1)READ THE LINES 3-16 AGAIN AND IDENTIFY THE TRAITS THAT ARE MOST ADMIRED IN BEOWULF.
3rd line: There was no else like him alive.
4th line: He was the mightiest man on earth high-born and powerful.
15th line: The warrior boarded the boat as captain.

2)RECONSIDER LINES 24-30.
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 that the seafarers have sighted have sheer crags, sunlit cliffs and looming headlands.
b)Focus on the ship.
1)Underline in the text the words used to describe it.
Curved prow
2)What aspects of the ship do the words emphasise?
The words emphasise that the ship flew like a bird

3)CONSIDER THE SOUND ASPECT OF THE TEXT. REMEMBER THAT THE MODERN TRANSLATION TRIES TO REPRODUCE SOME LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF THE ORIGINAL.
1)Do the lines rhyme?
No, they don’t
2)Do the lines make occasional or frequent use of alliteration? Justify your answer, quoting from the text.
The lines make occasional alliteration. For example “he heard”.

4)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.
“Sand churned in surf ”
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.
“With the wind behind her and foam at her neck”. The shape of the ship justifies the comparison because the text describes the curved prow of the ship and in the picture you can see it.

5)WHAT FUNCTION/S DO YOU THINK THE KENNINGS, ALLITERATION AND SIMILE SERVE? TICK AS APPROPRIATE.
a)They create rhythm. Yes
b)They make the poem sound different from ordinary language by using pictorial, descriptive words. Yes
c)They characterise things and people more effectively. No
d)They make parts of the poem more memorable. Yes
e)They “compensate” for the lack rhyme. Yes

6)THE POEM IS INFORMATIVE ABOUT CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE ANGLO-SAXON WORLD.
a)Beowulf is a “thane” (line 2): within the social system of the time, he belongs to the military aristocracy. What kind of relationship is there between him and his warriors?
He is their captain
b)Consider military dress on the left side of the page. What did the warriors wear?
They wore helmet and shield