Beowulf - The Wrath of Grendel

The Danish King is

• Hrothgar
• Higlac
• Healfdane
• Beowulf

. Who are the only ones who survive Grendel’s attacks on Herot? Is anyone able to fight him off?

• The only men who are able to survive are those who flee from Herot. No one is able to fight him off.

• There are no survivors.

• Four of them flee before he found them.

The main theme of Beowulf is...

• Courage vs. Cowardice
• Good vs. Evil
• Peace and War
• Love and Hate

Grendel gets angry because the men are ____________

• Singing loudly and praising God

• sleeping and won’t open the door

• Won’t give him any mead

True or False:  Beowulf is the oldest known English epic poem.

• True
• False

What effect does comparing Grendel to Cain have on the audience?

• The audience would be terrified for Grendel since Cain was a mythical character that ate his brother.

• The audience would have difficulty making the connection since Cain wasn't born yet.

• The audience would likely be familiar with the fact that Cain is – according to the Bible – the first person to ever have committed murder. They will recognize that Cain is an “evil” person, and that they compare Grendel to him.

What do the stories told by the men reveal about Anglo-Saxon culture and religion?

• This reveals that the Anglo-Saxons valued the tradition of story-telling, particularly creation.. The use of the word “Almighty” and the description of the creation of the earth reads like a Christian narrative, which show the Anglo-Saxon’s growing beliefs in the principles or stories of Christianity.

• This reveals that the Anglo-Saxons valued the tradition of telling myths about creation. It also reveals the need of Anglo-Saxons to tell "fishermen stories" to make the men feel better about themselves.

What causes Grendel to “growl in pain?”

• It was a cry of mourning

• The loud music ringing in his ears from Hrothgar’s mead hall above his lair.

• It was a war cry

• He was just in a mood

What does it mean when the narrator describes Grendel as having “hell-forged hands?” Why is this an effective use of words? How does the reader react to this description?

• The reader is going to think his hands are on fire. It is effective use of language because it gives a visual of what is going on. The reader is going to show some empathy for him for the first time.

• The reader is likely to have a stronger reaction to the “hell-forged” description, which will make Grendel seem more loathsome, establishing him as an antagonist for Beowulf. It helps to remove any bit of sympathy that the reader might have for Grendel.

• The reader is likely to have a strong understanding that his hands are in fact of the devil. This is effective because it shows this character in its truest form.

What is Grendel’s lineage?

• Grendel was described as being “spawned in that slime” and “conceived of a pair of those monsters born of Cain.” 
• Grendel was described as evil and created from the souls of those who died in battle.
• Grendel was described as a descendant of Adam and Eve.
• Grendel was described as a serpent and more crafty than any of the wild animals.