Beowulf 7

Study Guide Questions for Lines 2200-2541

If you are looking for the beginning of the study for Beowulf then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

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

Battle of Wits, Despair, Loneliness, Revenge, Fear, Death, Destruction, Home, Prudence, Recklessness, Humility, Fate, Suffering, Courage

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What circumstances led to Beowulf becoming king of the Geats?

2. What enraged the dragon?

3. From where did the treasure come which the dragon had been guarding?

4. How long had the dragon been guarding the treasure?

5. When would the dragon leave its den and for what purpose?

6. What “bad news” did Beowulf receive?

7. What did Beowulf commission the smiths to make for him?

8. What did Beowulf do when Hygd offered him the throne (after her husband Hygelac had been killed in battle)?

9. How many men did Beowulf take with him to the dragon’s lair?

10. What unfortunate situation had occurred involving Hygelac’s brothers?

11. What did Beowulf instruct his men to do while he fought the dragon?

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

1. What did the poet mean by saying the dragon “is driven to hunt out hoards under ground, to guard heathen gold through age-long vigils, though to little avail?”

2. Why did Beowulf think that “he must have thwarted ancient ordinance of the eternal Lord, broken His commandment?”

3. What are the potential “pros and cons” of the “all iron shield” which Beowulf intended to use against the dragon?

4. Why did Beowulf not take the throne when it was first offered to him?

5. Why might the number of men that Beowulf took with him to fight the dragon (including the one picked up on the way) be significant to the Christian imagery of the story?

6. Why did the Beowulf poet share with us the story of the tragedy of Hygelac’s brothers? What are we meant to learn from this?

7. Why did Beowulf say “I would rather not use a weapon if I knew another way to grapple with the dragon?”

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

1. All throughout history, from as far back as the book of Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh all the way to Disney’s 1959 animated movie Sleeping Beauty, dragons have been an unqualified symbol of evil. In more recent decades, however, dragons have begun to be reimagined in stories as potentially friendly, good, and loyal creatures. What do you think about the recasting of a symbol of evil in this manner? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Why do you think as you do?

2. Do you think dragons are (or, perhaps, were) real? Explain your reasoning and offer any evidence you can for your position.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. How could this passage be related to our current reading?

2. Read Job 41. What is Leviathan? How did you come to that conclusion?