Beowulf Exam Literary Analysis: Read the passage and choose the correct answer. 1 With surfeit of slaughter sallying homeward 2 In dusk of the dawning, as the day was just breaking, 3 Was Grendel s prowess revealed to the warriors: 4 Then, his meal-taking finished, a moan was uplifted, 5 Morning-cry mighty. The man-ruler famous 6 The long-worthy Dane, sat very woeful, 7 Suffered great sorrow, sighed for his liegemen.... 1. The literary device evident in line 1 is A) simile B) kenning C) alliteration D) irony E) personification 2. In line 5 the man-ruler famous refers to A) Hrothgar B) Breca C) Higlac D) Wulfgar E) Edgetho 3. In line 5 the man-ruler is an example of A) kenning B) alliteration C) caesura D) assonance E) symbolism 4. How does Hrothgar know of Beowulf? A) Beowulf once proposed to his daughter B) Hrothgar was friends with Beowulf's father C) Beowulf had gained a widespread reputation after slaying a dragon D) He has read about Beowulf in books E) Beowulf sent him a letter asking for permission to travel to Denmark 5. Originally, the tale of Beowulf was A) written in monk s manuscripts B) presented by singers or storytellers C) conveyed by traveling groups of merchants D) written on rolled-up sheets that were posted on village walls E) included as part of the King James Bible
6. Who or what is Hrunting? A) A mead-hall B) A sword C) Beowulf s original name D) A helmet E) Beowulf s hometown 7. Who is Beowulf's father? A) Edgetho B) Hrothgar C) Wulfgar D) Welthow E) Scyld Scefing 8. Beowulf the character is a --- A) Geat B) Englishman C) Dane D) Irishman E) Germanic prince 9. The setting of the story Beowulf includes all of the following EXCEPT A) Herot B) the land of the Geats C) Denmark D) Sweden E) England 10. The earliest recorded time period in British history is known as the ---. A) Renaissance B) Medieval Period C) Dark Ages D) Anglo-Saxon Era E) Elizabethan Period 11. The year1066 ends the above time period because that is when --- invaded England. A) the Romans B) William the Conquerer C) the Geats D) the Danes E) King Ferdinand of Spain 12. Which of the following is NOT characteristic of this early time period in British history? A) Few people could read. B) Stories were often presented in song form. C) Stories rarely varied in content. D) Authors were unknown. E) Stories were usually memorized
13. The person presenting the story was the A) scild B) wiglaf C) herald D) scop E) epic hero 14. Beowulf, the earliest known piece of literature in the English language, was originally written in A) Middle English B) Old English C) French D) Danish E) Low German 15. The original creator of the story of Beowulf is A) a Christian monk B) a Danish minister C) a French poet D) a German priest E) unknown 16. The story of Beowulf was probably first written by A) a Christian monk B) a Danish minister C) a French poet D) a German priest E) William Shakespeare 17. An epic poem such as Beowulf includes which of the following characteristics? A) a larger-than-life hero, sometimes with superhuman qualities B) a narrative, usually long C) a main character that represents the values of a particular society D) all of the above E) only A and C 18. Other famous epics include A) The Lord of the Rings B) The Odyssey C) The Hobbit D) The Iliad E) all of the above 19. Which of the following is the best definition of wyrd, a theme in Beowulf? A) personal freedom B) strange behavior C) the battle between good and evil D) fate E) intellectual improvement
20. Beowulf kills the three creatures in which order? A) dragon, Grendel s mother, Grendel B) Grendel, dragon, Grendel s mother C) Grendel s mother, Grendel, dragon D) Grendel s mother, dragon, Grendel E) Grendel, Grendel s mother, dragon 21. The natural pause in the middle of a line of Beowulf is called a/an A) kenning B) adagio C) caesura D) assonance E) alliteration 22. The use of alliteration in Beowulf A) created different phrases for objects and people B) helped the presenter to remember words in the lines C) aided with the rhyme scheme D) repeated the initial vowel sounds in words E) transformed the language from Old English to Modern English 23. In the poem, the descendants of Cain include A) Hrothgar and his sons B) Beowulf and his father C) Higlac and Wiglaf D) the Geats E) Grendel and his mother 24. Because of Grendel s frequent assaults, Herot is A) abandoned for twelve years B) torn down and replaced with a stronger building C) surrounded by armed guards throughout the night D) moved to another part of the country E) none of the above 25. Grendel refuses to touch the king s throne because it is A) protected by God B) made of a metal that would poison him C) a symbol of power that he respects D) surrounded by Bibles E) all of the above 26. As a result of Grendel s attacks, the king s council A) makes vows to pagan gods B) prays to God for assistance C) debates which of their warriors could defeat Grendel D) sends out a summons to Beowulf to come help them E) flees the country
