Name/Class/Period/Date

Madeleine Hayes
Total Points _______ / _______
English 4 AP
Period 2
September 14, 2015
Size/Neatness (.5)
Title (.25) / Author (.25) / Publication Date (.25) / Literary Era (.25)
Beowulf
Author: Unknown, Seamus Heaney (Translator)
Published in 2000, first publication was in 1000 AD
Literary Era: Medieval
Main Characters (Brief descriptions including archetypes) (1)
Beowulf: The protagonist of the epic poem, the poem follows his life, starting when he is a young and strong hero. The end
of the poem shows him as a wise and powerful king in his old age. He is both the hero and warrior archetypes.
Grendel: An angry, troll-like monster that Beowulf first battles. He is lonely and jealous, and is quickly slain by Beowulf.
Grendels mother: Mother of Grendel who seeks revenge after his death.
Settings (place names, countries, years, seasons, etc.) (.5 ) & Symbolic Significance (.5)
Beowulf takes place in medieval times. The first part of the poem takes place in the Danes, and so does the second part of
the poem (where Beowulf battles Grendels mother.) The second part of the poem also takes place in the murky, disgusting
lair of Grendels mother, which is just as repulsive as she is. The third part of the poem is fifty years later in Geatland. When
Beowulf goes to battle the fierce dragon, he travels to the dragons cave, which is filled with gold and treasure.
Chronology of Major Events (1.5)
5. Beowulf fights Grendels mother to
9. A thief finds a dragons cave and
1. Grendel invades the Danes.
the death in her underwater lair, and
steals a goblet from it, accidentally
takes Grendels head for a battle
waking the dragon.
trophy.
2. Beowulf comes to the Danes and
6. Beowulf returns to Geatland.
10. Beowulf goes to battle the dragon
offers to slay Grendel.
to the death.
3. Beowulf slays Grendel.

7. King Hygelac is killed and his son

takes over as king.

11. Wiglaf comes to Beowulfs aid, and

they slay the dragon. However, Beowulf
is wounded and dies.

4. After a celebration, Grendels mother

seeks revenge for the death of her son.

8. Hygelacs son dies, and Beowulf then

ascends to the throne of the Geats and
reigns for fifty years.

12. Beowulf is burned on a funeral pyre

and then buried with treasure.

Important Quotes w/ page # (.5)

O flower of warriors, beware of that

You are the last of us, the only one
trap. Choose, dear Beowulf, the better
left of the Waegmundings. Fate swept
part, eternal rewards. Do not give way
us away, sent my whole brave highto pride. For a brief while your strength
born clan to their final doom. Now I
is in bloom but it fades quickly; and
must follow them. That was the
soon there will follow illness or the
warriors last word. Page 189
sword to lay you low. Page 121
Motifs (.25)
Archetypes (.25)
Symbols (.25)
Motifs throughout Beowulf
Archetypes in Beowulf are
One symbol in Beowulf is the
are monsters and
heroes (Beowulf), the quest,
banquet, which symbolizes
celebrations.
the mentor (Hrothgar), and
the rebirth after destruction
the devil (Grendel, Grendels
from the monsters.
mother, the dragon).

So the Shieldings hero, hard-pressed and

enraged, took a firm hold of the hilt and
swung the blade in an arc, a resolute blow
that bit deep into her neck-bone and
severed it entirely, toppling the doomed
house of her flesh; she fell to the floor. Page
109

Themes (.25)
Themes include religion,
fame and pride, family, and
good warriors and good
kings.

Key Scenes (hero deeds, communions, baptisms, epiphanies, etc.) (1)

Key scenes include the slaying of Grendel, Grendels mother, and the dragon, as well as the final battle between Beowulf
and the Dragon, which is where Beowulf ultimately dies.

Intertextuality/Allusions/Connections (1)
A good example of intertextuality in Beowulf is when after Beowulf slays Grendels mother and grabs the sword, the sword
meltedthe rest of that ring-marked blade had dissolved in Grendels steaming blood, boiling even after his death. This is
very similar to an Irish folktale in which the head of a killed man is put on top of a bush, and the bush immediately burns
away.
Opening Scene (.25)
Beowulf opens with the story of Shield Sheafson, king of the
ancient Danes. He started out as an abandoned infant and
quickly rose to power. He was loved by all and when he died,
he was cast into the water on a boat.

Closing Scene (.25)

Beowulf ends almost exactly as it began, with Beowulfs
corpse being cast out into the water on a boat just like
Shield Sheafson.