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British Literature
“Beowulf” Unit Exam

Multiple Choice: Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. Which of the following does not reflect the oral tradition of the epic Beowulf ?

|a. |Before it was written down, the story of Beowulf was preserved for generations by word of mouth. |
|b. |Beowulf reflects the cultural tradition of telling stories in the mead-halls. |
|c. |When the thanes feasted, the King gave the best portion of meat to the bravest warrior. |
|d. |Scops memorized and recited the poetic verses of Beowulf as a form of entertainment. |

____ 2. In Beowulf, why does Beowulf sail with his chosen companions to Hrothgar’s kingdom?

|a. |to bring home treasures from that rich kingdom |
|b. |to help Hrothgar by destroying a monster and to gain fame for themselves |
|c. |to win glory by slaying a fire-breathing dragon |
|d. |to take over Higlac’s throne |

____ 3.Which of the following lines from Beowulf contains an example of kenning?

|a. |“ ‘Higlac is my cousin and my king; the days / Of my youth have been filled with glory.’ ” |
|b. |“Their guide reined in his horse, pointing / To that hall, built by Hrothgar for the best / And bravest of his men . . |
| |.” |
|c. |“The high hall rang, its roof boards swayed, / And Danes shook with terror.” |
|d. |“ ‘. . . I have come so far, / Oh shelterer of warriors and your people’s loved friend, / That this one favor you should|
| |not refuse me . . . ’ ” |

____ 4.From which fact can the reader infer that the character Beowulf is honorable?

|a. |Beowulf refuses to use weapons because Grendel uses none. |
|b. |Higlac is Beowulf’s cousin. |
|c. |Beowulf is the strongest of the Geats. |
|d. |Beowulf vows to ambush Grendel and destroy the monster. |

____ 5.What does this line from Beowulf mean? “the monster’s thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws”

|a. |He is hungry. |c. |He has sharp claws. |
|b. |He has intelligence. |d. |He is not trustworthy. |

____ 6.In Beowulf, Wiglaf thinks he and his comrades should help Beowulf fight the dragon because
|a. |Beowulf is too old and sick to fight. |
|b. |it will increase Beowulf’s chance of victory. |
|c. |then Beowulf’s comrades can claim the monster’s treasure. |
|d. |in the past they had promised to repay Beowulf’s kindness with their lives. |

____ 7. In Beowulf when the dying Beowulf gives Wiglaf his gold necklace, the gesture means that
|a. |Beowulf has captured the monster’s treasure. |
|b. |Beowulf wants Wiglaf to kill his comrades. |
|c. |Beowulf recognizes Wiglaf’s superior strength in battle. |
|d. |Beowulf is passing on the rulership of Geatland to Wiglaf. |

____ 8. Which of the following lines from Beowulf contains an example of a caesura?
|a. |“. . . Hidden evil before hidden evil.” |
|b. |“. . . Burns like a torch. No one knows its bottom . . .” |
|c. |“. . . And golden cups and the glorious banner . . .” |
|d. |“. . . And struck at the dragon’s scaly hide.” |

____ 9.Which is the best paraphrase for this passage from Beowulf ? —Then the sword / Melted, blood-soaked, dripping down / Like water, disappearing like ice when the world’s / Eternal Lord loosens invisible / Fetters and unwinds icicles and frost . . .

|a. |God made the bloody sword turn to dripping icicles and frost. |
|b. |Beowulf loosened his grip on the bloody sword and it disappeared into the water. |
|c. |Beowulf’s bloody sword became liquid the way ice and frost do when God warms and melts them. |
|d. |God made the sword melt and freed Beowulf from the magic fetters that bound him. |

____ 10. Which phrase best paraphrases the underlined words in this quotation from Beowulf? . . . they could hack at Grendel / From every side, trying to open / A path for his evil soul, but their points / Could not hurt him.

|a. |To kill him |c. |to speak to him in a séance |
|b. |To drive him out of the hall |d. |to help him escape |

____ 11.When used to describe Beowulf, the phrase “noble protector of all seamen” is an example of
|a. |a caesura. |c. |a kenning. |
|b. |a foil. |d. |an alliteration. |

____ 12. In Beowulf, Grendel’s arm hanging in the banquet hall of the Danes might be described as ____ for the evil he had done.
|a. |writhing |c. |reparation |
|b. |appositive |d. |massive |

____ 13 When Beowulf requests that he alone “May purge all evil from this hall,” what does he mean by purge?
|a. |drive out and condemn |c. |cleanse and purify |
|b. |overcome and conquer |d. |bury and forget |

____ 14. Which of the following passages contains a reference to the pagan religion of the past?
|a. |“A powerful monster, living down / In the darkness, growled in pain, impatient / As day after day the music rang / Loud |
| |in that hall. . . .” |
|b. |“ . . . sailors / Have brought us stories of Herot, the best / Of all mead-halls, deserted and useless . . .” |
|c. |“. . . He was spawned in that slime, / Conceived by a pair of those monsters born / Of Cain, . . .” |
|d. |“And sometimes they sacrificed to the old stone gods, / Made heathen vows, hoping for Hell’s / Support, . . .” |

