WorksheetsBeowulf and Old English Culture and Literature
Total questions: 81
Worksheet time: 27mins
The following quote is an allusion to what book in the bible:
"The Almighty making the earth, shaping
These beautiful plains marked off by oceans"
Job
Genesis
Revelation
Proverbs
The major themes of Beowulf include
Man vs. Man
Good vs. Evil
Man vs. Technology
Love vs. Hate
“Whale’s Home” is an example of a(n)
Epithet
Alliteration
Kenning
Caesura
Which of the following is an epithet for Beowulf
Hell-forged hands
Strongest of the Geats
Mighty Prince
Monster of Women
The Beowulf text contains many motifs or recurring themes or images including boasts. Which of the following example is considered a boast?
"My hands
alone shall fight for me, struggle for life
against the monster"
"Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror"
"My tongue grows heavy,
And my heart"
"So mankind's enemy continued his crimes"
Women in Anglo Saxon culture were given all of the following roles EXCEPT:
Mother
Teacher
Peace Weaver
War Captain
The kenning “battle-sweat” would best translate as
Fruit punch
Sweat
Blood
Rain
The following quote is an example of which type of figurative language?
"The mighty water witch, and swung his sword"
Hyperbole
Alliteration
Personification
Simile
The break in the middle of the lines of Old English poetry is called
Epithet
Allusion
Caesura
Imagery
Another word for a "poet" in Anglo-Saxon culture is
Warrior
Scop
Living thing
Maiden
An _____ is a long, narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society.
allusion
epic
trilogy
motif
What culture is associated with Beowulf?
German
Anglo-Saxon
American
Spanish
What is the name of the place Beowulf came from?
The promise land
Land of the Geats
Land of the monarchs
The Herotland
What is the name of the ruler of the kingdom that Grendel is terrorizing?
Higlac
Hrothgar
Beowulf
Brecca
Herot is the name of ___.
Hrothgar's deceased father
Beowulf's stongest co-worker
Hrothgar's mead hall
Beowulf's homeland village
How long did Grendel's reign of terror last?
12 years
12 months
6 months
6 years
Grendel couldn't harm Hrothgar's throne because it was ___.
guarded by warriors
protected by God
built by giants
not interesting to Grendel
Grendel's murderous drive comes from his Biblical ancestor ___.
Moses
Cain
Jesus
David
How does Beowulf say he will kill the monster?
He will use an enchantment (spell)
He will fight him with his new sword and shield (the most powerful of weapons)
He will fight him with no weapons, his bare hands
He will poison the monster in his den and then attack
What solution did the Danes have for surviving Grendel's horrific, deadly attacks?
hiding in the basement of Herot
creating a ring of fire around Herot
leaving Herot and hiding far away
defending Herot no mather what happened
Before the Germanic tribe invasions, the inhabitants of Britain spoke a ....... language.
modern
Celtic
Bostonian
local
The Germanic tribes, the ......., the Saxons, and the Jutes invaded Great Britain.
Angles
Triangles
Americans
French
"England" and "English" come from the name of the tribe of .......
the Cherokee
the Angles
the Saxons
the Jutes
Who or what does Beowulf fight in his final battle?
Grendel
Grendel's mother
Hrothgar
A fire breathing dragon
Type of poetry that laments the loss of loved ones, and the loss of the past
Heroic
Elegy
Sonnet
Ballad
"The mighty men at midnight" is an example of...
Alliteration
Kenning
Personification
Caesura
What does the speaker of "The Wanderer" seem to miss most?
love
companionship
material possessions
During this time in history, many groups of people left, or were sent from, their homes. Knowing this helps the reader understand why
each person was sent away
each person was lonely
the theme of 'exile' was so common
the lyric poem was so popular
In Medias Res means...
In the middle of things. Meaning we join the action of a story as it is taking place.
In the middle of nowhere. We have no idea where the story is set.
In the middle of the ocean. The hero is on a journey in the ocean.
In the middle of the mind. We can see into the hero's thoughts.
The first part of the story is set in which country?
Why is Grendel in pain at the beginning of the story?
the music & noise from the hall make him jealous
He's sick.
the sunlight hurts him
He lost his family.
What does Grendel do when he comes to the hall at night?
feast with the warriorss
kills 30 warriors in their sleep
begs for food
watches the warriors & imagines what it would be like to be one of them
What is the only thing Grendel will NOT touch or destroy in Herot?
Statues of the old stone gods
The gold/treasure
Civilians (He only fights warriors)
Hrothgar's throne
The fire dragon is awakened by an act of
Cowardice
Defiance
Greed.
Violence.
Beowulf's preparation for battle against the fire dragon differs from his preparation for battle against Grendel in that Beowulf
Carries weapons.
Doesn’t boast.
Doesn't seek fame
It does not differ
When Beowulf realizes that the battle with the fire dragon will go against him, he
continues to fight.
cures fate and blames God.
orders his men to help him.
quits and tries to negotiate a treaty.
Why does Beowulf want Wiglaf to bring him the jewels from the fire dragon's castle?
He is afraid that they will fall to others.
He wants the comfort of seeing the prize he has won.
