Beowulf: Epic Tale of Heroism and Fate

1. Beowulf Study Guide Rawlinson 12

2. 1. • Hrothgar is the King of Danes.

3. 2. • Grendel hates the sound of men’s voices singing.

4. 3. • One of the reasons the Danes have such a hard time fighting Grendel is because Grendel does not fight according to men’s rules.

5. 4. • The swords of Beowulf’s men fail to harm Grendel because Grendel has put a spell on their weapons.

6. 5. • Grendel finally shows fear when he is held fast in Beowulf’s grip.

7. 6. • Grendel wants to flee to his lair when he is first confronted by Beowulf.

8. 7. • Beowulf rips Grendel’s arm off.

9. 8. • After the fight with Grendel, Grendel’s mother is brooding with grief and greedy for revenge.

10. 9. • Grendel’s mother takes Grendel’s arm off the wall in the mead-hall.

11. 10. • When Grendel’s mother arrives at Herot, Beowulf is sleeping in his room.

12. 11. • Grendel’s mother kills the king’s best man and friend because she wanted revenge.

13. 12. • Hrothgar describes the lake as dark and hell-like.

14. 13. • The author’s description of the lake creates an ominous mood.

15. 14. • The fight in the lake differs from the fight with Grendel in that Beowulf uses weapons in the lake and the opponent doesn’t show fear.

16. 15. • Hrunting is the name of Beowulf’s sword.

17. 16. • Grendel’s mother tries to use a dagger to kill Beowulf.

18. 17. • Beowulf’s mailcoat saves him from Grendel’s near-fatal attack.

19. 18. • Beowulf found a “tremendous sword” on the wall in the lair of Grendel’s mother.

20. 19. • Giants of olden time forged the tremendous sword that is in Grendel’s mother’s lair.

21. 20. • Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother by cutting off her head.

22. 21. • When Beowulf sees Grendel’s body in the lair, he cuts Grendel’s head off.

23. 22. • As the last section of the epic poem begins, Beowulf as reigned as king for 50 years.

24. 23. The dragon hoards gold and treasures….symbolism of greed.

25. 24. • When the dragon wakes, a golden goblet is missing from his treasure.

26. 25. • Beowulf wishes he could fight the dragon with his bare hands.

27. 26. • Even kings must bow to fate.

28. 27. • Most of Beowulf warriors run away when they see he is losing the battle with the dragon.

29. 28. • Wiglaf was a close kinsman of Beowulf.

30. 29. • Wiglaf rushes to Beowulf’s aid when he sees Beowulf faltering in his fight with the dragon.

31. 30. • Wiglaf represents the value of kinship.

32. 31. • Beowulf’s flaw is greed for fame.

33. 32. • Beowulf receives a fatal wound from the dragon.

34. 33. The dragon kills Beowulf.

35. 34. • Before he dies, Beowulf asks Wiglaf to bring him the dragon’s treasure.

36. 35. • When Beowulf describes how he wants to be remembered, this shows self-importance.

37. 36. • Before he dies, Beowulf gives Wiglaf his gold chain and new title.

38. 37. • Wiglaf banishes the warriors who ran away after Beowulf’s death.

39. 38. • Beowulf asks Wiglaf to be the next leader because Wiglaf stood with Beowulf and fought the dragon.

40. 39. • A warrior protects his king even at the risk of his own life.

41. 40. • A lair is a wild animal’s den.

42. 41. • Infamous means having a bad reputation.

43. 42. • Purge means to get rid of something undesirable.

44. 43. • The existence of evil and good occur simultaneously.

45. 44. • A good leader is brave and fearless.

46. 45. • Evil is represented as something trying to destroy what the people of the time value.