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.
In the extract the places which are mentioned: Sweden, where Gets lived and Denmark where Beowulf went to help Hrothgar, king of Denmark.
2. Now read the extract from the poem. It describes:
- Beowulf’s decision to help Hrothgar: from line 1 to line 5;
- the preparations for the journey and the launch: from line 5 to line 16;
- the actual crossing of the sea and the sighting of land: from line 17 to line 30;
- the landing in Denmark: from line 31 to line 35.
3. In lines 3-16, Beowulf is described as an ideal Anglo-Saxon warrior embodying the qualities of a character that was most admired by the people of his time and place.
Beowulf was admired because: he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful, he was dear to older people and he sailed as a canny pilot.
4. 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 author doesn’t give us precise information, but there are only sunlit and sheer crags.
b) Focus on the ship.
2. What aspects of the ship do the words emphasise?
The words used to describe the ship emphasise the idea that it was fast and it sailed well.
5. Consider the sound aspect of the text.
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.
I think the lines make frequent use of alliteration, as a matter of fact there are alliteration in the first, third, seventeenth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth and third- second lines.
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.
There is an example at line seven “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 reason.
The simile is “she flew like a bird”. Yes, it does because the Viking’s ships were small, pointed and they had curved prow so they “cut” the sea and sailed very fast.
7. What function/s do you think the kennings, alliteration and simile serve?
1. They create rhythm;
2. They make the poem sound different from ordinary language by using pictorial, descriptive words.
8. The poem is informative about certain aspects 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?
All his warriors have respect towards Beowulf because he is a strong thane but he is dear to them, too.
b) Consider military dress on the left side of the page. What did warriors wear?
Warriors wore mail, boots and helmet; moreover they had more weapons to defend them-self against the enemies.