of the Danes and wife of King Hrothgar plays a diplomatic role by serving mead to the warriors in Heorot.
Who is Wealhtheow?
Name ALL 3 feats of Beowulf’s strength
1. Battled and bound five beasts
2. Raided a troll nest and in the night sea
3. Slaughtered sea brutes
This is the name of the majestic mead-hall where Grendel attacks the Danes and where the final battle takes place.
What is Heorot?
Who is the water witch
Grendels mom
This two-word metaphorical compound phrase, frequently alliterated, renames a person or thing, such as "whale-road" for the sea.
What is a kenning?
Before Beowulf fights Grendel's mother, Unferth lends him this ancient, heirloom sword that ultimately fails in battle.
What is Hrunting?
Beowulf boasts that he will use no sword or shield against Grendel because Grendel does not know how to use these items.
What are weapons (or armor)?
Beowulf fatally wounds Grendel during their wrestling match by tearing off this body part.
What is his arm (or shoulder/hand)?
Who is "Hells Captive"
Grendel
In the line "Grendel came greedy and grim," the alliterative repetition of the g sound emphasizes this character trait.
What is his gluttony (or ferocious nature)?
Beowulf serves as king over this tribe of people in southern Sweden for fifty peaceful years before the dragon attacks.
Who are the Geats?
Before his final battle against the dragon, Beowulf delivers his last boast, declaring he will not retreat even a single step from this type of hoard.
What is the gold-hoard (or treasure/dragon's barrow)?
Weapons failed against Grendel because he had placed this type of protection over all earthly blades.
What is a spell (or charm/curse)?
What is a bone-house
The human body
In Old English verse, alliterative patterns bound together the two distinct halves of a line, which are structurally known by these two terms.
What are the a-verse and b-verse (or half-lines)?