Beowulf Questions

 I worked with Paul Kim, Laura Trenev, Landon Brown and Madison Mather.

1. It was unusual because Shield was a small abandoned child and became a powerful character.  His funeral was sad because they put his belongings in a boat and sent them out to sea. The relation of Hrothgar and Shield is that Hrothgar is a father figure to Shield. 
2. Hrothgar undertook building the hall Heorot. Grendel attacked it killing thirty men. The Dane’s responses are terrified and they try to stay away from the hall.
3. When Beowulf hears of this he creats an army to go help Hrothgar defeat Grendel.
4. The Geats first meet a nameless watcher who was guarding the shore.
5.     Hrothgar’s Herald is the guard mentioned in number 4 and he tells them the arrival of the Geats and that he should let them visit. Hrothgar responds by agreeing. I'm not surprised because he knows his father. 
6.  Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he plans to fight Grendel. Hrothgar protected him after he killed a man.
7. Unfirth accuses Beowulf of losing a swimming contest.Beowulf responds by telling him that he lost because he ran into sea monsters and had to kill them. It's relevant to the story because it shows that Beowulf has courage. Beowulf accuses Unfirth of being weak.
8. During the feasting Queen Wealhtheow is saluting the warriors, and offering them a goblet to drink from.
9. His preparations are different because he takes off all of his armor.
10. When Grendel enters he attacks a warrior and drinks his blood. Beowulf fights him just using himself and no weapons. When Grendel tries to leave Beowulf tears his arm off. Grendel finally leaves, and leaves his arm.
11.They're similar because Sigemund was a dragon slayer and Beowuld just beat a monster. He's not like Heremod because he was a coward.
12. Hrothgar responds to the deed by adopting him and Unfirth has nothing to say about that action.
13.In general the Danes lost a fight to the Finn's and after they realize their defeat they offer a truce. Using a woman to unite the tribes shows wisdom because it causes a common ground for both tribes. 

14. Wealhtheow asks Hrothgar to not have Beowulf be the heir.

15.   The necklace was later stolen from his corpse. Wealhtheow asks Beowuld to protect her son. 

16.  The men stay at the beer hall to sleep because they want to protect Hrothgar and their land. This was a mistake because Grendel could come and burst in again at any moment.

17.  Grendel’s mother came to Heorot as revenge for her sons death which is not the same reason as Grendel's.

18.  Hrothgar’s response is grief and pain because she killed one of his close friend's.

19.  The mere is a terrible place where monsters live.

20.  Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he should fight in vengeance instead of sadness. 

21.  Before Beowulf enters the mere, he sees and sea monster and kills it.

22. Beowulf prepares by putting on his chain-mail armor, his golden helmet, and takes out his sword that was given to him by Unfirth.

23. When Beowulf enters the mere he tries to find Grendel's mother. It's surprising where they live because there's no water.

24. The sword melted.   

25.  Beowulf is protected by Grendel's mother because he's wearing his chain mail. 

26.  Beowulf uses the sword to decapitate Grendel’s mother. When she dies he sees Grendel's body and then cuts his head off too. His sword soon melts away after he kills him. 

27.When   Beowulf returns to the surface his men were waiting at the top for him surprised to see him because they expected him to have been defeated.

28.  Beowulf gives Hrothgar the hilt of the sword.

29.  Hrothgar tells Beowulf that he was brave and courageous for what he did and told him not to be like Heremod. He reminds Beowulf that everybody dies because God is in charge.

30. Beowulf gives Unferth the sword.

31.  Hrothgar predicts that Beowulf will come back as a ruler.

32.  Hygd is kind and not like Modthryth because Modthryth who have people imprisoned just for looking at her.

33.  Hrothgar hopes that the marriage will end the hate between the Danes and Heathobards.  Beowulf believes it will do nothing to benefit the families. This is a new side of him because he never thinks through situations like this.

34.  Beowulf reports his adventures by telling them in stories where he tells of his success.

35.  Beowulf gives his treasure to Hygelac, who in return gives him a sword, hides, land, a hall and a throne.

36.  Part 2 takes place 50 years later and King Hygelac dies and Heardred. A dragon was awakened.

37.  The dragon is angry because he was awakened. The man took the cup because he was poor and wanted to give it to his master. The treasure was there in the first place because someone had treasure but had no one to leave it to so the dragon guarded it.  

38.The dragon that evening destroyed the Geatlands due to his anger.

39. Beowulf believes his home has been burnt because he has offended the gods in some way. He orders a new iron shield so he can protect himself from the dragon’s flames. Beowulf believes this will be his last battle and it does end up being his last.

40. Hygelac died during the battle. Beowulf swam to safety along with thirty battle dresses. Beowulf declines the seat of king because he believes Headred should have it.

41. Headred ended up dying in battle. This is because he took in exiled Swedes who were King Onela’s brothers. King Onela attacked Geatlands in order to kill his brothers and Headred died in the mix up. Beowulf avenges Headred by killing King Onela.

42. Twelve men accompany Beowulf as he goes to slay the dragon.

43. Herebeald was shot with an arrow by his brother Haethcyn while hunting. King Hrethel was overwhelmed with the death of his son and died of grief. This left the kingdom to Haethcyn and Hygelac. After Hrethel died the Swedes and Geats kept on fighting. This resulted in Haethcyn and Hygelac’s death. Beowulf avenges them by killing Dayraven.

44. Beowulf tells his men to wait outside and to not attack.

45. When Beowulf starts fighting the dragon he is barely able to pierce through the dragon’s tough skin. Beowulf retreats with the dragon in pursuit. All his men flee in fear except Wiglaf. Wiglaf tells the men to stand in fight because Beowulf has put his trust in them. Wiglaf is the only one that help Beowulf

46. On the second encounter Beowulf’s sword breaks when he tries to pierce the dragon’s neck leaving him wide open. Wiglaf stabs the dragon in the stomach giving Beowulf the opportunity to stack the dragon in the neck with his knife and killing it.

47. Beowulf asks Wiglaf to bring back some of the treasure so he can see it before he dies. When he sees the gold he thankful because now he can give the treasure to his people. Beowulf wants to be buried in a tower that is built by the sea.

48. When the companions return they see Wiglaf burying Beowulf. Wiglaf blames them for abandoning Beowulf when he needed them most. Wiglaf believes the Geatlands will be attacked in the future by other kingdoms.

49. The messenger announces that Beowulf is dead. Ongentheow makes fun of the Geats in Ravenwood. Hygelac comes the next morning and kills Ongentheow. The messenger says the gold is cursed and that no one should possess it. The final image is a dragon.

50. Wiglaf tells the crowd how heroic Beowulf was. He tells them he was a great warrior and a great king and that he will never be forgotten.

51. The dragon was pushed off a cliff into the ocean. It wasn’t given a burial because it was believed to be evil.

52. After the funeral people cried and sang.

53. The Geats describe Beowulf as a memorable, kind, and beloved hero. To use the word kind to describe someone who fought a dragon and killed many men seems weird to me. You wouldn’t describe Rambo as a kind man.