Beowulf questions #1-10

My collaborative working group is with Justice Aragon, Madi Mather, Landon Brown, Paul Kim, and myself. We split the work up between us all. I had the first 10 questions, & here they are. This took about 40 minutes to do.

[Prologue: The Rise of the Danish Nation] (lines 1-85, pp. 33-34)

1.Realize that this prologue introduces the Danes, not Beowulf or his people the Geats. What was unusual about the way Shield came to be ruler of the Danes? What was his funeral like? What relation is Hrothgar to Shield? 
          What was unusual about the way Shield became ruler is that he was abandoned as a baby and became such a successful king. His funeral was a grand and majestic one; it was on a ship at sea and he was surrounded by weapons and vast treasure with a gold woven banner. Hrothgar is Shield's great great grandson.

[Heorot is Attacked] (lines 86-188, pp. 34-36)

1.What magnificent work did Hrothgar undertake? Who attacked it, and with what result? How long did the attacks last? What was the response of the Danes?
          The magnificent work that Hrothgar undertook was building Herot, a spectacular mead hall for feasts and celebrations. A monster named Grendel attacked it and ate the men. The attacks continued every night until the danes decided to all flee in order to save their lives.

[The Hero Comes to Heorot] (lines 189-490, pp. 36-42)

1. What does Beowulf do when he hears of Hrothgar's problems with Grendel?
          When Beowulf hears of Hrothgar's problems, Beowulf creates a group of his strongest soldiers and sets off from Geat to kill Grendel.

2. Whom do the Geats first meet when they arrive in Denmark? What does he do, and what do they do?
          When the Geats first arrive in Denmark, they find a Danish watcher who was patrolling the cliffs. He inquires why they have arrived on the shores on Denmark in armor and with weapons so openly and Beowulf responded by declaring his intentions of slaying Grendel. Afterwards, the watchman leads them to King Hrothgar.
 
3. They next meet Hrothgar's herald. Who is he? What does he tell them? What does he tell Hrothgar? What does Hrothgar respond? Are you surprised that Hrothgar knows Beowulf so well?
          Hrothgars' herald is Wulfgar, a messenger. He asks them of their name and kin and that he will tell Hrothgar of their request. He told Hrothgar that the Geats have traveled from across the ocean to be able to "have speech at will". Hrothgar responds by saying he knew Ecgtheow and Beowulf as a boy. I am not surprised he knew Beowulf so well, as one is not going to forget somebody who supposedly has a grasp equal to thirty men.

4.What does Beowulf tell Hrothgar when he enters? What did Hrothgar do for Beowulf's father?
           When Beowulf enters, he told Hrothgar that he heard about Grendel's attacks and Herot is now empty because of the beast that comes at night. Beowulf also boasted about his abilities and his achievements. Hrothgar told Beowulf that his father sought sanctuary after Ecgtheow killed Heathloaf, so Hrothgar made a treaty with them by giving them treasure.

[Feast at Heorot] (lines 491-661, pp. 42-46)

1. What does Unferth accuse Beowulf of? How does Beowulf answer him? How is this episode relevant to the poem as a whole? What does Beowulf accuse Unferth of?
          The whole controversy between Beowulf and Unferth is that Unferth is jealous and knows that Beowulf is much stronger then he is which does not please him. He brings up an old competition and tells Beowulf that if he thinks he will kill Grendel that he is wrong. Beowulf however responds with great confidence and tells Unfreth about his accomplishments and the exact details about that incident Unfreth had brought up about the sea leaving Unfreth in pure embarrassment. This is relevant to the story because we don't know exactly who is right and the details since one is egotistical and the other one was drunk.
2. What is Queen Wealhtheow doing during the feasting?
           Queen Wealhtheow is passing around the goblet with the alcohol for the guests and thanking God for the fact that Beowulf is there to save the people.

[The Fight with Grendel] (lines 662-835, pp. 46-49)

1.Heroic poetry normally has a scene in which the hero arms for battle. What is different about Beowulf's preparations for his fight with Grendel?
          Beowulf is different than other heroes when preparing for battle because instead of getting his weapons ready, he has decided to use nothing but his own hands to slay the beast.

2.What happens when Grendel enters Heorot? How does Beowulf fight with him? What happens when Grendel tries to leave? Does Grendel escape? What does he leave behind?
          When Grendel enters Herot, he eats one of the men and when attempting to do the same with Beowulf, Beowulf grabs Grendel, who now realizes Beowulf is not a man of ordinary strength. Therefore, Grendel attempts to flee, but Beowulf was able to rip his arm off and kill him.