Beowulf Epic Hero

Among the following choices, which typical literary device from Old English poetry helps establish a particular mood?

• Descriptive language such as flushed up and inflamed creates an anxious mood.

• Imagery such as gorged on him in lumps creates a satisfied mood.

• Alliteration such as blundering back with the butchered corpses creates a barbaric mood.

• Words with negative connotations such as greedy and brute create an energetic mood.

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Which line from the epic poem best explains why Beowulf undertook his quest?

• If Grendel wins, it will be a gruesome day.

• The hero arose, surrounded closely by his powerful thanes.

• In his day, he was the mightiest mad on earth.

• Nobody tried to keep him from going, no elder denied him.

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The events in epic poems reflect the culture and time in which they are written. Beowulf does this by--

• Making use of long speeches to show the speaking style and diction of the time

• Employing formal syntax to create a sense of how serious people were at the time

• Telling a story celebrating a noble and courageous hero who is a product of his time

• Using details that reflect historical events from a time preceding the action

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Reread lines 35-38 from Beowulf for a specific feature of Old English poetry. The author substitutes the name Grendel with the kenning God-cursed brute in order to--

• Emphasize the depth of Grendel's evil

• Describe the havoc Grendel creates in detail for the reader

• Show the reader that Grendel presents no real challenge

• Stress the excess of Grendel's greed

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Read line 90 from Beowulf

Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed

In what specific way is this line an example of a rhythmic pattern often found in Old English poetry?

• It generally contains two half lines of three stressed syllables each.

• It has two consecutive stressed beats followed by two consecutive unstressed beats.

• It consists of a metric foot comprised of two long syllables.

• It uses a sequence of one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.

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The poem says that to rid themselves of Grendel, the people sometimes went to pagan shrines and made offerings to idols. What does this most reveal about the people there?

• They are so weak that they decide to join the evil force that they could not beat.

• They are angry at Grendel, so they plot against him with idols.

• They are disgusted with the state of Heorot, so they need a quick fix.

• They are so desperate for relief that they are willing to try whatever might help.

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Read lines 114-116, which describe what Beowulf did when he first heard about Grendel. What do the lines say about Beowulf as a character?

• He tends to act recklessly.

• He is forgiving of evil and sins.

• He is generous and brave.

• He seeks to help all who ask him.

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Read lines 215-218. Which two words match the definition of whetted?

• Moistened

• Sharpened

• Soaked

• Filed

• Stimulated

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What typical element of epic poetry does the battle between Beowulf and Grendel best reflect?

• The journey taken to get to the battle describes the culture at the time.

• The battle portrays the universal theme of good versus evil.

• The style of the fighting shows that the enemies fought with weapons of their era.

• The conversational diction during the battle heightens a sense of immediacy.

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Which two quotes from Beowulf contain kennings renaming the two main characters?

Grendel was the name of this grim demon

• Kenning

• No Kenning

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