Spring 2012 Exam Study Guide

 Grendel ◦ Grendel has been terrorizing the hall of Herot for 12 years. King Hrothgar calls on Beowulf to help. ◦ Beowulf waits for Grendel to come to the hall one evening for his nightly feeding, then Beowulf and Grendel fight. ◦ Beowulf defeats Grendel by tearing off his arm. ◦ The wounded Grendel returns to his marsh. ◦ Grendel’s arm is hung up in the hall as a trophy.

 Grendel’s mother ◦ She goes to the hall and takes back her son’s arm. ◦ Then she kills one of the king’s closest friends to avenge her son’s death. ◦ Beowulf goes to the marsh and fights her. He delivers a blow to her neck which kills her. ◦ Beowulf then cuts off Grendel’s head.

 The dragon ◦ Beowulf returns to his home, and eventually becomes king. He rules in peace and prosperity for 50 years. ◦ Then a dragon begins terrorizing the countryside, so Beowulf, now an old man, faces the dragon. ◦ Beowulf is unable to defeat the dragon alone, so Wiglaf joins Beowulf in the fight. Together, they defeat the dragon, but Beowulf is seriously wounded. ◦ The dying Beowulf leaves the kingdom to Wiglaf as a reward for his loyalty.

 After the three rioters discover the gold, they come up with a plan to carry the gold away.  Two of them will guard the gold, while the other goes to get provisions (bread and wine).  While the third is getting provisions, the other two come up with a plan to murder him and split the gold between the two of them.  Meanwhile, the third one comes up with a plan to murder the other two by poisoning their drinks.  When the third one rejoins the other two, they kill him and then drink the wine to celebrate, so they die as well.  The moral of the story: the love of money is the root of all evil.

 Italian or Petrarchan ◦ 14 lines; two-part structure ◦ Octave (first eight lines) abbaabba ◦ Sestet (last six lines) cdcdcd or cdecde  English or Shakespearean ◦ 14 lines ◦ Three quatrains (four-line units) abab cdcd efef ◦ Final couplet (2 rhyming lines) gg  Spenserian ◦ Similar to English with three quatrains and one couplet ◦ Interlocking rhyme scheme abab bcbc cdcd ee

MacbethLady Macbeth ConflictsInternal: whether or not to kill the king; haunted by Banquo after ordering him killed; External: vs. his wife; vs. fate or supernatural; vs. Macduff Internal: driven insane by her guilt over her involvement with all the murders; External: vs. her husband MotivationsTo be king; to gain powerTo be queen; to gain power OutcomesKilled by Macduff on the battlefield Dies due to her guilt (we assume she committed suicide)

 At the beginning of the play, the three witches hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis (which he already is), then Thane of Cawdor and King hereafter.  Shortly after this, Macbeth is given the title of Thane of Cawdor, which inspires to make the third prophecy come true by killing King Duncan so he could become king.

 In Act Four, three apparitions appear to Macbeth  First – An armed head tells Macbeth to beware Macduff ◦ This is fulfilled when Macduff kills Macbeth  Second – A bloody child tells Macbeth that “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” ◦ This causes Macbeth to dismiss the first apparition, until Macbeth learns that Macduff was not “born of woman”, but was ripped from his mother’s womb (C-section)  Third – a child crowned with a tree in his hand tells Macbeth he shall “never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.” ◦ This is fulfilled when Macduff’s army camouflage themselves with tree branches, so it looks like the forest is moving.