1- As you read the summary of the poem’s content, on the opposite page, locate on the map below the places which are mentioned:
Sweden, Denmark, Geats.

2- Now read the extract from the poem. It describes:
Lines 1 to 10: Beowulf decision to help Hrothgar.
Lines 11 to 16: the preparations for the journey and the launch.
Lines 17 to 30: the actual crossing of the sea and the sighting of land.
Lines 31 to 35: the landing in Denmark.

3- In lines 3 – 16, Beowulf is described has an ideal Anglo – Saxon warrior embodying the qualities of character that were most admired by the people of his time and place.
Beowulf was the mightiest man on earth, high – born, powerful and a canny pilot.

4-
a)The lines describe the journey by sea.
1) How long does the journey last?
The journey lasts one day.
2) What information is given about the land they arrive at?
The land has got sunlit cliffs, sheer crags, and looming headlands.

b) Focus on the ship.
1) Underline in the text the words used to describe it.
The words are: neck, cargo, side, hold, wood – wreathed, curved – prow, gangplank, bird.
2)What aspects of the ship do the words emphasise?
The ship was as a woman infact the neck is an element of a human being and the poet uses the pronoum "she" .

5- Consider the sound aspect of the text. Remember that the modern translation tries to reproduce some linguistic features of the original.
Do the lines rhyme?
No, they don’t.
Do the lines make occasional or frequent use of alliteration? Justify your aswer, quoting from the text.
Yes, there are a lot of alliterations as it hhappens in line 5: “high - born and powerful. He ordered a boat”

6- Focus on language.
a) Look back at the poem and find an example of a kenning used to describe the sea in the first part of the extract.
The kenning used to describe the sea is at line 7: “to sail the swan’s road.”
b)Find the simile in lines 24 – 26 and look at the picture of a Viking ship above. Does the shape of the ship justify the comparison? Give reasons.
The simile between lines 24 – 26 and the picture is the lightness of the ship because the wind pushes it and swells the sails.

7- What function/s do you think the kennings, alliteration and simile serve?Tick as appropiate.
1)They create a rhythm.
2)They make the poem sound different from ordinary language by using pictorial, descriptive words.

8- The poem is informative about certain aspescts of the Anglo-Saxon world
a)Beowulf is a “thane”: within the social system of the time, he belongs to the military aristocracy. What kind of relationship is there between him and his warriors?
Beowulf is respected and admired by his warriors(feudalism system).
b)Consider military dress on the left side of the page. What did warriors wear?
Loocking the picture on the left of the page I think that warriors wore shining war – gear.