beowulf comprehension questions

Prologue:
1. Shield was once an orphan adopted by king of Danes. At his funeral, he was laid on a ship with treasures and gold. Shield is Hrothgar's great grandpa.

Heorot is attacked:
1. Hrothgar undertook the job of building Heorot. Heorot was attacked by Grendel for a consecutive 12 years and killed tons of men during it. The Danes lost hope in his God and started praying to the Devil to rid of Grendel.

The Hero Comes to Heorot:
1. Beowulf takes many men to sail to the Danish nation after he hears of Hrothgar's problems.
2. The Geats met the sea-guard of Danes. The sea-guard warned Beowulf not to attack Danes, but Beowulf told him that he was there to help Hrothgar rid of Grendel.
3. Wulfgar was Hrothgar's Herald and he told Beowulf and the soldiers that he had never met such brave strangers. Wulfgar told Hrothgar to talk to Beowulf because he was so full of with bravery. Hrothgar told him to bring Beowulf to him. I'm surprised that Hrothgar knew about Beowulf.
4. Beowulf told Hrothgar that he would kill Grendel if Hrothgar provided his soldiers with food and a place to stay. Hrothgar paid off Beowulf's father's feuds and killing Grendel was his way of trying to return the favor.

Feast at Heorot:
1. Unferth accused Beowulf of arrogance and losing to Breca in a contest. Beowulf told him he was busy defeating nine sea monsters. This episode is relevant to the poem because it proves that Beowulf is hauteur about his strength. Beowulf accused Unferth of killing his family.
2. Queen Wealhtheow greeted everyone and thanked God for transporting him to Denmark.

The Fight with Grendel:
1. Beowulf was different from other heroes because he got undressed, not dressed.
2. When Grendel entered the hall, he saw that they were all asleep and started to attack. He ate one man, then went to grab Beowulf. Grendel realized that he was not prepared to win and tried to leave, but was stopped by Higlac's people. Beowulf fought Grendel by binding his claws. Grendel's arm was torn off and he left.

Celebration at Heorot: 
1. Beowulf is like Sigmund because he is a famous hero. He is not like Heremond because Heremond did not protect his people, instead he turned against them.
2. Hrothgar offered treasure to Beowulf. He also confessed he adopted Beowulf as a son in his heart. Once Unferth saw Grendel's barbed iron arm, he realized that he was wrong about Beowulf.
3. It is a story of how the Danes lost a battle, but the kings sister was married to the king of another tribe, so the other tribe helped out. A woman is able to persuade her husband's decisions greatly, like when she persuades her husband to treat members of both tribes equally.
4. Wealhtheow asked her husband not to cause harm to her children because she wanted them to be protected after he died.
5. Beowulf gave the torque to Hygelac before he passed. Wealhtheow asks
Beowulf to protect her children after her husband died.
6. They fell asleep in the hall because they felt safe now that Grendel was somewhat out of the picture. But the hall wasn't safe- Grendel's mother was prepared to attack.

Another Attack:
1. Grendel's mom came to get Grendel's arm and get her revenge.
2. Hrothgar asked Beowulf to kill Grendel's mother, bc she had killed Aeschere.
3. The mere is Grendel's watery home. Not even animals like it.

Beowulf Fights Grendel’s Mother: 
1.  Beowulf told Hrothgar that they should embrace each other as brothers and have faith in each other.
2.  Beowulf told the people that before he enters the mere that he will go alone and that he will return, but they need to wait for his return.
3.  Beowulf goes into battle with an iron sword given to him by his men that has never failed in battle.
4.  When Beowulf goes into the mere he is attacked by supernatural serpents that are seemingly invincible. What is surprising about where Grendel and his mother live is that it is a waterless cave within the mere and has both weapons and gold strewn across it.
5.  Unferth’s sword proves to be completely useless in the battle against Grendel’s mother because it can’t penetrate her skin.
6.  He grabs her hair and shoulder and pulls on her until she falls to floor so that he could escape.
7.  Beowulf beheads Grendel’s mother with a magical sword crafted by giants and once she is dead the serpents that had attacked him and the spells that cursed him while in the lair disappeared. As a trophy for his great victory, he takes her head with him to the surface.
8.  Hrothgar and his men eventually lost faith in their hero and left for their homes, but the Geatish earls all waited for their lord, Beowulf. So when Beowulf returns to the surface he is both pleased to see that the Geats waited for him, but disappointed that Hrothgar and his men had so little hope. 

Further Celebration at Heorot: 
1.  Beowulf told Hrothgar and his men how he defeated the monster mother and gave him the golden hilt of the sword bc that was all that was left.
2.  After hearing Beowulf’s boasting, Hrothgar told him the story of the evil Danish King, Heremod, who killed everyone at his table, because Heremod was also very boastful and because of what he did, he was banished.
3.  Beowulf gave Unferth his own sword bc Hrunting was destroyed in the mere.

Beowulf Returns Home: 
1. Hrothgar told Beowulf that if his lineage does not survive and Beowulf still lives, he may rule the Danes.
2. Queen Hygd is the queen of King Hygelac and is the opposite of Modthryth because she has killed many men and only changes when she marries Offa.
3. Hrothgar wants Freawaru to marry Ingeld so that there will be permanent peace between the Heathobard and the Danes, but Beowulf fears it will warrant war. This shows the more strategic side of Beowulf because we all know that Beowulf is more than just brawn.
4.  Beowulf reports on nearly every detail of his adventures and does so pretty accurately.
5. Beowulf shows all the gifts from Hrothgar and then Hygelac gave him a sword, land, and made him lord. 

UGH. ALMOST DONE. KILL ME.