Beowulf Test

Final study set

Water Demons

Nicors

Fire-drake

Dragon

Compensation paid for those murdered

Wergild

Referred to as “the giver of treasure”

Hrothgar

Hrothgar’s wife

Wealhtheow

The earl killed by the Troll Wife

Aeschere

From the scop’s story the reader can tell all of the following are anglo saxon qualities except ___

quiet humility and a low profile

The poet that recited the poem of Beowulf did so to _____

Entertain thanes and educate warriors on history

Weder people is another way the poet refers to ____

the Geats

Grendel attacks the mead hall because ____

the sounds of happiness make him ill

Beowulf comes to Hrothgar’s aid because _____

Beowulf believed it was his fate to do so

Unferth’s name can be interpreted as meaning

Peace breaker

Before the battle with Grendel, Beowulf’s men believe ____

it is unlikely they will ever see home again

When Grendel attacks the mead hall for the final time, Grendel _____

bursts in totally confident in his ability to kill the Danes and feels Beowulf’s grip and tries to flee to the fen lands

Beowulf is given a sword to fight Grendel’s Mother by ____

Unferth

As an act of revenge, Grendel’s Mother kills Hrothgar’s close companion

Aeschere

All of the following is true about the lair that Grendel’s Mother lives in except _____

nothing in the water deters swimming to the lair

Which of the following lines from Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s Mother contains the best example of a caesura?

“[he] swung his sword, / His ring-marked blade;”

The two treasures that Beowulf brought with him after killing Grendel’s Mother were ___

Grendel’s head and the hilt of the giant’s sword

Hrothgar advises Beowulf against the sin of _____

pride

As they part ways, Beowulf treats Unferth with ______

respect and thanks

The dragon awakes after 300 years because ______

a thief stole a beaker

When Beowulf went to fight the dragon he _____

brought an iron shield and 11 soldiers

The men who failed to stay by Beowulf during the fight will most likely be punished by _____

being denied their treasure rewards and bringing shame to the other members of their tribes

Beowulf survives other wounds in battle but most likely succumbed to the dragon’s attack because ______

Beowulf is an old and weak man

Even as he is dying, Beowulf wants to see the dragon’s treasure because ______

Beowulf wants to see what he risked his life for

Beowulf’s last request is that his body be burned and ______

placed in a barrow on a cliff near the sea

At the end of the poem, the scop foreshadows that _______

the Geats will see their doom now that Beowulf is dead

Which of these words best fits the image if the dragon presented in this quotation from Beowulf?

“…The dragon / Coiled and uncoiled, its heart urging it / Into battle…”

Writhing

Which of the following lines from Beowulf contains an example of a caesura?

“…Burns like a torch. No one knows its bottom…”

Which phrase best paraphrases the underlined words in this quotation from Beowulf?

“…they could hack at Grendel / From every side, trying to open / A path for his evil soul, but their points / Could not hurt him.”

To kill him

Which phrase best restates the underlined words in this quotation from Beowulf

“He who had come to them from across the sea, / Bold and strong minded, had driven affliction / Off, purged Herot cleam”

Had rid the land of pain and suffering

Which of these words best fits the image of the dragon presented in this quotation from Beowulf?

“…The dragon / Coiled and uncoiled, its heart urging it / Into battle…”

Writhing

Which is the best phrase for this passage from Beowulf?

“—Then the sword / Melted, blood soaked, dripping down / Like water, disappearing like ice when the world’s / Eternal Lord loosens invisible / Fetters and unwinds icicles and frost.”

Beowulf’s bloody sword became liquid the way ice and frost do when God warms and melts them

The only examples of human affection that appears in the poem are ______

The loyalty of Wiglaf to Beowulf and the father-son relationship between Hrothgar and Beowulf

Beowulf is a thoroughly pagan story

False

Grendel terrorizes Heorot for twelve winters before Beowulf arrives

True

“Whale-road” is an example of an epithet

False

Beowulf is king of the Geats when he hears about Grendel

False

“The honored prince” is an example of a kenning

False

After killing Grendel’s Mother, Beowulf presents her decapitated body to Hrothgar as a trophy

False

Ancient stories like Beowulf were sung or chanted at the court’s of kings and nobles

True

Beowulf receives the sword, Naegling, from Unferth

False

A mark of a good king in Beowulf’s time was to distribute generous rewards and treasure to his warriors

True

Queen Wealtheow is the mother of Beowulf

False

Hrunting is the sword Beowulf uses to fight the dragon

False

The dragon has become angered because a thief has stolen a precious cup from his hoard of treasure

True

The dragon guarded the treasure for only 150 years

False

Beowulf eventually becomes king of the Danes

False

Of all of Beowulf’s warriors, Wiglaf proves to be the only coward

False