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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Kriemhild describes the punishment that Siegfried delivers to her for vexing Brunhild as what?

2. Who is Albric?

3. Why does the Lord Treasurer of the Nibelung's treasure go get his keys when he sees the men from the Rhineland?

4. Where does Kriemhild lodge on her way to Etzel?

5. Who is the member of her new household who is mourning Etzel's first queen?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Hungarian people lament the treatment of the bodies of their fallen countrymen at the hands of the Burgundians?

2. How does Siegfried treat Brunhild's invitation to return for a visit?

3. How does Brunhild feel about marrying Gunther?

4. What is the significance of Gunther's decision to send Siegfried ahead as a messenger to return word of his marriage with Brunhild?

5. What does one of the Hunnish knights see that prevents him from attacking King Gunther and his men while they sleep after the Midsummer Eve's festivities?

6. Why does Hagen want the Nibelungers' treasure to be taken away from Kriemhild?

7. What is Kriemhild about to do when she hears of Etzel's marriage proposal?

8. What is Kriemhild's role in Gunther's suit of Brunhild?

9. Why is Siegfried completely unarmed and without the protection of his own men when drinking from the stream, when the fatal blow to his vulnerable spot is struck by Hagen?

10. What is suggested by the way Gunther and Brunhild and Siegfried and Kriemhild name their heirs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Gunther and Brunhild with Siegfried and Kriemhild. How are the two couples similar? How are they different?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the importance of the Nibelungers' in the Nibelungenlied. How does their gold affect the plot? How do the other gifts and things they supply affect the plot?

Essay Topic 3

Hagen is intimately involved with the murder of Siegfried. Write an essay to explain the following:

Part 1: Describe from beginning to end how Hagen plans the murder and executes it.

Part 2: Explain why Hagen murders Siegfried. Be sure to include at least one primary motivation and one secondary motivation. Describe how the motivations come about and, if appropriate, how they originate at early on in poem. Expound on motivating factors that occur at the beginning of the poem up through to what the reader knows after the actual murder and discovery of Hagen's treachery. Use specific examples from the poem to support your argument.

(see the answer keys)

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