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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Grendel's mother use to try to kill Beowulf?
(a) Beowulf's sword.
(b) A knife.
(c) Her hands.
(d) An axe.

2. Who promises to come with "a thousand spears and a thousand shields" if the other should be attacked?
(a) Hrothgar makes this promise to Beowulf.
(b) Beowulf makes this promise to Hrothgar.
(c) Wiglaf makes this promise to Beowulf.
(d) Beowulf makes this promise to Wiglaf.

3. How many men does it take to carry Grendel's head?
(a) 8.
(b) 2.
(c) 4.
(d) 6.

4. At the beginning of Chapter 2, who is brooding with grief and greedy for revenge?
(a) Unferth.
(b) Beowulf.
(c) Hrothgar.
(d) Grendel's mother.

5. What is the Grendel lake lined with?
(a) Trees.
(b) Tall grasses.
(c) Fierce dragons.
(d) Mountains.

6. Who forged the tremendous sword that is in Grendel's mother's lair?
(a) Grendel.
(b) Magicians.
(c) Grendel's mother.
(d) Giants of olden time.

7. Where does Beowulf see a "tremendous sword" in the lair of Grendel's mother?
(a) On a table.
(b) On the wall.
(c) At her side.
(d) In the armory.

8. Inside Grendel's mother's lair, what upholds the weight of the water?
(a) Stone walls.
(b) Stout rafters.
(c) Magic.
(d) Huge serpents.

9. What is Hrunting?
(a) Hrothgar's hall.
(b) Beowulf's sword.
(c) A shield.
(d) Grendel's mother's hall.

10. As Beowulf prepares to leave Denmark, what does Hrothgar do "as if his heart would break?"
(a) Sings.
(b) Watches the ships sail away.
(c) Helps Beowulf load his possessions.
(d) Weeps.

11. What promise does Hrothgar make to Beowulf after Grendel's mother is defeated?
(a) He promises to leave the throne to Beowulf.
(b) He promises him a great treasure.
(c) He promises friendship and trade with Beowulf's people.
(d) He promises his daughter to Beowulf as his wife.

12. Who leads Beowulf to the Grendel lake?
(a) A warrior who isn't named.
(b) Unferth.
(c) Hrothgar.
(d) Aeschere.

13. How does Hrothgar describe the Grendel lake?
(a) Falsely beautiful.
(b) Chilling.
(c) Ominous and dark.
(d) Weird and evil.

14. What does Grendel's mother take off the wall in the hall?
(a) Grendel's arm.
(b) A sword.
(c) Tapestries.
(d) An axe.

15. Where is Beowulf when Grendel's mother arrives at Heorot?
(a) Sleeping in his room.
(b) In the stable with his new horses.
(c) Sitting by the fire.
(d) With the King.

Short Answer Questions

1. How far is Grendel's mother's lair from the windy cliffs?

2. After Beowulf's sword fails to kill Grendel's mother, what does he use to try to fight her?

3. When Beowulf blows his horn, what rises up out of the Grendel lake?

4. Who stays at the lake after the Danes leave?

5. When Beowulf enters Heorot, what two things does he present to Hrothgar?

(see the answer keys)

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