27. Who first meets Beowulf and his crew when they arrive in Denmark? A) the king B) the king s council C) a watchman D) Higlac E) Grendel 28. Beowulf and his crew are initially met with A) a warm welcome B) suspicion C) food and wine D) a choir singing the glories of Denmark s king E) a poet who sings of their bravery 29. What do Beowulf and his men see that is covered in gold? A) Herot B) the Danish king s ship C) the entry to Grendel s den D) the Danish king s armor E) a sea creature 30. Which of the following has Beowulf NOT accomplished before he attacks Grendel? A) killing ocean monsters B) chaining giants and drove them from the earth C) success in numerous battles with human enemies D) slaying a dragon E) he has done all of the above 31. Beowulf tells the king that he will kill Grendel with A) Hrunting B) a lance C) his own hands D) the help of Wiglaf E) a crossbow 32. Beowulf s attitude before battling Grendel is that A) God will decide who wins B) it s probable that he ll lose the battle with the monster C) if Grendel wins, Beowulf wants his armor returned to his king D) all of the above E) none of the above 33. After Beowulf rips off Grendel s arm, he hangs it A) over the entry door B) from the rafters inside the building C) in the town square D) at the entrance to the village E) from the mast of his ship
34. Who is described by the kenning she-wolf? A) the Danish queen B) Beowulf s wife back in Geatland C) Grendel s mother D) the Danish king s dog E) none of the above 35. Who or what goes with Beowulf into the lake? A) Wiglaf B) Hrunting C) Unferth D) Edgetho E) a shield 36. What protects Beowulf from Grendel s mother s dagger? A) his wooden shield B) his sword C) his chain mail D) his iron shield E) nothing he is injured by the dagger 37. Beowulf kills Grendel s mother with A) his own sword B) a sword made by giants C) his own bare hands D) her own dagger E) poison 38. When Beowulf doesn t come up from the lake, A) the Danish king leaves B) the Danish soldiers camp out another night C) Beowulf s men leave D) the local citizens begin to mock him E) Wiglaf begs all the warriors to wait for Beowulf 39. Beowulf finally surfaces, carrying A) Grendel s mother s head B) Grendel s head C) the remains of a sea monster D) Unferth E) both A and B 40. What was the first time in his life that famous prince [Beowulf]/Fought with fate against him? A) the battle with Grendel B) the battle with Grendel s mother C) the battle with the dragon D) the difficult voyage from Denmark back to Geatland E) his aging into an elderly man and king
41. Who helps Beowulf in his final battle? A) no one B) Unferth C) the Geat s ring-giver D) Wiglaf E) his son 42. Which of the following is NOT in the dragon s lair? A) cups and bracelets B) a golden banner C) rusty old helmets D) skeletons E) gold and jewels 43. A Christian element introduced to the story of Beowulf involves A) Bibles being used in the mead hall B) water being sprinkled on Beowulf s body as he nears death C) a reference to Beowulf s resurrection D) two characters who seem to parallel Adam and Eve E) the crucifixion of Beowulf by the dragon 44. Beowulf s body is A) burned and put on a boat that is pushed out to sea B) burned, and the ashes are included in a stone tower C) buried in Geatland next to his parents D) fully consumed by the dragon E) buried beneath the stone floors of Herot 45. How many Geats warrior ride their horses in tribute around Beowulf s final resting place? A) two B) six C) eight D) ten E) twelve Match the character with his description: 46. Beowulf A) mankind s enemy 47. Hrothgar B) Higlac s follower 48. Grendel C) water witch 49. The dragon D) the fire-spitting terror 50. Grendel s mother E) the Dane s great lord
PACKED PARAGRAPH RESPONSES (25 pts. each) Be sure to use PLENTY of specifics from the poem and our discussions. 1. How does the concept of wyrd apply to the story of Beowulf? Refer to one specific scene of your choice AS WELL AS the scene in which Beowulf reveals his attitude before confronting the dragon. 2. What specific characteristics of an epic hero does the character of Beowulf reflect? Refer to at least two, and tie those to specific scenes from the poem.