He wants to make sure there is no other monster in the tower.
He wants to see if Wiglaf is brave enough to succeed him.
As Beowulf lay dying, his attitude toward his death is one of
Acceptance.
Anger
Bitterness
Fear
The storyteller’s moral warning about the power of gold & treasure implies that lust for gold
always wins
drives all of mankind's decisions
is a necessary evil.
is destructive for all men.
Which of the following texts does not belong to the Old English period?
Beowulf
Tale of the Sangreal
Dream of the Rood
Caedmon's Hymn
Which of the following is NOT a kenning?
sky-candle
shiny-sword
battle-dew
whale road
In the poem, "The Wanderer" what did the "dark earth" cover?
The speaker's "dear wife bosom"
The speaker's "dear lord's face"
The speaker himself
An Anglo-Saxon treasure of ancient times
Who are the first settlers of England?
Romans
Celts
Vikings
Anglo-Saxons
Which of these primarily influenced the Anglo-Saxons to start writing down their stories and histories?
The end of the barbaric wars
The decline of the Roman empire
The brutality of the bubonic plague
The spread of Christianity
What was the name of the Anglo-Saxon belief meaning fate?
Lorde
Wyrd
Saeflod
Unweder
5. Why are the warriors so obsessed with winning lof?
They are arrogant and boastful, wanting everyone to adore them/
They have no afterlife and must live on in the stories of their people.
Their nation has no great warriors, and they are always the underdog in battle.
They know the king will have them killed if they don't perform well in war.
6. Where do the warriors sleep?
At home in their beds
in the fields around the city
in the mead hall, armed to defend the king
in barracks like soldiers today
10. If someone kills a member of your family, what is your right?
Peace-weaving
Morgengifu
Wergild
Witangamot
14. What was NOT one of the king's responsibilities to his people?
dispense the spoils
Split the treasure equally
uphold the laws
be courageous in battle
Who are the three characters in "The Dream of the Rood"?
God, Christ, and the dreamer
the dreamer, the cross, and Christ
the cross, the dreamer, and God
the dreamer, God, and Christ
Who speaks at the beginning of the poem, "The Dream fo the Rood"?
God
dreamer
cross
a Roman soldier
Who speaks for most of the poem "The Dream of the Rood"?
Bible
the cross
the dreamer
a Roman soldier
The Norman Conquest was in ___.
1066
1340
1096
998
In writing, what is parallelism?
Repeated use of phrases, words or clauses to emphasize contrasts or ideas
Putting words side by side to create a dramatic effect
Using another word to stand in for one word so you are not repeating it
A sentence that does not repeat any word in it (like this answer)
What do you call the best and most reasonable conclusion one makes after looking at the given evidence?
Kenning
Juxtaposition
Inference
Parallelism
In the absence of written literature, how are stories being told during the Anglo-Saxon period?
Primarily through oral literature
Primarily through dance
Primarily through cave art
Stories were not told during this period.
How did the Anglo-Saxons get control of the British isles?
The Romans realized the place is too far and left the British isles to invaders.
After the collapse of the Roman empire, they raided the lands with minimal resistance.
After collecting so much debt, the Romans sold the British isles to the Anglos, Saxons and Jutes.
The Anglos and Saxons waged war against the Romans, which they easily won.
Which of these primarily influenced the Anglo-Saxons to start writing down their stories and histories?
The end of the barbaric wars
The decline of the Roman empire
The brutality of the bubonic plague
The spread of Christianity
Which of the following is not a key element of Anglo-Saxon poetry?
Internal rhyme
Alliteration
Kenning
Iambic pentameter
Beowulf's grandfather was
Wiglaf
Hrethel
Higlac
Healfdane
Beowulf's father started a feud and killed a
Anglo-Saxon warrior
Jute warrior
Danish warrior
Wulfing warrior
The shield used by Beowulf was made from which tree?
maple
ash
linden
oak
"But the feast, I think, did not please them, filled their evil bellies with no
banquet-rich food." This quote is an example of
personification
litotes
antithesis
paradox
"But the feast, I think, did not please them, filled their evil bellies with no
banquet-rich food." This quote is a reference to Beowulf's fight with
the dragons in the land of the Geats
Grendel's mother's offspring
the enemies of Hrothgar
the sea monsters
Before the Roman invasion in 55 BC, the land later known as England was occupied by
Angles
Gaels
Britons
Gauls
Around the year 658, the earliest work extant of Old English Literature is
Arthur legend of the sword in the stone
Caedmon's hymn
Bede's hymn
Augustine's Confessions
Who defeated the Anglo Saxons on Christmas day?
King Canute
Edward the Confessor
Julius Caesar
William the Conqueror
Bonstan's son, according to Unferth, ruled in the land of the
Jutes
Frisians
Brondings
Angles
"It's good to find your grace in God, the heavenly rock where rests our every hope." This quote comes from
Caedmon's Hymn
Dream of the Rood
Beowulf
The Wanderer
A _______that is too tight can cause pain and bruising
lament
fetter
purge
talon
Injured warriors were _________ and calling out for help.
shoveling
cowering
writhing
singing