____ 16. Which words from the following passage form an appositive phrase? “. . . A deer, / Hunted through the woods by packs of hounds, / A stag with great horns, though driven through the forest / From faraway places, prefers to die / On those shores, . . . “

|a. |“A deer,” |c. |“A stag with great horns” |
|b. |“Hunted through the woods” |d. |“though driven through the forest” |

____ 17. Which of these words best fits the image of the dragon presented in this quotation from Beowulf? “. . . The dragon / Coiled and uncoiled, its heart urging it / Into battle . . .”

|a. |writhing |c. |massive |
|b. |purging |d. |loathsome |

_____ 18. Which of the following contains Beowulf’s threshold and threshold guardians?

|a. |Lord Hrothgar teaches Beowulf kingly wisdom, political skill, generosity, and hospitality. |
|b. |Beowulf goes to Denmark to help Lord Hrothgar by fighting Grendel. |
|c. |With the blessing of Lord Higlac and his fellow thanes, Beowulf leaves Geatland and sails to Denmark. |
|d. |Beowulf dives into the murky lake and sinks for hours until he reaches the lair of Grendel’s mother. |

_____ 19. When Hrothgar’s warriors fight Grendel, “No one / waited for reparation from his plundering claws” (lines 72–73). In this context, the word reparation means:

|a. |writhing movements |c. |wergild or compensation for an injustice |
|b. |mercy |d. |loathsome torture |

_____ 20. Which of the following literary terms best describes the underlined words in the following quotation from Beowulf? “Beowulf,/ That mighty protector of men, / Meant to hold the monster till its life / Leaped out”

|a. |a caesura |c. |an appositive phrase |
|b. |a kenning |d. |a compound predicate |

_____ 21. Which phrase best restates the underlined words in this quotation from Beowulf? “He who had come to them from across the sea, / Bold and strong-minded, had driven affliction / Off, purged Herot clean (lines 399–401).”

|a. |had killed Grendel in battle |c. |had forced the evil monster from the hall |
|b. |had rid the land of pain and suffering |d. |had successfully repelled fate |

_____ 22. Which of the following was the abyss of Beowulf’s hero’s journey?
|a. |Alone, Beowulf carried Grendel’s head and the giants’ sword hilt to Herot. |
|b. |Alone, Beowulf sinks in the murky lake to seek Grendel’s mother to kill her. |
|c. |Beowulf requests that his thanes erect a funeral pyre for him on the coast of Geatland. |
|d. |Beowulf’s ship capsized on the trip home from Denmark, and he strangled an electric eel. |

_____ 23. Which of the following is not an element of the epic genre?

|a. |lighthearted tone |c. |episodes important to the nation’s history |
|b. |national values |d. |struggle of good versus evil |

_____ 24. In “The Wanderer” the main character is searching for

|a. |His lost love |
|b. |Honor. |
|c. |A new king. |
|d. |His companions. |

_____25. Hrunting is

|a. |Beowulf sword |
|b. |The Dane’s mead hall |
|c. |Grendel’s home |
|d. |Wiglaf’s wife. |

_____26.. When do most scholar’s believe “Beowulf was written

|a. |8th century |
|b. |9th century |
|c. |11th century. |
|d. |14th century |

_____27. Which of the following allusions does the poet make in reference to Grendel?

|a. |Reference to the Anglo-Saxons |
|b. |Biblical story of Cain |
|c. |Biblical story of Job |
|d. |Reference to History of the English Speaking People |

_____28.. Grendel caused problems for the Danes for
|a. |A decade |
|b. |20 years |
|c. |One winter |
|d. |12 years |

_____29. Grendel couldn’t harm Hrothgar’s throne because
|a. |It was protected by God |
|b. |It was built by Giants |
|c. |It was guarded |
|d. |He couldn’t reach it |

_____30. Beowulf’s bragging of his heroic feats to the watchman is an example of

|a. |Beowulf being a jerk |
|b. |The elevated language of epic poetry |
|c. |Kennings |
|d. |An elegiac |

_____31. Beowulf says he won’t use weapons against Grendel because

|a. |They won’t work against him |
|b. |He left them behind in Geatland |
|c. |It wouldn’t be a fair fight |
|d. |Higlac might think less of him |

_____32. Grendel’s mother kills Hrothgar’s best friend and

|a. |Carries off Grendel’s arm |
|b. |Favorite dog |
|c. |Steals his treasure |
|d. |son |

_____31. Wiglaf’s sword used to belong to

|a. |Higlac |
|b. |the king of Sweden’s nephew |
|c. |Beowulf |
|d. |the dragon |

_____34. The dragon’s treasure was

|a. |never found |
|b. |thrown in the sea |
|c. |buried with Beowulf |
|d. |given to Higlac |

_____35.. How does Beowulf die
|a. |He is defeated by the dragon |
|b. |He is poisoned |
|c. |He is stabbed by Hrothgar |
|d. |Old age |

Essay questions (30 pts.)

1. Choose 3 of the elements of the Hero’s Journey (The call, The threshold, challenges, The abyss, redemption, and the return) and explain how Beowulf either fits or doesn’t fit into that element of the epic hero. This should be a well organized, thorough essay.

2. One of the main reasons we study literature from different cultures and different times is to learn about the people who wrote these stories down. From Beowulf we can speculate on the values, religion and culture of Anglo-Saxon people. Choose three values you can identify from “Beowulf,” show how the story illustrates those values. Use examples from the text to support your ideas.