Beowulf 2

Study Guide Questions for Lines 399-851

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Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Compassion, Fate, Faith, Music, Jealousy, Courage, Hospitality, Despair

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What service did Beowulf offer to perform for king Hrothgar?

2. In what manner did Beowulf say he would fight Grendel since “the monster scorns in his reckless way to use weapons?”

3. How had Beowulf’s father started a feud?

4. What explanation did Beowulf offer as to why he lost the swimming match with Breca?

5. What crime did Unferth commit which led Beowulf to say that he would “suffer damnation in the depths of hell.”

6. What “formal boast” did Beowulf make before Hrothgar’s wife, Wealhtheow?

7. What did Hrothgar tell Beowulf that he had never done “since [his] hand could hold a shield?” 

8. How did Beowulf manage to catch Grendel off his guard?

9. What was it that Beowulf’s men “could not have known at the time” about Grendel?

10. What served as “clear proof” that Beowulf had been successful in his fight?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Why might Beowulf feel somewhat indebted to Hrothgar and be eager to provide him a service?

2. What did Beowulf mean by telling Unferth that “it was mostly beer that was doing the talking?”

3. What is meant by the saying, “often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked?”

4. When the text says that Beowulf “accepted the cup” what might this be stating, metaphorically?

5. When leaving the Heorot in Beowulf’s charge why did Hrothgar tell him to “keep in mind your fame?”

6. The concept of God’s sovereignty denotes the idea that God is always in absolute control of the events of human history. Where do we see some examples of this notion in our present reading?

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Unferth seemed to be jealous of Beowulf’s bold character. Offer a definition for the concept of jealousy. Is jealousy always wrong or can it sometimes be just? If you think it is always wrong, explain why. If you think it can be just at times what makes the difference between sinful and just jealousy?

2. Beowulf decides not to use any weapons in his fight with Grendel since “He has no idea of the arts of war, of shield or sword play.” What do you think compels Beowulf to this course of action? Do you think his decision was noble or foolish? Explain your answer.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Compare and contrast 1 Samuel 17 with our current reading in Beowulf. What is similar about the two stories and what is significantly different?