Great Books III Study Questions for Assignment 4Beowulf
- What kind of audience does this poem seem to be composed for? What level of society do they seem to be? What sorts of things is that audience probably most interested in?
- How would you describe the characters of Hrothgar, Unferth, Wiglaf, and Beowulf?
- Why does Beowulf come to Heorot? What has been happening there?
- How would you describe the characters of Grendel and his mother? How well developed are they as characters?
- When the rampages don't cease, what do Hrothgar's people turn to? What is the narrator's assessment of this?
- On page 56, What does the sword hilt of Beowulf compare with in other epic poems you have read (i.e., Homer or Virgil)?
- Why does the dragon attack the countryside?
- Describe the final battle between Beowulf, Wiglaf, and the dragon. What happened to the rest of Beowulf's men?
- What is the tone or spirit of the ending of the story?
- What virtues does this poem seem to uphold? What in the poem suggests this to you?
- How would you describe the culture of the people in this poem?
- How would you describe the Christianity of the people in this poem? How does that compare with your vision of Christianity? Why are the two so different?
The Song of Roland
- What kind of audience does this poem seem to be composed for? What level of society do they seem to be? What sorts of things is that audience probably most interested in?
- How would you describe the characters of Roland, Oliver, and Charlemagne?
- How would you describe the traitor Ganelon? What makes him so mad at Roland?
- How does the romanticized version of the story in the poem compare to the actual istorical event as described in the Introduction?
- What part do Charlemayne's dreams play in this story? Does he pay any attention to them? Why or why not?
- What virtues does this poem seem to uphold? What in the poem suggests this to you?
- How would you describe the culture of the people in this poem?
- How would you describe the Christianity of the people in this poem? How does that compare with your vision of Christianity? Why are the two so different?
- Compare the Song of Roland to Beowulf, and to Homer and Virgil's epics. What differences do you see, and how do you account for them?
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