BEOWULF READING QUESTIONS

I was fortunate enough to receive help from my friends Edmond Yi, Mia Levy, Eli Esparza, and Javier Solis.
The first 14 questions were delegated to me.  The rest can be found in order on Edmond, Mia, Eli, and Javier's blogs respectively.

I found the text at this website <http://hs.auburn.cnyric.org/teachers/michael_sullivan/ap/s0095617f?textonly=>
I referred to SparkNotes when I needed help understanding the text.

Prologue: The Rise of a Danish Nation:

1. Shield was an orphan who was found in a boat on the waters, and he was a "late-bloomer," which made him highly unlikely to obtain power and rule the Danes.  When he died, he was given a huge funeral service where his body was cast away to sea, covered in armor and treasure.  Hrothgar is the great, great grandson to Shield.

Heorot is Attacked:

1. Under Hrothgar, Heorot was built, a grand mead-hall filled with treasures and festivities.  Grendel, a descendant of Cain, attacked Heorot and slayed many men.  He has been attacking the Danes for 12 years.  The desperate Danes tried everything to cast the demon away, and they had even worshiped pagan shrines to harm Grendel.

The Hero Comes to Heorot:

1. When Beowulf hears of Grendel's terror over the Danes, he leaves his home with 14 men to slay the demon and help Hrothgar.
2. When they first landed on Danish land, the Geats first met a watchman who guards the territory.  They assured him that they are not pirates and that they had come to help the Danes.  The watchman leads them to Heorot and assigns a guard to watch over their boat.
3. They meet Wulfgar, a proud warrior and herald to Hrothgar who is known for his wisdom.  He questions why Beowulf has come, and he tells them that they look like brave men and that he will deliver their message to Hrothgar.  Wulfgar tells Hrothgar of Beowulf's arrival and pleads that he will welcome them with a reply.  Hrothgar knows of Beowulf not only from story but also from experience, because he once knew his father when he was young.  It is not shocking that he has heard the legend of Beowulf due to Beowulf's strength, but it is surprising to me that it is such a "small world" that he would know Beowulf's father outside of legend.
4. Beowulf announces to Hrothgar that he is mighty and will slay Grendel and purify Heorot.  Hrothgar had once helped Beowulf's father by settling a feud that the Geats had with another tribe by sending treasure to them.  The Geats have a sworn allegiance to the South Danes. 

Feast at Heorot:

1. Unferth accused Beowulf of losing a swimming contest against Breca.  Beowulf describes that sea monsters had pulled him to the depths of the ocean, and after he had slayed 9 sea monsters, he was washed ashore.  This story relates to the poem by giving yet another example of Beowulf's greatness and strength.  Beowulf accuses Unferth of being a cowardly drunkard who cannot fight against Grendel himself.
2. During the feasting, Queen Wealhtheow offers a goblet to drink from to all of the ranks of men in Heorot.

The Fight With Grendel:

1. Instead of arming himself for his upcoming fight to the death with Grendel, Beowulf decided to disarm himself, rendering himself as an equal to Grendel, armor-less and weapon-less.
2. Grendel blasts through the doors of Heorot and feasts on one of Beowulf's men.  When he reached for Beowulf, though, Beowulf caught him, wrestled him, and tore off his arm as he was trying to escape.  Although Grendel barely escaped with his life, Beowulf knew that he would die from the loss of blood eventually from his mutilated arm.

Celebration at Heorot:

1. Beowulf was similar to Sigemund, because he was courageous and very well-known like Sigemund.  He was not like Heremod, because King Heremod became anxious and condemned and later, evil.
2. Hrothgar adopted Beowulf in his heart as a son and offered him every worldly treasure.  Unferth had nothing to say, because the arm of Grendel was evidence to Beowulf's strength and heroism.
3. In the story of Finn, King Finn and his people won a battle against the Danes.  His Queen Hildeburh was Danish, and she lost her son and brother in the battle.  In the end, the Danes make a truce to live separately from Finn's men while living under Finn's rule at the same time, but, after spending a winter with Finn's people, the Danes rise against Finn and slay them.  Hildeburh is later returned to Denmark with the Danes.  This story suggests that Hildeburh, Finn's bride, made Finn soft as time passed, and the Danes were then able to conquer him eventually.  A woman's touch could heal spite and hatred at least for a time.
4. Wealhtheow then asked Hrothgar not to adopt Beowulf as a son to inherit the kingdom, but as a friend who will help the kin of Hrothgar rule.  She wanted Hrothulf, an older cousin of her sons, to take the kingdom, because he is older and would take care of her sons.  She wanted Hrothgar to determine who would inherit his crown when he dies.