The Battle with Grendel's Mother, The Last Battle, The Spoils

“The Battle with Grendel’s Mother”

A. Answer the following questions about:

• 1. What protected Beowulf from Grendel’s mother’s attacks?

  2. How does Beowulf kill the monster?

  3. Beowulf beheads dead Grendel. Is this admirable? Would a hero today be respected for this?

  4. Who stayed at the lake? Who left and why?

  5. What did Beowulf take from the monster’s lair?

  6. What happened to the rest of the sword?

  7. How many men did it take to carry Grendel’s head?

  8. Where did they take it?

“The Last Battle” and "The Spoils"

B. Find synonyms for the words below in "THe Last Battle":

assuredly

critical

flow

ancient

propelling

drawn

majesty

flailed

emboldened

well-born

creditably

haste

muscle

audacity

defeated

C. Answer the following questions about "The Last Battle"

Please be sure to cite the specific passage where you found the answer.

• 1. What did Beowulf do when he entered the dragon’s cave?

  2. How did Beowulf protect himself from the dragon?

  3. When does Beowulf realize he’s going to lose this battle?

  4. How does the writer describe our time on earth?

  5. What does "kinship" mean? What should "kinship" mean?

  6. What happened to Beowulf’s soldiers?

  7. Who stayed?

  8. How did Wiglaf get his sword?

  9. How do you think the other soldiers would react to Wiglaf’s final speech?

  10. What does Beowulf tell Wiglaf to do for him?

"The Farewell"

• • Why do you think the men left Beowulf's treasures behind them?