Show:
Characters
People and Places
Literary Elements
References and terms
Plot
100
This character is the epic hero.
Who is Beowulf?
100

This is how Beowulf and his men travelled to the land of the Danes. 

Where is Beowulf's ship?

100
This is the type of literature Beowulf is. It represents this genre.
What is an epic?
100
Grendel is descended from this brother killer.
Who is Cain?
100
This is why Beowulf travels from his home.
What is to kill Grendel and help the Danes?
200

This character is Boewulf's king; king of the Geats

Who is Higlac?

200
This is where the warriors gather to celebrate. Grendel attacks it.
What is Herot, the mead hall?
200
This is the literary term for the protagonist of a narrative such as Beowulf.
What is the epic hero?
200
These religious references are the earliest in the poem. The refer to omens and the old stone gods.
What is pagan or druid or animism?
200

This is what Grendel felt when Beowulf seized him in Herot Hall and did not let go. 

What is fear?

300
This character represents evil and lives at the bottom of a mountain lake.
Who is Grendel?
300

This is the place where the monster Grendel dwells. 

Where is the marsh or swamplands?

300
This is the repetition of initial consonant sounds used abundantly by the Beowulf poet.
What is alliteration?
300

An epic convention that is used to give air of antiquity and authority to the poem. This makes the story seem ancient and real. 

What are genealogies?

300
These are two examples Beowulf gives of his ability to kill evil monsters when he is talking to the king's men.
What is killing giants and sea monsters?
400

This character is the queen of the Danes; Hrothgar's queen 

Who is Welthow?

400
This is the place where Beowulf travels to help out the king and his people who are being attacked by a monster.
What is the land of the Danes? (Denmark)
400

Repeated descriptive phrases used in epic poetry to characterize or describe a person, place, or thing.

What is a stock epithet?

400
This is what it's called when Beowulf presents his "resume" of heroic deeds.
What is an epic boast?
400
This is how Beowulf kills Grendel.
What is ripping his arm off?
500
He is King of the Danes.
Who is Hrothgar?
500
This is Beowulf's homeland. He eventually becomes king of this land.
What is the land of the Geats? (Sweden)
500
This is a metaphorical compound used by many Anglo-Saxon poets.
What is a kenning?
500

Stories such as Beowulf were performed by skilled performers in short episodes, which facilitated memorization. Alliterative verse and other devices helped the memorization of these. 

What is oral poetry/oral tradition?

500

This is what Beowulf does with Grendel's arm after their battle.

What is hangs it from Herot Hall as a trophy and proof of his victory?